Peacekeeping Memorial, Canberra

About

The Australian Peacekeeping Memorial, located at the southern end of Anzac Parade in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, commemorates the service and sacrifice of all Australians who have served on peacekeeping or peacemaking missions around the world. It was inaugurated on 14 September 2017 by the Governor-General of Australia, General Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC. The Memorial is a living memorial that commemorates the service of all Australian peacekeepers- past, present and into the future.

The Memorial has three main elements which together physically represent the roles of Australian Peacekeepers – military, police and civilians - in the service of international peace and security.

The first element is the two black polished masonry Monoliths symbolizing the "opposing forces of conflict" while the passageway of golden light between them created by the backlit onyx stone represents the "light of hope for the future" through peace and security brought about by peacekeepers.

Through the passageway of light is the second element, the cobblestone Courtyard, a peaceful gathering space for personal reflection and ceremonial purposes. On the courtyard surface are bronze plaques inscribed with words describing the personal traits of Australian Peacekeepers progressing to the values, actions, activities and finally the objectives of international peacekeeping as the plaques advance across the courtyard in parallel with the path of travel from front to rear.

At the rear, the peaceful ambiance of the courtyard is contained by the third element, a single massive black polished masonry Commemorative Beam denoting the strength and stability that results from peacekeeping activities. Bronze facings on the beam are inscribed with the United Nations and other international peacekeeping missions and campaigns in which Australian Peacekeepers have participated. Below the beam is a white concrete inclined plane surface with bronze fixings for placing commemorative wreaths or remembrance flowers.

Crests displayed at the front of the Memorial are those of organisations under whose auspices Australian Peacekeepers have operated and at the side, organisations from which they have been drawn.

Since 14 September 1947, when four Australian military observers began their mission in Indonesia to help monitor the ceasefire between The Netherlands and the independence forces of the fledgling state of Indonesia, there have been Australian military, police and civilians involved in peacekeeping missions somewhere around the world. Over 60,000 Australians have served in peacekeeping missions, some have been killed or died whilst overseas and many have been injured or traumatised by their experiences, and through them, their families have been adversely affected.

The large number of the Australians returning from service with the International Force for East Timor (INTERFET) and the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) prompted a number of people in the Australian Defence Force, the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Peacekeepers and Peacemaker Veterans Association to discuss and propose that a national memorial to peacekeepers be erected. The idea was supported by the then Chief of Army, soon to become Chief of Defence Force in 2002, General Peter Cosgrove, and the relevant federal government Ministers and Opposition spokespersons of the day.

Other veterans’ associations within Australia soon joined the call to address the fact that there was no national memorial to provide a focus for remembrance and commemoration of peacekeepers. A few plaques were dotted around the country, but there were no individual memorials or a national memorial - such as the Peacekeeping Monument in Ottawa, the only one of its kind in the world at the time. Since then, a memorial to commemorate all peacekeepers would have died serving on UN peacekeeping missions has been erected on the North Lawn of the UN headquarters in New York.

In 2005 a committee was established, with representatives from the various veterans’ associations of Australia, the Australian Defence Force, and the Australian Federal Police (representing both Federal and state police services – state police officers serving on peacekeeping missions were and are transferred to the Australian Federal Police for the duration of the officer's deployment). The committee created the Australian Peacekeeping Memorial Project, a formal not-for-profit organisation with limited liability, with the simple objective to erect a national peacekeeping memorial on Anzac Parade in Canberra.

The veterans’ associations represented on the committee were: The Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL), the United Nations Association of Australia (UNAA), the Australian Peacekeeper and Peacemaker Veterans Association (APPVA) and the United Nations and Overseas Policing Association of Australia (UNOPAA) – although at the time of the formation of the committee the UNOPAA was called the United Nations Policing Association of Australia.

The committee elected Major General Tim Ford AO (retired) as its chairperson, who remained in the position throughout the life of the project and committee. Major General Ford not only had a distinguished career in the Australian Army but served as the Head of Mission for the United Nations Truce Supervision Organisation (UNTSO) in the years 1998–2000 before being appointed as Military Adviser to the Under Secretary General for Peacekeeping at UN Headquarters in New York, a post he held until September 2002.

The committee also included a number of other people who had skills that would prove useful in achieving the aims of the project, including Mr Warren Lewis a civil engineer with long experience in project development in the construction industry in Australia. He became the committee's project development manager, leading the development of contractual documentation, supervising the selected architect and builder and acting as prime interlocutor with the National Capital Authority.

The committee was also aided by a number of Australian companies who provided pro bono support rather than direct financial donation.

The APMP was granted Donor Gift Recipient (charity) status by the federal government on several occasions (not continuously), allowing all donations above $2 to be claimed as a tax deduction by the donor.

In 2008 a competition was conducted, under the guidance of the NCA, to find a design for the memorial. The competition was open to any architectural practices operating within Australia, and the design brief was simple – the memorial had to reflect Australia's involvement in peacekeeping, be architecturally notable and cost less than a defined ceiling value of $3M. In the first stage of the competition, fourteen submissions were received, from which four were selected as meriting further development. The four practices involved were asked to develop their designs to a level that would allow a competition jury, established by the APMP committee, to better assess their final appearance and to provide reasonable estimates for the cost of construction.

On 19 December 2008, the winner of the Australian Peacekeeping Memorial Design Competition was announced at Parliament House. The winner of the competition was Super Colossal, now Bennett and Trimble, an architectural practice based in Sydney.

The APMP Committee was impressed by the visual simplicity of the design; its visual impact on its surroundings; its representation of the work of peacekeepers; its reflection of the Australian landscape and its relatively low cost.

The design program, led by the architect with input from several Australian engineering consultants, commenced in January 2009 and progressed through the various stages of design development to the completion of "detailed design and documentation". A quantity surveyor was appointed by the APMP committee to produce a cost plan which was progressively updated throughout the design process. The completed "design package" was approved by the APMP committee in November 2009 and endorsed by the NCA in December after some changes were made to provide better access within the memorial to accommodate future NCA maintenance equipment.

The APMP committee made the decision to limit the selection of a construction contractor to those which were well established within the Australian Capital Territory and its environs. The committee established a selection panel from within its membership, augmented by an independent architect providing pro bono support.