National Police Memorial Australia
Encyclopedia
Australia
's National Police Memorial is in the national capital, Canberra, in King's Park on the northern shore of Lake Burley Griffin
adjacent to the National Carillon
on Aspen Island. It commemorates Australian police who have died on duty.
The surface of the touchstone wall is clad in cast bronze
panels with a slight textural feel and a dark patina. The surface of the cladding is smooth enough to allow the patina to have a gloss wax finish. The touchstones are also cast bronze but have a golden, almost polished patina, that will change over time with the degree to which each stone is touched. There are 1200 touchstones, which is meant to symbolise the ongoing danger for police on duty.
The 'terrain' tilts to direct visitors to the wall, with undulations that is intended to create "an uncertainty in experience and reflects the uncertain path that police tread in the performance of their duty."
The design also incorporates elements acknowledging Saint Michael, the patron saint
of policing.
Access roads have been constructed from King's Avenue, joining to the previous the lakeside road.
, the Federal Minister for Justice and Customs. 77 entries were submitted by its close on 29 April 2005.
The memorial cost A$2.4 million.
The winning entry was by Fairweather Proberts Architects (Brisbane).
, Prime Minister of Australia
, on 29 September 2006, National Police Remembrance Day.
The Master of Ceremonies was Ita Buttrose
.
More than 700 police from all states and the Australian Federal Police
were gathered for the official opening, the first time since the opening of Old Parliament House in 1927 that there had been such a mass gathering of Australian police in Canberra.
, aged 38, who died on 26 August 1803, after being bludgeoned to death when Sydney
was only 15 years old.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's National Police Memorial is in the national capital, Canberra, in King's Park on the northern shore of Lake Burley Griffin
Lake Burley Griffin
Lake Burley Griffin is an artificial lake in the centre of Canberra, the capital of Australia. It was completed in 1963 after the Molonglo River—which ran between the city centre and Parliamentary Triangle—was dammed...
adjacent to the National Carillon
National Carillon
The National Carillon, situated on Aspen Island in central Canberra, Australia is a large carillon managed and maintained by the National Capital Authority on behalf of the Commonwealth of Australia.- History :...
on Aspen Island. It commemorates Australian police who have died on duty.
Design
The two key elements of the design are:- a bronze commemorative wall with 'touchstone plaques' carrying the name and rank, date of death (day, month and year), and place of death, of policePoliceThe police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
officers who have died whilst on active duty; - a large stone paved area or 'terrain' across which visitors move to gain access to the wall.
The surface of the touchstone wall is clad in cast bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
panels with a slight textural feel and a dark patina. The surface of the cladding is smooth enough to allow the patina to have a gloss wax finish. The touchstones are also cast bronze but have a golden, almost polished patina, that will change over time with the degree to which each stone is touched. There are 1200 touchstones, which is meant to symbolise the ongoing danger for police on duty.
The 'terrain' tilts to direct visitors to the wall, with undulations that is intended to create "an uncertainty in experience and reflects the uncertain path that police tread in the performance of their duty."
The design also incorporates elements acknowledging Saint Michael, the patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of policing.
Access roads have been constructed from King's Avenue, joining to the previous the lakeside road.
Design Competition
A competition for the design was sponsored by the Australasian Police Ministers' Council (APMC), launched on 2 March 2005 by Senator Christopher EllisonChristopher Ellison
Christopher Michael Ellison is an English actor. He is best known for his role as DCI Frank Burnside in the popular ITV police series The Bill and short lived spin off series Burnside....
, the Federal Minister for Justice and Customs. 77 entries were submitted by its close on 29 April 2005.
The memorial cost A$2.4 million.
The winning entry was by Fairweather Proberts Architects (Brisbane).
National Police Memorial Project Dedication Team
The Australian Federal Police Recognition and Ceremonial Team were given the honour in managing the Dedication Project.Dedication of the NPM
The Memorial was officially dedicated by Hon. John HowardJohn Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
, Prime Minister of Australia
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
, on 29 September 2006, National Police Remembrance Day.
The Master of Ceremonies was Ita Buttrose
Ita Buttrose
Ita Clare Buttrose, AO, OBE is an Australian journalist and businesswoman. She was the founding editor of Cleo, a high-circulation magazine aimed at women aged 20 to 40 that was ground-breakingly frank about sexuality , and later as the editor of the more sedate Australian Women's Weekly...
.
More than 700 police from all states and the Australian Federal Police
Australian Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police is the federal police agency of the Commonwealth of Australia. Although the AFP was created by the amalgamation in 1979 of three Commonwealth law enforcement agencies, it traces its history from Commonwealth law enforcement agencies dating back to the federation of...
were gathered for the official opening, the first time since the opening of Old Parliament House in 1927 that there had been such a mass gathering of Australian police in Canberra.
Death of Constable Joseph Luker
The first policeman to die on duty was Constable Joseph LukerJoseph Luker
Joseph Luker was a Sydney foot police officer who was recorded as the first police officer to be killed on duty in Australia.Luker had been deported as a convict from Middlesex, England and disembarked at Jervis Bay from the Atlantis in 1791, as part of the Third Fleet after a voyage of 146 days...
, aged 38, who died on 26 August 1803, after being bludgeoned to death when Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
was only 15 years old.
Death of Sergeant Colin McKenzie
NSW Police Force members have suffered the largest losses of all Australian Police Forces, and to that end the last Australian Police Officer to die on duty before the official dedication was New South Wales Police Force Sergeant Colin McKenzie, aged 50, who died on 28 September 2006, the eve of the official opening, after falling ill at the Dedication rehearsal session at the National Police Memorial in Canberra. This 30 year veteran New South Wales Police Force policeman complained to colleagues of feeling ill, then collapsed and died. In memory of the late Sergeant, Sergeant McKenzie's cap was carried by a NSW Police Force Sergeant on a cushion, leading the NSW Police Force Contingent in the march from Old Parliament House to the NPM in Kings Park, Canberra in a moving tribute.See also
- List of Australian Federal Police killed in the line of duty
- National Police MemorialNational Police MemorialThe National Police Memorial is a memorial in central London, commemorating about 4000 police officers killed in the course of their duties in the United Kingdom. It was designed by Lord Foster of Thames Bank and Per Arnoldi and unveiled in 2005...
UK - National Law Enforcement Officers MemorialNational Law Enforcement Officers MemorialThe National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., at Judiciary Square, honors the nearly 19,000 U.S. law enforcement officers who have died in the line of duty throughout history. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund was established by former U.S...
(U.S.)
External links
- National Capital AuthorityNational Capital AuthorityThe National Capital Authority is a body of the Australian Government that was established to manage the Commonwealth's interest in the planning and development of Canberra as the capital city of Australia....
memorial site - winning design - Australian Federal Police memorial site and Memorial Honour Roll (PDF)