Preserving our Anzac legacy abroad for future generations
Overseas memorials honour the service and sacrifice of Australian military personnel in wars, conflicts, and peace operations across the globe.
The importance of preserving and restoring these physical embodiments of pivotal events in Australian military history abroad cannot be overstated. The memorials ensure the service of Australians in the defence of our nation is remembered and honoured overseas.
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs assists individuals, ex-service organisations and other associations, in restoring and preserving existing overseas memorials.
Each financial year, up to $200,000 in funding is allocated to protect these testimonials to Australian service personnel.
One such funding recipient is the Last Post Association, responsible for the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate Memorial in Belgium. The Department is providing funding for the next three years to support the cost of this ceremony through funding to the Last Post Association.
For almost one hundred years, the sounds of the Last Post have echoed through the arches of the Menin Gate Memorial since it was first played by buglers of the British Army’s 2nd Battalion, Somerset Light Infantry on 24 July 1927.
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers passed through the historic gate on their way to the battlefields of the First World War. For many Commonwealth soldiers, including some 6,000 Australians, it would tragically be their last crossing.
The Last Post commemorates the casualties from the forces of Australia, Canada, India, South Africa and the United Kingdom who made the ultimate sacrifice in the area known as the Ypres Salient, their names listed in perpetuity on the Menin Gate Memorial.
Other commemorative sites of significance restored and preserved by grant recipients include the Bougainville (Sohano Island) Memorial in Papua New Guinea, the Australian Commonwealth Military Forces Badge at Fovant in the United Kingdom, and the Australian Light Horse Monument in Be'er-Sheva, Israel.
This program ensures that the service by Australian men and women is remembered into the future.
Funding for Overseas Privately Constructed Memorials 2023-24
| Recipient | Funding description | Amount $ |
| Last Post Association | Contribution to the costs of playing the Last Post daily at the Menin Gate Memorial, Belgium. | $60,000 over 3 years |
| Dr David Tierney | Restorative work and replacing two stolen plaques at the Bougainville (Sohano Island) Memorial, PNG. | $2,332.88 |
| Fovant Badges Society | Restoration and preservation of the ACMF badge at Fovant Downs, UK. | $30,000 over 3 years |
| Be’er Sheva Foundation | Restoration and preservation of the Australian Light Horse Monument in the Park of the Australian Soldier, Be’er Sheva, Israel. | $30,000 over 3 years |
| TOTAL | $122,332.88 | |