The Cenotaph in the southern New Zealand city of Dunedin stands in the centre of Queen's Gardens, close to the city centre. It is the city's main war memorial.
The Cenotaph in the southern New Zealand city of Dunedin stands in the centre of Queen's Gardens, close to the city centre. It is the city's main war memorial.
The cenotaph stands in Queen's Gardens, an open park lying between The Exchange and the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum. This location is close to the heart of the city, some 400 metres (440 yd) south of the city centre, The Octagon. Dunedin's renovated Warehouse Precinct lies immediately to the south. One-way streets which form part of SH 1 flank the gardens on its east and west boundaries.
The monument commemorates Dunedin members of New Zealand's armed forces who perished in the First and Second World Wars. A separate standing plaque (formerly situated close to Dunedin Railway Station in Anzac Square) stands close to the cenotaph and lists the names of all of New Zealand's Victoria Cross recipients. Several of the trees surrounding the perimeter of Queen's Gardens were planted to remember various war anniversaries, and are accompanied by plaques commemorating these events, [1] and a section of the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum dedicated to New Zealand's participation in the two world wars is also located nearby.
The monument's design was chosen from 63 entries in a public competition. [2] The winning entry was designed by Aucklander William Gummer (of the firm of Gummer and Ford), who also designed several other memorials, most notably the Bridge of Remembrance in Christchurch. [3]
The monument is built from concrete with a facing of Carrara marble, and was conceived by Gummer as a 28-metre (92 ft) tall eight-sided column, this design reflecting Dunedin's octagonal city centre and being appropriate for an irregularly shaped site, and is topped by a symbolic beacon. From the central column, a sacrificial urn and four crosses emerge, representing sacrifice. These, along with a relief frieze on the base featuring a lion, torches, laurel wreathes, and fasces, were designed by sculptor Richard Oliver Gross. [4] The original intention was for a bronze frieze to surround the base, but a funding shortfall forced this to be abandoned. [2]
The foundation stone was laid by Dunedin mayor Harold Livingstone Tapley in 1924. Several historic documents were placed in a capsule under the stone, including histories of the military in Otago and copies of current newspapers. The finished memorial was unveiled on 17 March 1927 by Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI) [3] in a ceremony attended by 1,000 relatives of the fallen and 800 returned servicemen, along with many members of the general public. Initially known as "The Citizens' Memorial", it rapidly became known as The Cenotaph (echoing the name of Sir Edwin Lutyens' monument in Whitehall, London) despite not being of the classic "empty tomb" design normally used for structures of this name. A plaque commemorating the fallen of World War Two was added to the memorial at the conclusion of that conflict. [4]
The cenotaph is the regular venue of Dunedin's Anzac Day commemorations, which often attract several thousand members of the public. On 25 April 2015, the centennial commemoration of Anzac Day, a record crowd estimated at close to 20,000 people attended the dawn commemoration service at the cenotaph. [5]
The cenotaph has a Heritage New Zealand Category II classification. [4] In the wake of the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, seismic assessments have been made of many New Zealand buildings and monuments. Assessment of the cenotaph has recommended several measures to strengthen the memorial's structure, and the Dunedin City Council plans to accompany these measures with an assessment of other possible improvements to the Queen's Gardens area. [6]
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served". Observed on 25 April each year, Anzac Day was originally devised to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who served in the Gallipoli Campaign, their first engagement in the First World War (1914–1918).
A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenotaphs honour individuals, many noted cenotaphs are instead dedicated to the memories of groups of individuals, such as the lost soldiers of a country or of an empire.
The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in wars involving the Commonwealth of Australia and some conflicts involving personnel from the Australian colonies prior to Federation. Opened in 1941, the memorial includes an extensive national military museum.
Dunedin railway station in Dunedin on New Zealand's South Island, designed by George Troup, is the city's fourth station. It earned its architect the nickname of "Gingerbread George".
