Premier unveils plan to upgrade the State's war memorials

11/11/03
The refurbishment and restoration of dilapidated war memorials across Western Australia is the centrepiece of a range of initiatives announced today by Premier Geoff Gallop.
Unveiling the package during Remembrance Day commemorations, Dr Gallop said the program was aimed at building community pride in the State's military heritage.
"Australians have been involved in a long list of military campaigns for over a century, from the Boer War to Iraq, and have been peacekeepers in the field with the United Nations continuously for more than 50 years," the Premier said.
"It is the men and women who have died and suffered during the course of these campaigns that we remember today.
"It is in honour of these citizens that the State Government's Anzac Day Working Group was asked to develop appropriate programs and initiatives."
The package of State Government initiatives announced today include:

• $250,000 to upgrade war memorials and honour rolls;
• an Adopt-a-Memorial schools program;
• a Western Australian War Memorial Register; and
• a new Anzac website.

The $250,000 will be allocated towards the refurbishment of war memorials during the State's 175th anniversary year, 2004. The money will be spent on memorials and honour rolls in most need of restoration.
"In suburbs and towns across Western Australia, there are memorials and honour boards that are up to 100 years old," Dr Gallop said.
"Saving these memorials will be a major theme in our State's 175th year."
The Adopt-a-Memorial program encourages schools, cadet groups and other community groups to 'adopt' a memorial by committing to its general care, organising relevant activities and researching the lives of those listed on the memorial.
Schools will be able to compete for an annual prize based upon the work they do around their local memorial.
"This will help ensure a new generation of Western Australians remember the sacrifice of others," Dr Gallop said.
The register will supply the Government with the information necessary to ensure that a vital link to our past is not lost.
The Premier said no memorial was too small to be counted as each represented the sacrifice made by our citizens when called upon to serve.
An Anzac website, which will contain information and resources for all Western Australians about Remembrance Day, Anzac Day, commemorations, traditions and other resources, was also launched today by Dr Gallop.
The website will, in time, feature a comprehensive record of WA's War Memorials.
The Anzac website address is: http://www.anzac.dpc.wa.gov.au
Premier's office: 9222 9475