The Australia–New Zealand Memorial in Canberra

Canberra

Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...

, Australia, commemorates the relationship between New Zealand and Australia

Australia-New Zealand relations

Relations between Australia and New Zealand, also sometimes referred to as Trans-Tasman relations due to the countries being on opposite sides of the Tasman Sea, are extremely close with both sharing British colonial heritage and being part of the Anglosphere...

, and stands at the corner of ANZAC Parade

ANZAC Parade, Canberra

This article is about the road in Canberra. For other uses, see Anzac Parade .ANZAC Parade, a significant road and thoroughfare in the Australian capital Canberra, is used for ceremonial occasions and is the site of many major military memorials.Named in honour of the Australian and New Zealand...

 and Constitution Avenue, the former bisecting the Parliamentary Triangle and the latter forming the base of the triangle that represents the form of government in Canberra

Canberra

Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...

, the national capital city of Australia.


Maori language

Maori language

Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...

: Mau tena kiwa o te kete. maku tenei

English language

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

: Each of us at a handle of the basket


The memorial was opened on the eve of Anzac Day

ANZAC Day

Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...

 (24 April) in 2001 by the prime ministers of both countries.

Design

The two kete or basket handles express the shared effort to achieve common goals in both peace and war, and to acknowledge the courage and sacrifice of service men and women who served shoulder-to-shoulder on foreign soil.

The paving patterns upon which the kete handles stand represent the weaving of a basket, and represent the interweaving of lands, peoples and cultures. Daisy Nadjungdanga from Arnhem Land

Arnhem Land

The Arnhem Land Region is one of the five regions of the Northern Territory of Australia. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around 500 km from the territory capital Darwin. The region has an area of 97,000 km² which also covers the area of Kakadu National...

 in the Northern Territory

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

 of Australia designed the paving under the western handle; Toi Te Rito Maihi and Allen Wihongi from Northland, New Zealand, designed the paving under the eastern handle. The surface of the paving is made with Canterbury

Canterbury, New Zealand

The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. Its main city, Christchurch, hosts the main office of the Christchurch City Council, the Canterbury Regional Council - called Environment Canterbury - and the University of Canterbury.-...

, Coromandel

Coromandel, New Zealand

Coromandel is the name of a town and harbour on the western side of the Coromandel Peninsula, which is on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand...

 and Golden Bay stone.

At the centre of the paving on each side is buried soil from Gallipoli

Gallipoli

The Gallipoli peninsula is located in Turkish Thrace , the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles straits to the east. Gallipoli derives its name from the Greek "Καλλίπολις" , meaning "Beautiful City"...

, the birth of the ANZAC tradition as soldiers fought together in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps

Australian and New Zealand Army Corps

The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps was a First World War army corps of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force that was formed in Egypt in 1915 and operated during the Battle of Gallipoli. General William Birdwood commanded the corps, which comprised troops from the First Australian Imperial...

 in 1915. A ceremony held on 26 February 2001 soil from Chunuk Bair

Battle of Chunuk Bair

The Battle of Chunuk Bair was a World War I battle fought between the Ottoman defenders and troops of New Zealand and Britain. Allied units that made the summit of Chunuk Bair early a.m...

 was buried in a rimu

Dacrydium cupressinum

Dacrydium cupressinum, commonly known as rimu, is a large evergreen coniferous tree endemic to the forests of New Zealand. It is a member of the southern conifer group, the podocarps. The former name "red pine" has fallen out of common use....

 box on the New Zealand side, while on the Australian side, soil from Lone Pine

Battle of Lone Pine

The Battle of Lone Pine was a battle between Australian and Turkish forces that took place during the Gallipoli campaign from 6–10 August 1915. It was part of a diversion to draw attention from the main assaults of 6 August against the Sari Bair peaks of Chunuk Bair and Hill 971, which became...

 was buried in a box made from Australian jarrah. Inscribed on the paving are the names of the campaigns where New Zealanders and Australians have fought together.

The memorial was designed by artist Kingsley Baird

Kingsley Baird

Kingsley Baird is a Wellington-based artist and designer whose commissions include the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at the National War Memorial of New Zealand and Te Korowai Rangimarie - Cloak of Peace - at Nagasaki Peace Park....

 and architects Studio of Pacific Architecture, both of Wellington, New Zealand.

Poem

A poem by Jenny Bornholdt

Jenny Bornholdt

Jennifer Mary Bornholdt is an award-winning New Zealand poet and anthologist.-Biography:Born in Lower Hutt, Bornholdt received a bachelor's degree in English Literature and a Diploma in Journalism...

is inscribed on a bronze 'boulder' under the arch on each side.


This sea we cross over
and over. Tides turning on
gold and sheep. On rain. On sand.
On earth the fallen lie
beneath. On geography. On
women standing. On peoples of
gardens and movement.
On trade and union.
This sea a bridge
of faith. This sea we are
contained and
moved by.