Between the Boer War at the turn of the last century and the Korean War in the
1950's, 34,737 Australian servicemen and women were incarcerated in
Prisoner-of War (POW) camps. Many suffered inhumane and atrocious
treatment from their captors. to this day there is no Memorial in Australia
such as this dedicated to these Australians or any recognition of their pain
and suffering endured in the service of our nation.
The motto of these brave prisoners was "When you go home, tell them of us
and say that we gave our tomorrow for your today"
A memorial has been built in the Botanical Gardens in Ballarat.
The monument has been designed by well known sculptor Peter Blizzard
with the intention to provide ex-prisoners of war, their descendants, visitors
and future generations with a reflective experience where they can pay homage
to those who endured so much.
The POW monuments' design uses the basic idea of a journey through and an
experience of time and place. The start of the pathway is long and straight
heading off into the shape of railway sleepers, a reference to the Burma
Railway. Running parallel to the pathway is a polished black granite wall,
130m long etched with the names of all the Australian POW's. Standing in
a reflective pool are huge basalt obelisks up to 4.5m high will the names of
the POW camps. The columns are out of reach and across the water
symbolizing that all the POW camps were away from Australian shores. Further
on there is another wall with the words Lest we Forget engraved, allowing for
an area of contemplation and reflection after the "journey".
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