[press release]
Australia Post features war memorials on latest stamp issue
Issue Date: April 10, 2018
In the lead up to Anzac Day, Australia Post is releasing a commemorative stamp issue that recognises the significance and diversity of war memorials.In the lead up to Anzac Day, Australia Post is releasing a commemorative stamp issue that recognises the significance and diversity of war memorials.
Australia Post Philatelic Manager Michael Zsolt said war memorials began to appear in different forms following the immense loss of life during World War I.
“Each memorial stands as a symbol of sacrifice – a place to reflect upon the impact of war and to honour those who have died serving their country or are serving today,” Mr Zsolt said.
This stamp issue, created by Visua founder Gary Domoney, is the fifth and final in the five-year series, A Century of War, which focuses on the Australian experience of war across the last century, since WWI.
The memorials featured on the base-rate ($1) stamps are:
Cobbers Statue – the Australian Memorial Park in Fromelles, France. The statue, sculpted by Peter Corlett, is in memory of the fallen soldiers of the Battle of Fromelles on 19 July 1916. It depicts Sergeant Simon Fraser, 58th Battalion, carrying a wounded man on his back. The word “Cobber” was used by Fraser in a letter he wrote in 1916, in which he described the rescue of two men: “Then another man about 30 yards sang out, ‘Don’t forget me, cobber’. I went in and got four volunteers with stretchers, and we got both men in safely.”
Avenue of Honour, Ballarat – the longest and one of the earliest memorial tree plantings of its type, spanning 22 kilometres and incorporating the Ballarat Arch of Victory. The Ballarat memorial is one of 547 known avenues of honour in Australia, and commemorates all service personnel equally, in order of enlistment rather than rank. It was created to honour the 3,912 Ballarat district men and women who served in WWI.
Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier, Canberra – located in the Hall of Memory at the Australian War Memorial, it holds the remains of an unknown soldier who died on the Western Front and bears the simple inscription “An Unknown Australian Soldier Killed in the War of 1914–1918”. The tomb symbolises the 23,000 Australian soldiers killed in WWI and whose bodies were never recovered and returned, but lie in the ground far from their home.
Darwin Cenotaph – commemorates Australian personnel who have served in all conflicts since WWI and was the first such memorial in the Northern Territory, dedicated in 1921. It has been relocated several times and now overlooks the Darwin Harbour, the site of the Japanese air attack during World War II, on 19 February 1942. It is located on the site where the 14th Anti-Aircraft Battery was positioned when it fired the first shots in defence of Australia on Australian soil.
Legacy Memorial, Melbourne – established by Legacy, a voluntary organisation supported by volunteers, veterans and service personnel. Legacy assists approximately 65,000 families of veterans who have died or been incapacitated by their military service. The statue Widow and Children, sculpted by Louis Larmen, is a memorial to those who serve and those who bear the scars of war at home. It is set in the Legacy Garden of Appreciation at the Shrine of Remembrance.
The products available with this stamp issue are a minisheet, stamp pack, first day cover, maxicard set, booklet of 10 x $1.00 stamps, medallion cover, prestige booklet, prestige cover and 2 x postal and numismatic covers.
The War Memorials stamp issue is available from 10 April 2018 at participating Post Offices, via mail order on 1800 331 794 and online at auspost.com.au/stamps while stocks last. Please visit auspostcollectables.com.au for more information on the War Memorials stamp issue.
