Outcome 3 Commemorations Outcome Three Commemorations To acknowledge and commemorate the service and sacrifice of the men and women who served Australia and its allies in wars, conflicts and peace operations. The department commemorates the service and sacrifice of Australia’s servicemen and women through a range of programs, projects and events. These initiatives recognise the special contribution of service personnel in times of conflict and encourage community engagement in commemorative activities and the preservation of our wartime heritage. The department is responsible for the official commemoration of Australia’s war dead and those veterans who die post-war of war-related causes. It also constructs and maintains national memorials overseas at sites of wartime significance to Australia. The Commemorations and War Graves Division, responsible for Outcome Three, consists of the Commemorations Group, Office of Australian War Graves and Gallipoli Projects Section.

Department of Veterans’ Affairs 114 Annual Report 2007–2008 Table 45 Outcome 3 resources summary

(1) (2) (1)-(2) Budget** Budget* Actual Variation 2008–09 2007–08 2007–08 2007–08 $’000 $’000 $’000 $’000

Administered Expenses 36 635 26 138 10 497 31 024 (including third party outputs) Total Administered Expenses

Price of departmental outputs 6 641 5 899 742 3 660 Output 3.1—Implement commemorative initiatives and provide support and funding to acknowledge Australia’s servicemen and women from wars, conflicts and peace operations.

Output 3.2—Maintenance, construction and 5 606 9 576 -3 970 8 705 refurbishment of war graves, war cemeteries, DEPARTMENTAFFAIRSVETERANS’ OF gardens of remembrance and post war Three Outcome commemorations. Provide and maintain national memorials overseas. Process claims for, and provision of, official post war commemorations.

Output 3.3—Coordinate and manage the delivery of 1 611 1 718 -107 1 538 Commemorations commemorative and related activities at Gallipoli

Attribution of Output Group 6 219 690 -471 368

Total Price of Departmental Outputs 14 077 17 883 -3 806 14 271

Revenue from Government 13 985 17 754 -3 769 14 176 (Appropriation) for departmental outputs

Revenue from other sources 92 129 -37 95

Total Price of Departmental Outputs 14 077 17 883 -3 806 14 271 (Total revenue from Government and other sources)

TOTAL FOR OUTCOME 3 50 712 44 021 6 691 45 295 (Total Price of Outputs and Administered Expenses)

Average staffing level 129 131 -2 116

* Full-year budget as reported in additional estimates **Budget prior to additional estimates inclusive of Other Revenue

Department of Veterans’ Affairs Annual Report 2007–2008 115 Output 3.1 Commemorative activities To implement commemorative initiatives and provide support and funding to acknowledge Australia’s servicemen and women from wars, conflicts and peace operations. The department administers the Australian Government’s commemorations program, Saluting Their Service. The program recognises veterans and provides opportunities for the community to better understand and acknowledge the role played by Australians in wars and conflicts since Federation.

Business activity Commemorating significant wartime anniversaries

Parit Sulong mission A commemorative mission party of nine veterans who served in the units involved in the Battle of Muar River travelled to Parit Sulong, , in September 2007 to attend the dedication of the memorial constructed to commemorate the massacre of 107 Australians at the end of the Battle of Muar River in January 1942. The memorial is situated within the Community Park at Parit Sulong, near the site of the massacre. The central memorial area and two interpretive panels provide a dignified, simple marker to those who served and died in the battle.

Peacekeepers’ commemorative football game The Sydney Swans together with the Australian Football League holds an annual Tribute to Veterans each year, supported by the department and the Australian Defence Force. The 2007 game, on 2 September, paid tribute to Australian men and women who have served in peace operations during the last 60 years since the first peace operation in 1947. A representative group of peacekeepers took part in the commemorative ceremony held before the game between the Swans and Hawthorn at the Sydney Cricket Ground

Anzac Day commemorations overseas Large crowds attended services at memorials and former battlefield sites overseas. In France, the department conducted the first Dawn Service to be held at the Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux to mark the 90th anniversary of the final battles on the Western Front. Some 5,000 visitors from Australia and France attended the service with many attending the traditional community services later that day at Villers-Bretonneux and Bullecourt. The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Alan Griffin, represented the Government at these Western Front commemorations. The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has committed the Government to holding a Dawn Service at Villers- Bretonneux each year. More than 10,000 visitors travelled to Gallipoli to attend the Dawn Service, which was followed by the Australian Service at Lone Pine Cemetery, Turkish Service at the Turkish 57th Regiment Memorial and New Zealand Service at the Chunuk Bair Memorial. The Minister for Defence, Joel Fitzgibbon, represented the Government at the services.