Princes Street is a major street in Dunedin, the second largest city in the South Island of New Zealand. It runs south-southwest for two kilometres from The Octagon in the city centre to the Oval sports ground, close to the city's Southern Cemetery. North of The Octagon, George Street continues the line of Princes Street north-northeast for two and a half kilometres. Princes Street is straight but undulating, skirting the edge of the City Rise to its northwest. The part of the street immediately below The Octagon is the steepest section, as the road traverses an old cutting through Bell Hill.
The Auckland Domain, also known as Pukekawa / Auckland Domain, is a large park in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the oldest park in the city, and at 75 hectares is one of the largest. Located in the central suburb of Grafton, the park land is the remains of the explosion crater and most of the surrounding tuff ring of the Pukekawa volcano.
The Toitū Otago Settlers Museum is a regional history museum in Dunedin, New Zealand. Its brief covers the territory of the old Otago Province, that is, New Zealand from the Waitaki River south, though its main focus is the city of Dunedin. It is New Zealand's oldest history museum.
The National War Memorial of New Zealand is located next to the Dominion Museum building on Buckle Street, in Wellington, the nation's capital. The war memorial was dedicated in 1932 on Anzac Day in commemoration of the First World War. It also officially remembers the New Zealanders who gave their lives in the South African War, World War II and the wars in Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam.
The Cenotaph is a war memorial constructed in 1923 and located between Statue Square and the City Hall in Central, Hong Kong, that commemorates the dead in the two world wars who served in Hong Kong in the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force. Built in stone, it is an almost exact replica of the Cenotaph on Whitehall in London, UK. It is listed as a monument under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance.
The Sydney Cenotaph is a heritage-listed monument located in Martin Place, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Bertram Mackennal and built from 1927 to 1929 by Dorman Long & Co. It is also known as Martin Place Memorial and The Cenotaph. It is one of the oldest World War I monuments in central Sydney. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 11 November 2009.
Hobart Cenotaph is the main commemorative military monument for the Australian state of Tasmania. It is located in the capital Hobart in a prominent position on the Queens Domain, on a small rise overlooking the city and River Derwent. The Cenotaph sits directly above what was once the location of the Queens Battery.
The Wellington Cenotaph, also known as the Wellington Citizens' War Memorial, is a war memorial located on the intersection of Lambton Quay and Bowen Street in Wellington, New Zealand. It commemorates the war dead of the two world wars. The cenotaph is listed by Heritage New Zealand and it is the city's focus for the annual Anzac Day commemorations
Lan Yuan, Dunedin Chinese Garden, is located in the city of Dunedin in southern New Zealand. It is sited next to the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum close to the centre of the city and numerous other of the city's tourist attractions, including the Dunedin Railway Station and Queens Gardens.
The Bridge of Remembrance is one of two main war memorials in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is dedicated to those who died in World War I, and serves as a memorial for those who participated in two World Wars as well as subsequent conflicts in Borneo, Korea, Malaya, and Vietnam. Owned by Christchurch City Council, it is located on the Cashel Street Bridge at the head of City Mall. The Bridge of Remembrance was repaired and strengthened following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake and was reopened with a rededication ceremony held on Anzac Day in 2016.
The Dunedin Law Courts is a notable historic building in central Dunedin, in the South Island of New Zealand. They are located at the corner of Lower Stuart Street and Anzac Square, directly opposite the city's historic railway station. Since 1902, the building has been used as the city's law courts, and contains four court rooms, including the ornate High Court, as well as housing the offices and library of the Law Society.
World War I Cenotaph is a heritage-listed memorial at Jubilee Park, Alfred Street, Mackay, Mackay Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Stephen Harvey and built from 1928 to 1929 by Melrose & Fenwick. It is also known as Mackay War Memorial and Jubilee Park. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 August 1992.
Thomas John Clapperton FRBS was a Scottish sculptor, famous for the statue of Robert the Bruce at the entrance of Edinburgh Castle erected in 1929.
The Warehouse Precinct is an urban area of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. Sited on reclaimed land at the northernmost tip of the Southern Endowment, it lies between 1 and 2 kilometres south of The Octagon, the city's centre.
Queens Gardens is a roughly triangular area of trees and lawn in central Dunedin, New Zealand.
Media related to Cenotaph, Dunedin at Wikimedia Commons