Office of Australian War Graves

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The Office of Australian War Graves (OAWG) is a branch within the Australian Government Department of Veterans' Affairs. The branch was initially a stand-alone agency, formed 1 January 1975. In 1980, the War Graves Act 1980 (Cth) formalised the position of Director War Graves within the Department of Veterans' Affairs. [1] The OAWG acts as Australian agent for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. [1]

Contents

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the OAWG generally fall within the following five areas. [2]

The OAWG is also responsible for the maintenance of some 20,000 graves of Commonwealth war dead in 76 war cemeteries & plots and in numerous civil cemeteries, as well as Memorials to the Missing listing over 3,000 names throughout Australia, Norfolk Island, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

Directors of War Graves

NamePeriodRef.
K. F. Macdonald1978 – 3 May 1981
Hon. Lance Barnard AO 22 June 1981 – 9 April 1984 [3]
Peter Young9 April 1984 – 1 October 1985 [4]
Alf Clarke AM 1 October 1985 – 19 June 1991 [5]
Air Vice Marshal Alan Heggen AO 19 June 1991 – 3 October 1997
Air Vice Marshal Gary Beck AO 3 October 1997 – August 2005
Major General Paul Stevens AO 2005–2010
Brigadier Chris Appleton CSC December 2010 – November 2015
Ken Corke December 2015 – 10 January 2019
Brigadier Paul Nothard AM CSC CSM 11 January 2019 – October 2022 [6]
Brigadier Timothy Bayliss AM 11 October 2022 – October 2025 [7]
Major General Wade Stothart AO DSC CSC 11 October 2025 – present [8]

See also

Further reading

References

  1. 1 2 "About Office of Australian War Graves". Australian Government Department of Veterans' Affairs. Archived from the original on 14 June 2009.
  2. ↑ "Office of Australian War Graves: General Information". Archived from the original on 27 September 2006.
  3. ↑ "Appointment of Director of War Graves". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette . No. G20. Australia. 19 May 1981. p. 14. Retrieved 21 May 2018– via National Library of Australia.
  4. ↑ "Veterans' Affairs War Graves Act 1980 Appointment of Director of War Graves". Commonwealth Of Australia Gazette. No. G17. Australia. 8 May 1984. p. 1610. Retrieved 21 May 2018– via National Library of Australia.
  5. ↑ "Veterans' Affairs War Graves Act 1980 Appointment of Director of War Graves". Commonwealth Of Australia Gazette. No. G31. Australia. 6 August 1985. p. 2963. Retrieved 21 May 2018– via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "Appointment of new Office of War Graves Director". minister.dva.gov.au. 10 January 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  7. ↑ "Director of War Graves Appointed". Press release. Office of the Minister for Veterans' Affairs. 11 October 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  8. ↑ "Appointment of New Director Office of Australian War Graves". Press release. Office of the Minister for Veterans' Affairs. 5 October 2025. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  9. ↑ In Remembrance: The Work of the Office of Australian War Graves. OCLC. OCLC   711727830 . Retrieved 13 April 2020– via worldcat.org.
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