Department of Veterans’ Affairs 116 Annual Report 2007–2008 The Gallipoli and Villers-Bretonneux services were broadcast live by the ABC as host broadcaster and other networks to Australia, with large viewing audiences. Anzac Day services at Hellfire Pass, , Isurava on the Kokoda Track, Papua New Guinea, and Sandakan, Malaysia, attract larger numbers each year. Australian embassies and high commissions in other countries held Anzac Day services in cooperation with their New Zealand counterparts.

The ParkPark of the Australian Soldier In April 2008, seven veterans of the Second World War who served in Australian Light Horse units between the two world wars, travelled to Israel to commemorate their forebears’ heroic charge at Beersheba (now Be’er-Sheva) on 31 October 1917. The veterans took part in the dedication on 28 April of the Park of the Australian Soldier, a gift to the people of Be’er-Sheva from the Australian Pratt Foundation. The Park recognises the contribution of Australian service personnel in the Middle East in the First and Second World Wars and subsequent peace operations. DEPARTMENTAFFAIRSVETERANS’ OF The Governor-General Major General Michael Jeffery AC CVO MC (Retd) and the President of the Three Outcome State of Israel, Shimon Peres, unveiled the Park’s centrepiece, a sculpture of a Light Horseman charging the Turkish positions at Beersheba by Melbourne sculptor, Peter Corlett. The department, together with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Department of Defence, organised the Park dedication ceremony and coordinated travel arrangements for the veterans group. Commemorations

Battles of Coral and Balmoral The department supported the National 40th Coral and Balmoral Anniversary Committee to organise commemorative activities marking the 40th anniversary of the Battles of Fire Support Bases Coral and Balmoral which occurred in May-June 1968 in Vietnam. The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, hosted a reception on 12 May 2008 for veterans of the battles in The Great Hall of Parliament House. On 13 May, a national commemorative ceremony was held at the Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial on Anzac Parade, Canberra. Following these events, unit reunions were held in Townsville and Canberra.

Battle of Crete In May 2008, Major General Daniel Sinanoglou (Hellenic Air Force), Director Personnel, Hellenic National Defence General Staff, visited Australia at the invitation of the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs to mark the 67th anniversary of the Greek campaign and the Battle of Crete during the Second World War. The Australian-Greek veteran community warmly welcomed the senior Hellenic officer’s attendance at the annual commemorative events.

PeacekeepingPeacekeeping Conference The department sponsored a two-day Peacekeeping Conference at the Australian in September 2007 to mark the 60th anniversary of Australian peace operations. Australians have served in more than 50 peace operations around the world since 1947.

Department of Veterans’ Affairs Annual Report 2007–2008 117 FEATURE

A decade of peace operations in pictures A pictorial history of Australian peacekeeping from Bougainville to Iraq went on display at Melbourne’s in May 2008. The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Alan Griffin, opened Peacekeepers, an exhibition of photographs taken by the Australian Army depicting the last 10 years of Australian Defence Force peace operations in Bougainville, East Timor, Bandeh Aceh, Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere. The Australian Government provided a grant of $10,000 towards the exhibition’s costs through DVA’s Commemorations program Saluting Their Service.

Protecting the Anzac legacy The department received 26 submissions in relation to the Protection of Word ‘Anzac’ Regulations. Of these, seven applications were approved to use the word ‘Anzac’, three applications were not approved and 16 required no further action as approval was not necessary for the requested purpose.

Election Commitments Proclamations for Battle for Australia Day and Merchant Navy Day In the lead up to the 2007 elections, the Labor Party committed to declaring national days of observance for Battle for Australia Day and to pay tribute to the wartime service of the Merchant Navy in Australia. The Proclamation of Battle for Australia Day, to be held on the first Wednesday in September each year, received Royal Assent on 19 June 2008 and was published in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 25 June 2008. The Proclamation of Merchant Navy Day to be held on 3 September each year, received Royal Assent on 24 June 2008 and was published in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 2 July 2008.

