Overdue recognition.
ANZAC Square in central Brisbane is a large park which is a memorial to all those who have served and/or paid the supreme sacrifice in support of freedom from oppression around the world. It consists of the Shrine of Remembrance and Eternal Flame in Ann Street and Memorial Galleries beneath as well as numerous individual memorials at the Adelaide Street level. One that was missing until 27 May this year was to those First Nations people who served valiantly in many theatres. This fine new memorial is entitled "The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dedicated Memorial Queensland".
"Bringing the idea to life
On 27 May 2022, a dedicated memorial to Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service men and women was unveiled in Brisbane’s Anzac Square.
Officially unveiled by the Premier of Queensland Annastacia Palaszczuk and the Lord Mayor of Brisbane Adrian Schrinner, the sculpture is one of only a few memorials to Indigenous veterans in Australia, and was created to honour, respect and remember the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women of Queensland who have served and sacrificed their lives for our country.
Cast in bronze, the memorial features life-size figures standing on a ‘Journey Stone’. Navy, Army and Air Force are represented alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander warriors / dancers, depicting a story of embarkation from home via air, land and sea.
The memorial project was funded by Federal, State and Local governments as well as philanthropists and private sector organisations, working with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dedicated Memorial Queensland Incorporated (ATSIDMQI)open_in_new to represent past, present and future Indigenous service, and to bridge ‘the culture and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their contributions to our shared military history’.
The ATSIDQMI committee worked in partnership with Griffith University, empowering master sculptor Liam Hardy of Sculpt Studios with Indigenous artist and cultural advisor John Smith Gumbula to bring the memorial sculpture to life.
President and Chair of the ATSIDQMI committee, Australian Army veteran and Quandamooka Elder Aunty Lorraine Hatton OAM, noted that ‘Queensland being the only state that has Torres Strait Islander Peoples, is another reason the memorial is unique and truly, inclusively Indigenous.’
Overdue recognition.
ANZAC Square in central Brisbane is a large park which is a memorial to all those who have served and/or paid the supreme sacrifice in support of freedom from oppression around the world. It consists of the Shrine of Remembrance and Eternal Flame in Ann Street and Memorial Galleries beneath as well as numerous individual memorials at the Adelaide Street level. One that was missing until 27 May this year was to those First Nations people who served valiantly in many theatres. This fine new memorial is entitled "The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dedicated Memorial Queensland".
"Bringing the idea to life
On 27 May 2022, a dedicated memorial to Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service men and women was unveiled in Brisbane’s Anzac Square.
Officially unveiled by the Premier of Queensland Annastacia Palaszczuk and the Lord Mayor of Brisbane Adrian Schrinner, the sculpture is one of only a few memorials to Indigenous veterans in Australia, and was created to honour, respect and remember the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women of Queensland who have served and sacrificed their lives for our country.
Cast in bronze, the memorial features life-size figures standing on a ‘Journey Stone’. Navy, Army and Air Force are represented alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander warriors / dancers, depicting a story of embarkation from home via air, land and sea.
The memorial project was funded by Federal, State and Local governments as well as philanthropists and private sector organisations, working with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Dedicated Memorial Queensland Incorporated (ATSIDMQI)open_in_new to represent past, present and future Indigenous service, and to bridge ‘the culture and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their contributions to our shared military history’.
The ATSIDQMI committee worked in partnership with Griffith University, empowering master sculptor Liam Hardy of Sculpt Studios with Indigenous artist and cultural advisor John Smith Gumbula to bring the memorial sculpture to life.
President and Chair of the ATSIDQMI committee, Australian Army veteran and Quandamooka Elder Aunty Lorraine Hatton OAM, noted that ‘Queensland being the only state that has Torres Strait Islander Peoples, is another reason the memorial is unique and truly, inclusively Indigenous.’