35°16′59″S149°08′53″E / 35.283°S 149.148°E | |
Location | Canberra, Australia |
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Designer | PDCM Pty Ltd |
Material | Granite |
Completion date | 1985 |
The Kemal Atatürk Memorial is a memorial directly opposite the Australian War Memorial on Anzac Parade, the principal memorial and ceremonial parade in Canberra, the capital of Australia.
It is named after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881–1938) who, as a Lieutenant Colonel, commanded the Ottoman 19th Infantry Division when it resisted the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) at Arı Burnu on the Gallipoli peninsula in 1915 during World War I. [1] He started the Turkish War of Independence, and went on to be the founder of the Republic of Turkey and its first president, receiving the honorific Atatürk ("Father of the Turks") by the Turkish parliament. [1]
In 1985, seventy years after the Gallipoli Campaign, the Turkish Government recognised the name "Anzac Cove" for the place on the peninsula where the Australian and New Zealand troops landed on 25 April 1915.
In return for this gesture, the Australian Government established the memorial garden, around the Kemal Atatürk Memorial, that honours the heroism and self-sacrifice of the Turkish and Anzac soldiers who took part in that bitterly fought campaign. This is the only memorial to an enemy commander on Anzac Parade.
The memorial consists of a crescent shaped wall on a circular paved area. The form of the wall reflects the crescent moon and five-pointed star of the Turkish flag. [2] In the centre of the memorial is a time capsule containing soil from the battlefields of Gallipoli. It was designed originally by architecture firm PDCM.
Centrally located in the wall is a bronze likeness of Atatürk – a gift of the Turkish government by Turkish sculptor Hüseyin Gezer. [2] The inscription, attributed to Atatürk, pays tribute to his former foes and reflects his understanding of the cost of war:
"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives... you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore, rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours... You the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well." [1]
The quote honours all former enemy soldiers who have died in Turkey.
There is however some doubt as to whether the words are Atatürk's. [3]
Surrounding the memorial are pine trees Pinus halepensis grown from seed collected from the Gallipoli "lone pine".
The memorial was refurbished in 2007 and rededicated in time for Anzac Day (25 April). The pavement was altered to incorporate a larger five pointed star motif as used in the flag of Turkey, to match the existing wall in the form of the crescent moon. At the points of the star five pink-granite columns matching the granite used for the central sculpture. The columns are lit at night. The flags were moved from the side to the front of the memorial. The memorial was designed by PDCM Pty Ltd.
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).
The Gallipoli campaign, the Dardanelles campaign, the Defence of Gallipoli or the Battle of Gallipoli was a military campaign in the First World War on the Gallipoli peninsula from 19 February 1915 to 9 January 1916. The Entente powers, Britain, France and the Russian Empire, sought to weaken the Ottoman Empire, one of the Central Powers, by taking control of the Ottoman straits. This would expose the Ottoman capital at Constantinople to bombardment by Entente battleships and cut it off from the Asian part of the empire. With the Ottoman Empire defeated, the Suez Canal would be safe and the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits would be open to Entente supplies to the Black Sea and warm-water ports in Russia.
The Battle of Sari Bair, also known as the August Offensive, represented the final attempt made by the British in August 1915 to seize control of the Gallipoli peninsula from the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.
The Australian War Memorial (AWM) is a national war memorial and museum dedicated to all Australians who died during war. The AWM is located in Campbell, a suburb of the Australian capital of Canberra. The grounds include five buildings and a sculpture garden. Most of the museum galleries and commemorative areas are contained in the Memorial Building.
The landing at Anzac Cove on Sunday, 25 April 1915, also known as the landing at Gaba Tepe and, to the Turks, as the Arıburnu Battle, was part of the amphibious invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula by the forces of the British Empire, which began the land phase of the Gallipoli Campaign of the First World War.
This article presents the timeline of the Gallipoli Campaign. The period of the proper battle is considered to be 19 February 1915 to 9 January 1916; however, a number of events took place between August 1914 and January 1915 that are relevant to the battle.
Anzac Parade is a significant road and thoroughfare in the Australian capital Canberra, used for ceremonial occasions and the site of many major military memorials.
The New Zealand Memorial in Canberra, Australia, commemorates the relationship between New Zealand and Australia, and stands at the corner of Anzac Parade and Constitution Avenue, the former bisecting the Parliamentary Triangle and the latter forming the base of the triangle that represents the form of government in Canberra, the national capital city of Australia.
The Turkish State Cemetery is a national and military cemetery in Ankara, Turkey, containing the graves of the presidents of Turkey and the high-ranked, close companions-in-arms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, in the Turkish War of Independence.
The Çanakkale Martyrs' Memorial is a war memorial commemorating the service of about 253,000 Turkish soldiers who participated at the Battle of Gallipoli, which took place from April 1915 to December 1915 during the First World War. It is located within the Gallipoli Peninsula Historical National Park on Hisarlık Hill in Morto Bay at the southern end of the Gallipoli peninsula in Çanakkale Province, Turkey.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was a field marshal, revolutionary statesman, and founder of the Republic of Turkey as well as its first president. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's military career explains his life between graduation from Ottoman War College in Istanbul as a lieutenant in 1905 to his resignation from the Ottoman Army on 8 July 1919, as well as his military leadership throughout the subsequent Turkish War of Independence.
Foreign relations exist between the Commonwealth of Australia and the Republic of Turkey. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1967. Australia has had an embassy in Ankara since 1968, a consulate-general in Istanbul and a consulate in Çanakkale. Turkey has had an embassy in Canberra since 1967 and two consulates-general in Melbourne and Sydney.
The 57th Infantry Regiment or simply 57th Regiment was a regiment of the Ottoman Army during World War I. In response to the landing at Anzac Cove of Australian and New Zealand forces on 25 April 1915 the 57th Regiment counterattacked, slowed the Allied advance and lost about half of its personnel. Mustafa Kemal later noted that the 57th Regiment was "a famous regiment this, because it was completely wiped out".
Hüseyin Avni Bey was the commander of the 57th Infantry Regiment of the Ottoman Army at the Battle of Gallipoli during which he led a counterattack that successfully stabilized the right flank of the Ottoman defences on the 25 April 1915.
The third attack on Anzac Cove was an engagement during the Gallipoli Campaign of the First World War. The attack was conducted by the forces of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, against the forces of the British Empire defending the cove.
The 9th Infantry Division was a formation of the Ottoman Turkish Army, during the Balkan Wars, and the First World War.
The Gallipoli Peninsula Historical Site covers over 33,000 hectares in Gallipoli, Turkey. The park was established in 1973 by the Turkish government and is included in the United Nations list of National Parks and Protected Areas. Gallipoli Peninsula Historical Site is home to memorials, graveyards, and commemorations of events that took place on the peninsula since the First World War.
The Australian Turkish Friendship Memorial (Seeds of Friendship) is a war memorial in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Kings Domain on Birdwood Avenue. It was built to mark Anzac Day's centennial anniversary and as a tribute to Australian-Turkish relations.
Atatürk Channel, also known as Atatürk Entrance is a water channel named after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and located at King George Sound leading to Princess Royal Harbour in Albany on the south coast of Western Australia.