Lest We Forget

Arch of Victory

Local Girl Guides have learnt about Remembrance Day at an ideal location – Ballarat’s iconic Arch of Victory.

The Arch was added as a grand entrance to the Avenue of Honour, and was opened by the Prince of Wales in 1920.

Bruce Price, a proud relative of those involved in the projects, told the girls about

• the 22km Avenue of Honour, the longest commemorative avenue in Australia
• the role of the Lucas Girls
• the Memorial Rotunda and the Roll of Honour
• the Avenue of Honour overpass
• the Arch of Victory

Garden of the Grieving Mother

The current project of the Arch of Victory / Avenue of Honour Committee involves creating a new memorial in the Arch of Victory precinct.  The feature will be the Grieving Mother statue, created by eminent sculptor Peter Corlett OAM.  We were shown a replica of the statue and could see that construction was underway on the corner block.

This new area will allow visitors to think about the effects of World War 1 on the mothers, fathers and families who were left at home.  Of the 3801 people memorialised in the Avenue of Honour, 744 were killed. Many were wounded, and all were effected.