Lemnos Square - Re-Naming Application Lodged

The Lemnos inscription on the Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial plinth. Photo Jim Claven 2015

On behalf of our Committee, myelf as Secretary and Lee Tarlamis as President have formally lodged the application to re-name Foote Street reservation as Lemnos Square with the City of Port Phillip.
It has always been one of the aims of our Committee that the location of the Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial should - where possible - be re-named Lemnos Square. This will both complement the Memorial and enable visitors to easily locate it on their maps or by GPS.
Our proposal is made on two main bases:

• Firstly, it is the location of the Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial that was unveiled on 8th August 2015 and was recently gifted by the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee to the care of the City of Port Phillip. The naming of the location as Lemnos Gardens or Lemnos Square will assist visitors and residents in locating the Memorial. A copy of two media reports on the Memorial are attached, as well as a poster containing images of the Memorial at the reservation.
• Secondly, the renaming of the reservation will also be another and appropriate recognition of the connection between Port Phillip and Lemnos, through both the Anzac story and as the arrival point for many of Victoria’s post-war migrants for Greece, including Lemnos.

The unveiling of our Memorial, August 2015. Photo Anthony Leong 2015

Port Phillip, Lemnos and Anzac
Port Philip has many enduring links not only with Australia’s Anzac legend but also with Lemnos and its role in the Gallipoli campaign.
They are linked by the soldiers from Port Phillip who served on the Island and those who remain buried there (such as Corporal George Knight of Albert Park, Driver Ralph Berryman of South Melbourne and Private Cyril Thomas Leishman of St Kilda). They are linked through Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Wilson, the Doctor from Albert Park and the Port Phillip nurse who served there (such as Staff Nurse Clarice Jessie Daley, of Elwood) and cared for the sick and wounded Anzacs, including those from Port Phillip (like Captain Harold Burke of St Kilda). And through the famous Anzac soldiers and nurses who were there too – like Corporal Albert Jacka VC, a future Mayor of St Kilda and Matron Grace Wilson, of the 3rd AGH and the future of Matron of the Alfred Hospital.
Our submission was supported by various documentation, including my short historical paper explaining some of the major aspects of the connection between Port Phillip, Lemnos and Anzac (entitled Lemnos and Port Phillip – The enduring link with Australia’s Anzac Legend). If you would like to read this document, please click here.

The unveiling of our Memorial, August 2015. Photo Anthony Leong 2015

The renaming of the reservation will also complement the decision by Port Phillip to support the erection of the Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial at this location and our Committee's recent gifting of the Memorial to the care of the City.
The Memorial will also be the location for a limited number of commemorative events through coming years. It's re-naming will also complement and support these respectful occasions.
It is for all these reasons that the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee proposes the renaming of the reservation at Foote Street as Lemnos Lemnos Square. It will give further recognition to this important historic and enduring link between Port Phillip, Lemnos and Anzac.

The nurse statue from our Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial. Photo Jim Claven 2015

The process of re-naming an area will require careful consideration - both at the local government level and by the relevant State Government authority.
We look forward to a favourable outcome and being able to celebrate the anniversary of the unveiling of our Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial with the naming of its location Lemnos Square by August 2016.

Jim Claven
Secretary
Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee