Gallipoli to Armistice Memorial
WALK WITH THE ANZACS
The Gallipoli to Armistice Trail in Maryborough on the Fraser Coast
Words and thoughts of the original Anzacs will guide visitors on a unique journey through The Great War in a memorial open in Maryborough, Queensland, on July 21,
Soaring 8m into the air is a steel representation of the cliffs of Gallipoli. Standing in front of them is a bronze statue of a Maryborough man, Lt Duncan Chapman, who became the first Anzac when he stepped ashore from a rowed boat near dawn on April 25, 1915.
Footsteps from the statue lead to a scale model of the bow of that boat, shaped from iron bark. It carried Lt Chapman and 26 others on to the beach of what would become known as Anzac Cove. Two other bows will nose in a little further back to form the trio of boats of the 9th Battalion that landed first at Gallipoli on a faraway Sunday.
The stylised cliffs form an arbour with panels telling the story of Gallipoli, much of it seen through the eyes of Queenslanders from Wide Bay. Inscribed pavers take visitors on to the Western Front and down a side path, past sculptures and whispering voices to an arbour dedicated to the pitiless battle of Pozieres.
The all-abilities Gallipoli to Armistice memorial is free to visit and appeals to all ages. Its path wends through pretty, peaceful Queen’s Park in stark contrast to the relentless shelling, mud, and bloody carnage of World War I.
A message of hope transcends the stories of lives sacrificed in abject horror. Old enemies became friends. The Anzac Cove stones in front of the Duncan Chapman statue and the sand in his footsteps were a gift from the Queensland Turkish Consul, Turgut Manli. He also donated the sculptured relief mask of Ataturk to the Gallipoli to Armistice memorial trail.
The Maryborough community project that started with a statue has created a rare chronological, multi-layered experience of the Great War.
Follow the footsteps, hear the words, feel the pride and courage of the original Anzacs who fought in the 1914-18 Great War, from the first step at Gallipoli to the brutal Western Front.
Timeline
Follow the series of events through the life of Lieutenant Duncan Chapman who became the first ANZAC to step ashore at Gallipoli in 1914.
May 15, 1888
Duncan Chapman, the first Anzac ashore at Gallipoli, was born in Maryborough as the second youngest of 12 children.
24 September, 1914 – Sailed for Egypt
He sailed for Egypt with the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) from Brisbane aboard the A5 transport Omrah on September 24, 1914. A covering force of 4000 was to land in three successive waves and provide covering fire for the main force that was to follow.
April 25, 1915 – Chapman becomes first ashore
Orders had been given for officers on all boats to be in the bow and to be first ashore. Duncan Chapman was in the bow of the boat that touched ashore ahead of others on the northern end of what would become known as Anzac Cove.
August 21, 1914 – Enlisted at Enoggera Barracks
Duncan enlisted at Enoggera Barracks on August 21, 1914 – 17 days after Britain declared war on Germany – and was commissioned in the Expeditionary Force on September 7, 1914.
24 April, 1915 – Troops move closer to the shore
On the night of April 24, ships carrying troops hovered five miles off the shore until the moon set about 3am, moving closer to the shore in the inky pre-dawn blackness. The first 1500 men clambered quietly into 36 small rowing boats and were towed across a glassy sea.
Gallery
