National War Memorial (South Australia)
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The National War Memorial is a monument in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. It commemorates the fallen of the First and Second World Wars.
Located on North Terrace outside Government House, the cenotaph is the site of memorial services each Anzac and Remembrance Day.
[edit] History
Following the end of the Great War, the South Australian Government decided in 1919 to build a memorial commemorating the victory and the sacrifice of those who had fought and fallen.[1]
A committee was established to bring the proposal to fruition and an architectural competition was launched for South Australians to submit a design. The competition had reached its final stages when all 26 designs were destroyed in a building fire.[1] A second competition was subsequently launched with a corner of the Government House grounds declared as the memorial site. The location of the memorial had been subject to great debate in the Parliament and amongst the public, with sites including Montefiore Hill, Victoria Square, Torrens Parade Ground and Mount Lofty suggested.[2]
The design by Walter Bagot and Louis Laybourne-Smith, principals at the architectural firm Woods Bagot, was selected by the committee from a total 18 submitted on 15 January 1927.[1]
The memorial was unveiled before at crowd of almost 75,000 on 25 April 1931, the 16th anniversary of the Gallipoli landing, by the Governor Sir Alexander Hore-Ruthven.[1]
In 2001, the memorial's 70th anniversary year, a three-month remedial project was undertaken, restoring the bronze and stonework details and reinforcing the foundations.[2]
[edit] Cost and construction
Construction of the memorial began in 1928 with the cut and placement of marble blocks from Macclesfield and Angaston. The monumental construction was disrupted by campaigns for better wages and reduced working weeks as well as the departure of several stonemasons and the financial troubles of the contractor Tillet & Son.[2]
The South Australian Government had dedicated £25,000, more than $3 million in today's money, for the memorial. It was estimated that bulk of the expense would be masonry at £15,300 with sculptural work and landscaping requiring £8,500 and £1,200 respectively. However, the final cost of construction pushed out to approximately £30,000.[1]
