Adelaide, South Australia. Violet Day Centenary Commemoration
Before the poppy became the recognised flower for remembrance the violet, in South Australia, was the 'symbol of perpetual remembrance'. Violet day was first held in Adelaide on 2 July 1915. A crowd gathered at the Soldiers' Memorial Statue, now known as the Boer War Memorial, for speeches and a performance by the Police Band. The Governor addressed attendees, stressing remembrance and honouring of Australian troops and their sacrifice to Empire. Women dressed in white sold posies of violets and purple ribbons to raise money to support returned soldiers, or the Cheer-up fund.
On Thursday 2nd, Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th July 2015 Adelaideians braved the chilly winter evenings for a "son et lumiere" when Illuminart animated the Torrens Parade Ground with Architectural Storytelling Projections for the 100th anniversary of Violet Day. Moving image projection mapping on the Drill Hall building drew from historical images, and documents, to show the First World War experience in South Australia and tell how the Cheer Up Society came to exist.
The story commemorates the women and volunteers who established the Cheer Up Society and other volunteer organisations. They not only provided support to men on the front, but also provided ongoing support to wounded and shell-shocked men, and to bereaved mothers and families.
The Cheer Up Society raised funds to build a soldiers’ clubhouse by selling violets around South Australia. The Cheer Up Society was a uniquely South Australian response to the war involving primarily women; and the Violet Day fundraiser they established continued for nearly 60 years. This spectacular project illuminated and transfigured the architecture of the Torrens Parade Ground Drill Hall building over three nights, coinciding with the centenary of the first Violet Day.
Ref: History SA website
Adelaide, South Australia. Violet Day Centenary Commemoration
Before the poppy became the recognised flower for remembrance the violet, in South Australia, was the 'symbol of perpetual remembrance'. Violet day was first held in Adelaide on 2 July 1915. A crowd gathered at the Soldiers' Memorial Statue, now known as the Boer War Memorial, for speeches and a performance by the Police Band. The Governor addressed attendees, stressing remembrance and honouring of Australian troops and their sacrifice to Empire. Women dressed in white sold posies of violets and purple ribbons to raise money to support returned soldiers, or the Cheer-up fund.
On Thursday 2nd, Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th July 2015 Adelaideians braved the chilly winter evenings for a "son et lumiere" when Illuminart animated the Torrens Parade Ground with Architectural Storytelling Projections for the 100th anniversary of Violet Day. Moving image projection mapping on the Drill Hall building drew from historical images, and documents, to show the First World War experience in South Australia and tell how the Cheer Up Society came to exist.
The story commemorates the women and volunteers who established the Cheer Up Society and other volunteer organisations. They not only provided support to men on the front, but also provided ongoing support to wounded and shell-shocked men, and to bereaved mothers and families.
The Cheer Up Society raised funds to build a soldiers’ clubhouse by selling violets around South Australia. The Cheer Up Society was a uniquely South Australian response to the war involving primarily women; and the Violet Day fundraiser they established continued for nearly 60 years. This spectacular project illuminated and transfigured the architecture of the Torrens Parade Ground Drill Hall building over three nights, coinciding with the centenary of the first Violet Day.
Ref: History SA website