National Memorials The Military Memorials of National Significance Bill was introduced into the Parliament on 19 March 2008. The Bill passed both Houses and received Royal Assent on 12 July 2008. The Act enables the Government to deliver on its election commitment to recognise the Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial in Ballarat as a national memorial.

Department of Veterans’ Affairs 118 Annual Report 2007–2008 The Act provides for State and Northern Territory authorities to apply for recognition of other memorials which they consider meet the eligibility criteria. Application forms will be available on the department’s website at www.dva.gov.au. Memorials declared under the Act do not attract any Australian Government funding or other benefits by virtue of a declaration.

Community awarenessawareness Websites

Kokoda Track The department is enhancing its Second World War website Australia’s War 1939–1945 to increase understanding of the battles along the Kokoda Track and Australians’ experiences and the support they received from Papuans. The website will include additional historical material and images, multimedia- DEPARTMENTAFFAIRSVETERANS’ OF Outcome Three Outcome rich content with animated maps, audio, video, graphics and text.

Western Front The department’s website, Australians on the Western Front 1914–1918, was launched by the Minister Commemorations for Veterans’ Affairs, Alan Griffin, in April 2008 prior to Anzac Day. It received more than 20,000 visits in two weeks to the end of April. The site takes visitors on a virtual tour of Belgium and France to more than 40 locations closely associated with the battle experiences of the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War and tells the stories of many Australians who served and died there. The website is being translated into French and Dutch, with the launch of the translated website scheduled for the 90th anniversary of the Armistice in November 2008. During the period 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2008:

C more than 275,000 people visited the Visit Gallipoli website 344,508 times and viewed 1,546,556 pages;

C 141,087 people visited the Australia’s War 1939–1945 website 175,274 times and viewed 1,191,918 pages; and

C 38,063 people visited the Australians on the Western Front 1914–1918 website 47,301 times and viewed 129, 279 pages, from its release in March to 30 June 2008.

Exhibitions and Outreach The department continued to strengthen partnerships with cultural institutions by sponsoring a number of exhibitions highlighting Australia’s wartime history. The focus was on the First World War in the lead up to the 90th anniversary of the Armistice on 11 November 2008. To Flanders Fields, 1917 opened at the in October 2007 to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the battles at Passchendaele during the First World War, the year when Australia suffered its highest casualties. The exhibition Billy Hughes at War opened in February 2008 at the Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne, and on 25 June at Old Parliament House, Canberra. The exhibition focuses on the political aspects of the First World War, with the role of Billy Hughes as its centrepiece. Other department-sponsored exhibitions on the military and social aspects of the First World War will be launched at the Australian War Memorial and National Archives of Australia in October and November 2008 respectively.

Department of Veterans’ Affairs Annual Report 2007–2008 119 The Australian War Memorial’s Travelling Exhibitions program, funded by the department, toured six exhibitions nationally and developed three new exhibitions to tour in 2008–09. The six travelling exhibitions were Backyard Frontline: Australia under Attack 1942–1943; George Lambert: Gallipoli and Palestine Landscapes; Focus: Photography and War 1945–2006; Sport and War; All Together: Sport and War (graphic panel version); and Gallipoli: a Turkish View. The three exhibitions developed in 2007–08 were Icon and Archive, Framing Conflict and A is for Animals. These exhibitions will open and commence touring in 2008–09. The Bring in Your Memorabilia program was conducted at five venues in 2007–08: Hervey Bay Regional Gallery, Queensland; Grafton Regional Gallery, New South Wales; Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston, Tasmania; Eskbank House and Museum, Lithgow, New South Wales; and TAFE Central Gallery, Perth, Western Australia. This program assists individuals to identify and care for items of Australian military history.

Grants Saluting Their Service grants totalling $2.58 million were approved during 2007–08 for 656 ex-service and community organisations, local government authorities, museums and schools for the restoration, updating or establishment of community war memorials, the preservation and display of wartime memorabilia, commemoration of special anniversaries, significant reunions, education initiatives and public awareness activities.

