The Australian Memorial Park is a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

memorial, located near

Fromelles Fromelles () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. it had a population of 1,041; its inhabitants are called ''Fromellois''. It is located about to the west of Lille. First World War The village of Fromelles was captured by a ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, commemorating Australians killed during the Battle of Fromelles.

Location

The memorial park is located approximately from the

V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial The V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission World War I cemetery and memorial. The site is located in the ''commune'' of Fromelles, in the Nord ''departement'' of France, about northwest of the vill ...

, on the same road in the direction of the village of Fromelles in

. It lies at the point where the German lines crossed the road, and has several surviving battlefield fortifications. In comparison, the V.C. Corner cemetery and memorial is approximately at the point where the Allied lines crossed the road.

Inauguration

The Memorial Park was opened on 5 July 1998 by Bruce Scott, the Australian Minister for Veterans' Affairs, in the presence of

Ian McLachlan Ian Murray McLachlan (born 2 October 1936) is a former Australian politician who served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1990 to 1998, representing the Liberal Party. He was Minister for Defence in the Howard Government from ...

, the Australian

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. The opening of this memorial park was part of a series of events that commemorated the 80th anniversary of the end of World War I. A guard of honour was provided by the French 43rd Infantry Regiment, and the Australian 10th/27th Battalion, and the opening of the memorial park was attended by hundreds from Australia and France.

Memorial

''Cobbers'' is a prominent 1998 sculpture by

Peter Corlett Peter Corlett OAM (born 1944) is an Australian sculptor, known for his full-figure sculptures cast in bronze, especially his memorial works. Corlett studied sculpture at RMIT University, Melbourne, from 1961 to 1964. In 1975, he was awarde ...

of Sergeant Simon FraserFraser (born 31 December 1876,

Byaduk, Victoria Byaduk is a township in the Shire of Southern Grampians in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. European settlement began around 1853 by Wendish or Sorbian Lutheran immigrants who gave it the name Neukirch after the town in Saxony. ...

) would rise to the rank of lieutenant. He was killed in action 11 May 1917. rescuing a wounded compatriot from No Man's Land after the battle.. A replica of the sculpture is in the

Shrine of Remembrance The Shrine of Remembrance (commonly referred to as The Shrine) is a war memorial in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, located in Kings Domain on St Kilda Road. It was built to honour the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I, but ...

in Melbourne, Victoria. The title comes from a letter that Fraser, a farmer from

, wrote a few days after the battle and that was widely quoted in Australia's official history of World War I. Several commemorative events have been held at the Memorial Park. On 9 May 2009, a Service of Remembrance was held to mark the 94th anniversary of the

Battle of Aubers Ridge The Battle of Aubers (Battle of Aubers Ridge) was a British offensive on the Western Front on 9 May 1915 during the First World War. The battle was part of the British contribution to the Second Battle of Artois, a Franco-British offensive in ...

. On 19 July 2009, a service was held to mark the 93rd anniversary of the Battle of Fromelles.Pics Fromelles Service
, Families and Friends of the First AIF, accessed 06/02/2010

Notes and references

Notes

References

External links

{{Australian war memorials Australian military memorials World War I memorials in France Nord (French department) Australian diaspora in Europe Buildings and structures completed in 1998