- ANZAC Parade, Canberra
"This article is about the road in Canberra. For other uses, see
Anzac Parade ."ANZAC Parade, a significant road and thoroughfare in the
Australia n capitalCanberra , is used for ceremonial occasions and is the site of many major military memorials.Named in honour of the
Australian and New Zealand Army Corps ofWorld War I , ANZAC Parade joinsGallipoli Reach ofLake Burley Griffin in the south and theAustralian War Memorial to the north, is on the main axis between Parliament House and Mount Ainslie, and is the bisector of Constitution Avenue that forms the side of the Parliamentary Triangle between Civic and Russell Hill.The Parade is flanked by
Eucalyptus trees on gently sloping banks either side of the three-lane, one-way roads centred by a wide parade ground topped with granulated rock (similar toscoria ) with planted boxes of a low bush called Hebe. The Eucalypts are Australian; and the Hebe comes fromNew Zealand .On
ANZAC Day ,25 April and other ceremonial occasions the Parade and adjoining streets may be blocked off to provide a parade route for formed groups of armed services personnel andveteran s to proceed either along the central parade route or the flanking roads. Removable concrete kerbs to facilitate marching along the central parade route are at the cross streets, Parkes Way, Constitution Avenue, Currong Street/Blamey Crescent, and Limestone Avenue/Fairbairn Avenue.Memorial interpretation
In the manner of interpretation of
museum displays, the memorials are accompanied by several forms of signage to assist the passer-by. Each memorial has various plaques orfoundation stone s that were laid at the time of unveiling. Additionally, interpretative signage in a common format has been provided by theGovernment of Australia adjacent to each memorial that gives succinct information about the nature and/or the site of the people or group or events leading to the establishment of the memorial.ituation and history
The Parade separates the residential suburbs of Campbell and Reid. The naming is significant:
*Robert Campbell,
Sydney 's first merchant, received a grant of land on the Limestone Plains as compensation for the loss of one of his ships on government charter. In 1825 he built a homestead, naming itDuntroon after the Campbell castle inArgyllshire ,Scotland . Duntroon House is now part of theRoyal Military College, Duntroon .*Right Honourable Sir
George Houstoun Reid (1845-1918) wasPrime Minister of Australia 1904-1905, a Federalist and one of the founders of theAustralian Constitution , Australia's fourth Prime Minister who formed a Government in August 1904 and held office until July 1905. He entered theAustralian House of Representatives after having beenPremier ofNew South Wales from 1894 to 1898.At the corner of ANZAC Parade and Constitution Avenue is the historic St John the Baptist
Anglican Church, consecrated by theBishop of Australia, William Broughton, on12 March 1845 , some 80 years before the site of the national capital was decided. Fortuitously, the alignment of the church was such that it seems to have been designed to fit the alignment the adjoining roads, ordained in the plans byWalter Burley Griffin .Lighting
The street
lighting was updated and officially opened on26 March 2001 by thePrime Minister of Australia , Hon.John Howard MP. The design is intended to be efficient and thus reduce energy consumption and thus airpollution while also reducingskyglow ,light pollution /photopollution . The original lighting was designed to be a symbolic "honour guard" and was opened by then Prime Minister,Robert Menzies , onANZAC Day 25 April 1965 .Heritage listing
On
ANZAC Day 25 April 2006 Federal Environment and Heritage MinisterIan Campbell announced that ANZAC Parade along with theAustralian War Memorial would be added to the National Heritage List.External links
* [http://www.nationalcapital.gov.au/visiting/attractions/anzac_parade/ Anzac Parade Walk] / National Capital Authority
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an14324452 Collection of slides illustrating the design, construction and landscaping of Lake Burley Griffin and adjacent national areas of Canberra, ca. 1909-1981] / Richard Clough & Australian Overseas Information Service
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an23814154 Collection of photographs of Anzac Parade, Canberra - 2002] / Damian McDonald
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