As the President of the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee, I am delighted and honoured to be able to invite you to our Annual Commemorative Event at Lemnos Square. The Service will take place on Saturday 12 August 2023 at 11am at the Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial, Lemnos Square, Foote Street, Albert Park.
We have had many services over the years since the official unveiling in 2015 (photograph above by Anthony Leong). Many dignitaries from here and abroad have visited our Memorial and paid their respects, including the current Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, General Konstantinos Floros. He was present when Councillor Bernadene Voss, the then Mayor of the City of Port Phillip announced the formal naming of the Reserve, on which our Memorial is located, "Lemnos Square".
You will recall that this bronze Memorial, of a nurse protecting a weary soldier, was sculpted by renowned artist Peter Corlett OAM (photograph above by Jim Claven). It recognizes the important role of the Greek island of Lemnos in Australia's ANZAC story and is dedicated to the Australian nurses and soldiers who served there during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915; to the 148 Australian soldiers who remain buried there; and to the local community who supported them.
Our 2023 Commemorative Service at Lemnos Square will include an address, a wreath-laying ceremony, the national anthems of Greece and Australia and the reciting of the Ode.
This is a public event. All are invited to attend. If you would like to lay a wreath, please contact leetarlamis@hotmail.com.
Copies of ‘Lemnos Gallipoli Revealed’ ($50) or ‘Grecian Adventure’ ($30) – both authored by our Secretary Jim Claven – will be available for purchase at the event.
These may also be purchased in place of a wreath and can then be gifted to a school or organization by the purchaser after the event to continue educating the wider community about the Hellenic connection to the Anzac story.
Yours sincerely
Lee Tarlamis OAM MP, President, Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee
