Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial annual commemorative event announced - All Welcome

 

The Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial unveiling, August 2015. Photo Anthony Leong

This year’s commemorative service at Albert Park’s Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial will be held on Saturday 8^th August. The service will commence at 11am. All are welcome to attend.

This is the 11^th annual commemorative service held by the Lemnos Gallipoli Commemorative Committee at the Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial since it was official unveiled in 2015.

The Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial nurse. Photo Jim Claven

The Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial was erected by the Committee in recognition of the service of Australian service personnel on Lemnos during the Gallipoli campaign and of the role of the Island and its people in the campaign. The Committee resolved to create the memorial as part of the Centenary of Anzac celebrations held in 2015. Following a major community fundraising effort, the Memorial was designed and created by renowned Australian commemorative sculptor Peter Corlett OAM, blending Hellenic and Anzac themes, combining the figures of an Australian nurse and weary digger on a sandstone plinth etched with the names of the villages on Lemnos visited by the Anzacs in 1915. A large crowd attended the unveiling, with representatives of government, diplomatic, service and community organizations as well as many individuals connected to Lemnos or to those who served there. The Memorial was gifted to the City of Port Phillip.

Many dignitaries have visited the Memorial since it was unveiled, including senior Hellenic military representatives, ambassadors, historians and archaeologists from Greece and many veterans’ families. Greece’s famous presidential guard – the Evzones – have also joined us for a special service at the Memorial during their visit to Australia.

The Evzones at the Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial. Photo Jim Claven

Following its unveiling, on the proposal of the Committee and with the support of the City of Port Phillip, the Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial site was official re-named Lemnos Square, giving the Memorial and its commemoration of the connection between Lemnos, Gallipoli and Port Phillip even greater significance.

The commemorative service will include official speeches, a wreath-laying/gift book laying ceremony, the national anthems of Greece and Australia and the reciting of the Ode. As with previous years, the service will include a wreath or book laying component. The Committee encourages those wishing to lay a wreath to consider purchasing one the Committee’s books – Jim Claven’s Lemnos & Gallipoli Revealed – and laying that instead. The book can then be gifted to a school, Library or other suitable organization of your choice to further spread awareness of the role of Lemnos in the Gallipoli campaign.

The Lemnos & Gallipoli Revealed book as a gift at the Lemnos Gallipoli Memorial service. Photo Jim Claven

Committee President Lee Tarlamis OAM MP encourages all with an interest in honouring this important Hellenic connection to Australia’s Anzac story to attend. “All are welcome to attend our community service”, he said.

Those wishing to take part by laying a wreath or a gifted book should contact Lee Tarlamis OAM MP via email – lee.tarlamis@hotmail.com.

Jim Claven OAM, LGCC Secretary

Applications Open – 2026 Victorian Premier’s Spirit of Anzac Prize

Ari Burnu Cemetery at Gallipoli, just north of Anzac Cove, where Australia's Hellenic Anzac Private Peter Rados of the 3rd Battalion AIF is buried. Photo Jim Claven.

The Victorian Government has announced that applications are now open for the 2026 intake for the Victorian Premier’s Spirit of Anzac Prize. Applications for the Prize are now open and close at 5 pm on Monday 11 May.

The Prize is open to Victorian students in years 9 to 12. Students from all backgrounds, from across the state, are encouraged to apply. To enter, students are asked to reflect on the Anzac values and how they model them in their lives.

To enter the Premier’s Spirit of Anzac Prize competition, students must respond to the submission questions in the online application form via the Grants Gateway platform and provide both a signed Prize 2026 Parent/carer declaration consent form and Prize 2026 School representative statement and declaration form.

Twelve students will be selected to visit historically significant Anzac sites and learn first-hand about the people, places and sacrifices of those who served in war. Participation in the tour provides a unique cultural opportunity to deepen student’s knowledge of Australia’s wartime and peace-keeping history (especially the contribution of Victorian service people), as well as to connect with veterans and the ex-service community. Through the Prize, recipients could take part in a fully funded overseas study tour in September to learn about the Anzac legend. It also aims to help build students build confidence, leadership skills and a deeper understanding of the world.

This year’s Prize offers young Victorians the opportunity to join a fully funded study tour to significant war heritage sites in Türkiye. Previous overseas tours have included visits to the Anzac sites at Gallipoli as well as to those on the Island of Lemnos. Historian Jim Claven OAM has previously provided an introductory presentation on Lemnos & Gallipoli to prize recipients and their families for that year’s tour of Lemnos. Given the current international situation, decisions regarding the timing and location of the tour will be made with the safety of students and teacher chaperones as the highest priority.

Recipients will participate in an overseas study tour during the September school holidays. The Department of Families, Fairness and Housing covers all costs associated with accommodation, transport, insurance, activities and meals. Financial assistance is available on request for students who need support for any additional related costs.

Teachers, Principals, Parents or Carers are encouraged to pass this opportunity on to eligible secondary students they may know and who may be interested.

Given the strong links between Greece and Australia’s Anzac tradition across both world wars, this writer hopes that eligible Victorian students of Hellenic background or with veteran connections to the Anzac campaigns in Greece across both world wars will consider making an application for this important and valuable prize.

For more information or to apply for the 2026 Premier’s Spirit of Anzac Prize, visit https://www.vic.gov.au/spirit-anzac-prize-student-competition.

2018 Prize recipients visiting the newly unveiled Australia Pier Memorial at Mudros, Lemnos. Photo The Premiers Spirit of Anzac Prize FB page.

Jim Claven, LGCC Secretary