Publications The department’s public awareness program through commemorative publications continued with the production of a fourth book in the Australians on the Western Front series, 1918: Villers-Bretonneux to Le Hamel. The book was released to coincide with the 90th anniversary commemorations at the Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux on Anzac Day 2008. The fifth and final title in this series, 1918: Amiens to the Hindenburg Line, is scheduled for release to mark the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Amiens. All books in this series are being published in English and French, and 1917: Ypres has been published in Dutch. The series will be released as a boxed set to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice in November 1918. In April 2008 the department published a new work on Australians in the Vietnam War, The Battle of Fire Support Bases Coral/Balmoral, Vietnam 1968, released to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the battles. The book features full colour images from the Australian War Memorial’s collection. In April 2008, the department published a new edition of its history of the , Sandakan 1942–1945. The first edition, Laden, fevered, starved, was produced in 1999 to coincide with the dedication of the Sandakan Memorial Park. The expanded and revised edition includes photographic portraits and a cross-referenced Roll of Honour of the 1800 Australians who died as prisoners of war at Sandakan and during the death marches to . In February 2008, to coincide with the opening of the Billy Hughes at War exhibition at the Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne, the department published a pictorial biography of wartime Prime Minister William ‘Billy’ Hughes. In October 2007, to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Beersheba, the department produced a history of the Palestine campaign titled Australian Light Horse. This book is the first in

Department of Veterans’ Affairs 120 Annual Report 2007–2008 a new series, Australians in World War I, which will also include publications on the Australian Flying Corps, Royal Australian Navy, Gallipoli campaign and the experiences of Australians on the home front. The department’s publications are available for purchase from the Australian War Memorial Shop and the Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne. New publications are promoted in Vetaffairs.

Education The department continues to produce award-winning education resources for all Australian schools. The theme of the 2008 education resource was Australian Women in War. It provided teachers and students with self-contained classroom-ready activities and teaching strategies to investigate the roles and experiences of Australian women during more than a century of wars, conflicts and peace operations. Covering women’s roles since 1899 to the present, the resource includes their roles in the Services and home front experiences. The resource, produced for the department by Ryebuck Media Pty Ltd, includes an introductory DVD and a CD ROM that contains ten interactive classroom activities, DEPARTMENTAFFAIRSVETERANS’ OF and can be downloaded from the department’s website. Three Outcome

DID YOU KNOW? ? Commemorations

The longest serving commander of a United Nations force was Australian, Lieutenant General Robert Harold Nimmo. He was appointed Chief Military Observer in Kashmir (UNMOGIP-United Nations Military Observer in India and Pakistan) on 28 October 1950 and served until his death on 4 January 1966. He had fought at Gallipoli and served in the Occupation Force in Japan.

Anzac Day Schools’ Awards The Anzac Day Schools’ Awards drew entries from 187 Australian schools, an increase of more than 80 entries on the previous year’s competition. The competition provides schools with an opportunity to demonstrate creative and innovative activities they have undertaken to learn about and commemorate Anzac Day. The 2007 national primary school category winner was Mount Pleasant Primary School, Western Australia. The secondary school category winner was McAuley Catholic College, New South Wales. The national winners received $2,000 prize money and a commemorative plaque. Prize money of $1,000 is also awarded to the winners in the primary and secondary school categories in each state and territory. Fifty-four highly commended certificates were awarded. The four special categories, introduced in 2007, for best veteran and community involvement, best innovation, best local history research and best use of technology were popular. Winners in each category received a $500 prize and plaque. The department again funded the schools wreath laying program, which has been ongoing since

Department of Veterans’ Affairs Annual Report 2007–2008 121 1997, at the Australian War Memorial. Visiting schools and community groups participated in commemorative ceremonies in the Hall of Memory with a senior officer from the Memorial, a veteran and, where possible, their Federal Member of Parliament. The program involved 5480 students from 100 schools adding a commemorative experience to their visits. In conjunction with the Australian War Memorial, the department sponsored the In War and Peace category of the National History Challenge. The 2007 theme was Lessons from the Past; 198 students entered this category with the winner being Nicholas Jones of Kings Meadow, Tasmania, whose essay was about Australia and the Vietnam War. The Challenge is organised by the History Teachers Association of Australia and is open to Australian students in years 5 to 12. The department has been a major sponsor since 1997.

Commemorative posters and calendar The department produced calendars and posters to raise community awareness of and participation in significant commemorative events. To commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Armistice of 1918, the department’s calendar for 2008 featured Australians in the First World War, using photographs from the Australian War Memorial collection. Copies of the calendar were distributed through the department’s state offices and were available for purchase from the Australian War Memorial Shop. In 2007 the department released two posters for Remembrance Day focusing on the charge of the Australian Light Horse at Beersheba, Palestine, in October 1917. One poster featured a portrait of Corporal John Marsh, 5th Light Horse, who died at Beersheba; the other poster featured George Lambert’s famous painting The Charge of the Australian Light Horse at Beersheba, 1917. The department’s Anzac Day 2008 poster commemorated the Australian attack at Villers-Bretonneux in April 1918. The commemorative posters were distributed to Australian schools, education authorities, youth organisations, ex-service organisations, aged care facilities, Australian embassies and high commissions and Government departments and agencies.

Performance information for Output 3.1—Commemorative activities

Table 46 Performance information for Output 3.1

Measure Portfolio Budget Portfolio Additional Outcome 2007–08 Statements Estimates Statements

Quantity Activity levels, including Activity levels, including Activity levels, including major events and major events and major events and range of programs range of programs range of programs administered administered administered

Price $6.572 million $6.641 million $5.899 million

Quality High level of community High level of community High level of community and veteran satisfaction and veteran satisfaction and veteran satisfaction

Department of Veterans’ Affairs 122 Annual Report 2007–2008 Output 3.2 War Graves The Office of Australian War Graves (OAWG) is responsible for the official commemoration of Australia’s war dead and those veterans who die post-war of war-related causes. The senior officer in the OAWG is a statutory appointment under the War Graves Act 1980. The current director is Major General Paul Stevens AO (Retd), who was appointed on 13 April 2006, for a three-year term. The Australian Government individually commemorates the Australian dead of the two world wars through the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). As an agent of the CWGC, the OAWG maintains 75 war cemeteries and five memorials to the missing throughout Australia, Papua New Guinea, Norfolk Island and the Solomon Islands. Separately, OAWG makes arrangements for the maintenance of the graves of Australian service personnel who died in the Boer War, Korean War, Malayan Emergency, Indonesian Confrontation and Vietnam War, and in more recent conflicts. Since 1922, veterans who have died post-war from war-related causes have been eligible for official DEPARTMENTAFFAIRSVETERANS’ OF individual commemoration. The OAWG maintains these commemorations in perpetuity. The OAWG Three Outcome is also responsible for the construction and maintenance of Australian Government memorials at overseas sites of wartime significance to Australia. In 2006–07 the OAWG became responsible for displaying online nominal rolls of those who have served in Australia’s armed forces during the Second World War, Korean War, Vietnam War and Gulf Commemorations War. Each nominal roll provides a snapshot of an individual’s service.

Budget initiatives In the 2007–08 Budget, the Australian Government committed $11.1 million over four years to:

C the preliminary design of an Australian interpretive centre on the Western Front ($2.834 million);

C the maintenance of official individual commemorations ($1.924 million);

C the maintenance of unofficial memorials overseas ($1.338 million); and

C the construction of an in New Zealand ($5.005 million).

Business activity Information service The OAWG holds information about the location of veterans’ graves and commemorations as part of its role in providing official individual commemoration. Upon request, the OAWG obtains photographs of individual graves, war cemeteries and memorials for next of kin unable to travel overseas or within Australia. It also provides brochures, maps and information about commemorative sites and memorials for which it or the CWGC is responsible.

Official commemoration of war dead Service personnel who die in wars or conflicts are entitled to official individual commemoration. Until 1966, Government policy provided for commemoration in a war or military cemetery or on a Memorial to the Missing proximate to the place of death, except where the person may have died in a location where no war cemetery existed, in which case commemoration was provided in a civil cemetery. This policy meant that those who died overseas before 1966 were not repatriated.

