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The Kia ora coo-ee : the magazine for the ANZACS in the Middle East, 1918

The Anzac Memorial

The Anzac Memorial.

It may not be till the dawn of Peace, but those who died for Empire and are buried on the banks of the Canal or under the drifting sands of Sinai, will have a worthy Memorial. It was in November. 1916, that representatives of the Australian and New Zealand Forces then operating in Sinai met at Mazar, and decided that a monument should be erected. Members of the A.L.H. and N.Z.M.R. responded eagerly when asked to contribute one day's pay towards the cost of the Memorial, which, it was proposed, should take the form of an Anzac horseman in bronze, standing on a base of trachite, whereon would be panels inscribed with the names of the fallen. It was estimated that the cost of the Memorial would be £5,000, and agreed that designs should be asked for from Anzacs in the Field, as well as from Colonial artists abroad. The response to the appeal for funds to erect this monument was very encouraging, about £3,500 being collected in the Field. During the latter part of 1917, Brigadier-General J.R.Royston, C.M.G., D.S.O., left for London, where he consulted the well-known Australian Sculptor, Mr Bertran Mackennal, who gave him much expert advice on the proposed Mem-orial. In the meantime, designs have been received from the Field and elsewhere. The Suez Canal Coy. has offered, free of charge, a site for the Memorial, and arranged to pass any material required for it free of Canal dues. For a time, the question of erecting the Memorial had to be delayed owing to Field operations; but recently a meeting was held, when it was decided to print a pamphlet in reference to it, for circulation among the troops in the Field. The result of expert advice shows, that to erect a Memorial worthy of the glorious deeds it will commemorate, a sum of from £7,000 to £8,000 must be raised. It was therefore decided to make another appeal to men who had not yet subscribed to the Memorial fund, and also to accept contributions from relatives and friendsof deceased soldiers. Artists in Australia and New Zealand have been invited to submit designs for the proposed Memorial; and we feel sure that the appeal for further funds for such a noble cause will not fall upon deaf ears. After the war, thousands of people from the Dominions and other lands will visit Egypt and Palestine to view battlefields on which the Anzacs-wonlaurels; and they will see a monument that keeps green the memory of men who gave their lives freely in Freedom's cause, a tribute from those who were their comrades in arms.