Department of Veterans’ Affairs Annual Report 2007–2008 123 It still applies to remains from pre-1966 conflicts whenever they are discovered. These remains are interred in the nearest practicable war cemetery. During the Vietnam War, the Government decided to repatriate those who died in conflict from 19 January 1966 onwards if the family so wished. This policy remains in place for current deployments. The war cemeteries in Australia and Papua New Guinea are Second World War cemeteries established under the Charter of the CWGC. The common method of official commemoration of recent war dead is individual commemoration in civil cemeteries, crematoria or Gardens of Remembrance depending on family wishes. If the family places a private memorial at the grave or crematorium site, the site is recorded as a war grave, and official commemoration is placed in a Garden of Remembrance.

Activity in commemorating war dead During 2007–08, five Australians died on service in Afghanistan and East Timor. OAWG officially commemorated three servicemen; the others will be officially commemorated once their families have decided the place of commemoration. In September 2006, the remains of five Australian soldiers of the First World War were discovered at Zonnebeke in Belgium. In October 2007 they were buried in the Buttes New British Cemetery at Polygon Wood in Belgium. In December 2007, the remains of Lance Corporal John Francis Gillespie, missing since 1971, were recovered in Vietnam. His remains were repatriated to Australia and were buried in the Springvale Botanical Cemetery, Victoria in accordance with the wishes of the family.

Maintenance of War Cemeteries In 2007–08, OAWG completed the refurbishment of sandstone structures at Rabaul (Bita Paka) War Cemetery, Papua New Guinea. Heritage stonemasons from Australia repaired the Memorial to the Missing, the Cross of Sacrifice and India/Pakistan Memorial. At Lae War Cemetery the sandstone floor of the Memorial to the Missing and the concrete entrance paving were replaced with bluestone paving. The entrance walls and bastions were re-pointed. At Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery existing channel drains were replaced with grated drains or sub-surface agricultural drains in combination with surface swales. These improvements protect the burial and public access areas from flooding and greatly reduce hazards for visitors. In the face of ongoing drought, OAWG staff again found innovative means of keeping the war cemeteries up to standard while cutting back water consumption.

Post-war commemoration To commemorate eligible veterans who die after a war or conflict the OAWG undertakes to erect a standard official commemoration in:

C a civil cemetery within six months;

C a lawn cemetery within four months;

C a crematorium within four months; or

C a Garden of Remembrance within three months.

Department of Veterans’ Affairs 124 Annual Report 2007–2008 In 2007–08, OAWG was advised of the eligibility of 5970 veterans for post-war commemoration. By June 2008, 4824 official commemoration forms had been returned by families or next of kin. There were 5542 memorials completed in 2007–08. Each year the workload associated with post-war commemorations grows as new commemorations are added to existing memorials, many of which are ageing. Legislation relating to heritage and Occupational Health & Safety also affects the maintenance of the commemorations. Gardens of Remembrance In 2007–08, OAWG completed its multi-year program to construct and extend Gardens of Remembrance around Australia, extending the New South Wales and Hobart Gardens of Remembrance.

Tenure DEPARTMENTAFFAIRSVETERANS’ OF OAWG continues to liaise with South Australian and Western Australian cemetery authorities as Three Outcome it strives to protect official commemorations from the application of tenure laws. Where official memorials are removed as a result of the application of these laws, OAWG provides official commemoration in a Garden of Remembrance. Commemorations Australian memorials overseas The OAWG maintains 35 official Australian memorials overseas. The majority are maintained on an agency basis by the CWGC, but in London, Crete, Gallipoli, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, the memorials are either maintained directly by the OAWG or by contractors. Maintenance involves periodic inspection of the memorials and repairs as required. At Hellfire Pass, Thailand, and Sandakan, Malaysia, the memorials have a significant interpretive element and are staffed by locally-engaged personnel. Generally, all memorials have been well maintained. Nonetheless, in 2007–08 work continued on research at the Australian War Memorial in London into the loss of paint from some of the etched lettering text and the OAWG installed a new walkway and access to Konyu Cutting at Hellfire Pass Memorial in May 2008.

Western Front projects In 2007–08 OAWG undertook several commemorative projects for the Western Front:

C options for an Australian Interpretive Centre on the Western Front;

C completion of an interactive, electronic display about Australia’s involvement in the Third Battle of Ypres for a new visitors’ centre at the Tyne Cot Cemetery, near Zonnebeke, Belgium. This display was opened by the Governor-General on 15 July 2007;

C redevelopment of the Australian Corps Memorial Park at Le Hamel, France, which will be completed in late 2008; and

C installation of interpretive panels at Australian Memorials and on the Western Front, which will also be completed in 2008.

Planned new memorials Work has begun on the construction of an Australian memorial at Brunei with a dedication proposed for December 2008.

Department of Veterans’ Affairs Annual Report 2007–2008 125 The 2007–08 Budget provided $5 million for an Anzac Memorial in Wellington, New Zealand, to complement the New Zealand Memorial on Anzac Parade, Canberra. The design of the memorial will commence on the release of the New Zealand master plan for the memorial park.

Overseas privately-constructed memorials restoration program In 2007–08, the Australian Government announced funding to assist with the restoration and preservation of privately-constructed overseas memorials. The program provides up to $200,000 a year. Approved funding in 2007–08 included:

C $16,000 to the Fovant Badges Society, United Kingdom, to assist the restoration of the Rising Sun Badge chalk image at Fovant Downs, England;

C $6000 to the HMAS Canberra/Shropshire Association (Queensland Branch) to rebuild the memorial to HMAS Canberra in Honiara, Solomon Islands;

C $15,100 for the restoration of the EE138 Lancaster Memorial, Denmark;

C $128,000 to the War Memorial and Gardens, , Malaysia; and

C $10,000 to the Be’er-Sheva Municipality, Israel, to help preserve the Australian Light Horse Memorial at the Park of the Australian Soldier, Be’er-Sheva, Israel.

InternationalInternational commitments Australia is a member of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) and shares its operating costs. Australia’s contribution of 6.05 per cent of costs is based on the number of Australian war dead commemorated, allowing for Australia’s maintenance of CWGC cemeteries and memorials in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Norfolk Island and the Solomon Islands. The OAWG also provides funds to the CWGC for the maintenance of Australian war graves from conflicts other than the world wars and the maintenance of certain official Australian memorials. Australia contributes to the maintenance of Australian graves at the United Nations Memorial Cemetery at Pusan in Korea. It provides some regular funding to the Fovant Badges Society, assists the Last Post Association in Belgium, and contributes to the upkeep of the Long Tan Cross in Vietnam. OAWG also funds the maintenance of Australian graves in South Africa and Malaysia, under an agreement with the CWGC.

Table 47 International commitments

2005–06 2006–07 2007–08

CWGC contribution 5 700 252 6 233 355 6 071 757

CWGC Battle Exploit Memorial Maintenance 221 348 689 898 518 865

UN Memorial Cemetery, Korea 16 414 9 426 7 370

Fovant Badges Society, UK 3 000 3 000 3 000

Last Post Association, Belgium 7 000 7 000 7 000

Long Tan Cross, Vietnam 4 100 300 300

Department of Veterans’ Affairs 126 Annual Report 2007–2008 Performance information for Output 3.2—War Graves

Table 48 Performance information for Output 3.2

Measure Portfolio Budget Statements Portfolio Additional Outcome 2007–08 Estimates Statements

Quantity (Number Maintain 75 war cemeteries, 299,080 war graves 305,378 war graves of graves and war 5 memorials to the and post-war and post-war cemeteries maintained, missing, 19,806 war graves commemorations commemorations number of projects) and 275,599 post-war commemorations in over 2,000 cemeteries and crematoria across Australia, Papua New Guinea, Norfolk Island and the Solomon Islands. Maintain 35 national DEPARTMENTAFFAIRSVETERANS’ OF memorials overseas. Display Three Outcome 4 Nominal Rolls. Undertake 6 commemorative projects overseas and 2 in Australia.

Price (This estimated $5.632 million $5.606 million $9.567 million figure does not include Commemorations administered expenses relating to maintenance in Australia or costs associated with the repair and maintenance of overseas memorials)

Quality (Maintain graves Maintain graves in No change No change in accordance with accordance with Commonwealth War Commonwealth War Graves Graves Commission Commission published published standards. standards. Performance Performance measured measured through veteran through veteran and and community feedback. community feedback)

Table 49 Number of commemorations completed

2005–06 2006–07 2007–08

Gardens of Remembrance 7 610 4 507 4 419

Crematoria 731 600 510

Grave memorials 789 690 613

Completed memorials total 9 130 5 797 5 542

No memorial required 289 283 272

Department of Veterans’ Affairs Annual Report 2007–2008 127 Table 50 Average cost per commemoration

2005–06 2006–07 2007–08

Standard grave cover with plaque $1 246.37 $1 351.81 $1 436.62

Lawn memorial with plaque $332.99 $343.36 $350.34

Cremation memorial $357.92 $377.31 $394.45

Garden of Remembrance $48.56 $48.56 $48.56

Measure: High level of community and veteran satisfaction The OAWG received 1488 letters, emails and telephone calls of appreciation from next of kin in relation to memorials completed.

Table 51 Contact from next of kin

2005–06 2006–07 2007–08

Letters 557 653 1 116

Telephone 218 218 372

Total 775 871 1 488

Average per week 15 17 28

Table 52 Information service activities

2005–06 2006–07 2007–08

Number of enquiries 5 362 4 012 9 005

Photographs supplied 312 315 614

Requests to use Service emblems 3 593 3 412 3 880

* Includes Nominal Roll enquiries from mid 2006–07

Department of Veterans’ Affairs 128 Annual Report 2007–2008 Table 53 Individual memorials maintained

2005–06 2006–07 2007–08

Post-war commemorations Civil/lawn cemetery 57 937 58 627 59 240

Crematoria 35 391 35 991 36 501

GRM 177 533 182 038 186 457

War Graves * Australia 11 934 11 937 11 941

PNG 7 806 7 806 7 806

Other 66 66 66

Memorials to the Missing Australia 1 033 1 033 1 033

Other 2 334 2 334 2 334 DEPARTMENTAFFAIRSVETERANS’ OF Total 294 034 299 832 305 378 Three Outcome

* The increase in War Graves is due to the recent deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan Commemorations

Department of Veterans’ Affairs Annual Report 2007–2008 129 Output 3.3 Gallipoli initiatives To coordinate and manage the delivery of commemorative and related activities at Gallipoli. The department is the lead Australian Government agency for Anzac Day commemorations at Gallipoli and related activities. It has direct responsibility for the planning and conduct of the commemorations, working cooperatively with other Australian Government agencies, New Zealand agencies and Turkish authorities, and through its contracted event provider.

Business activity Anzac Day commemorations More than 10,000 Australians, New Zealanders and Turkish nationals attended the 2008 Anzac Day commemorations at Gallipoli. The Australian Minister for Defence, Joel Fitzgibbon, and the New Zealand Minister for Foreign Affairs, Winston Peters, were their Government’s lead representatives. The senior Defence representatives were the Chiefs of Air Force of Australia and New Zealand. Turkish authorities again provided extensive support for the Anzac Day commemorations, in particular security measures and transport logistics. The overnight interpretive program, with documentary, interview and Defence Forces band segments, received very positive feedback for its educative and commemorative focus.

Road works The Australian Government, through the Australian Embassy in Turkey, provided plans for the completion of road and associated works in the Anzac Cove area. Turkish authorities requested additional information relating to historical perspectives and landscaping/vegetation which was provided in April 2008. All plans for national parks works, which is the case for the Gallipoli Peninsula Historical National Park, must be considered and approved by a number of agencies and committees. The plans submitted by the Embassy are under consideration. The Turkish authorities, however, again carried out essential temporary repairs in the lead up to the Anzac Day 2008 commemorations to ensure safe access to the Anzac Commemorative Site.

Performance information for Output 3.3—Gallipoli Projects

Table 54 Performance information for Output 3.3

Measure Portfolio Budget Portfolio Additional Outcome 2007–08 Statements Estimates Statements

Quantity (Coordinate Planning for the No change No change and manage conduct of annual the delivery of Anzac Day services and commemorative and management of related related activities at reviews and research Gallipoli)

Price $1.618 million $1.611 million $1.718 million

Quality (High level of High level of community No change No change community satisfaction) satisfaction

Department of Veterans’ Affairs 130 Annual Report 2007–2008