Memorials

Unveiled in September 1902, this memorial honours Western Australian soldiers killed in the Boer War 1899 – 1902. The foundation stone was laid by the Duke of Cornwall & York (later King George V) in July 1901. Six bronze panels on three sides of the memorial depict scenes where Australians fought.

By 1909 the statue showed signs of deterioration and a replacement was unveiled on 23 March 1915. The Krupp field gun was captured at Bothaville and presented to the State by the Imperial Government in 1906.

On 16 May 1901 Lieutenant F.W. Bell of the Western Australian Mounted Infantry was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery in action at Brakpan, Transvaal, South Africa. He was the first Western Australian to receive this medal, which is Britain’s highest award for bravery in the face of the enemy.

Unveiled 13 April 1921, it honours soldiers of the 10th Light Horse Regiment who died in World War I. The Regiment is one of the country’s oldest and best known. It can trace its origins to 7 June 1900 when the unit was raised as the Western Australian Mounted Infantry. The Regiment served dismounted at Gallipoli and after evacuation, fought as mounted infantry in Sinai, Palestine, Jordan and Syria.

The Victoria Cross was awarded to 2nd Lieutenant H. Throssell for bravery at Kaiakij Aghala (Hill 60) Gallipoli, Turkey on 29/30 August 1915.

Presented in 1982 by the Commander in Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet, Admiral James D Watkins, to the people of Perth in appreciation of the kindness shown to visiting US servicemen during World War II. Men of the USS Proteus made both bronze plaques in the ship’s foundry.

Dedicated by the Very Reverend Monsignor C.W. Cunningham on 29 March 1981, it honours the men of this unit who fought in Syria, New Guinea and Borneo during World War II.

The memorial was moved to a new site and re-dedicated on 29 November 2000 by Chaplain Major Keith Wheeler.

The 16th Battalion plaque honour its soldiers who fought in World War I. Unveiled on 14 September 2003.

The plaque is adjacent to the 2/16 Battalion Memorial and commemorates all units who served on the Kokoda Track, Papua New Guinea in World War II. It was unveiled on 29 November 2000.

The bas-relief was sculpted by Ross J Bastiaan.

Situated on the slopes of Mount Eliza, the memorial was opened by the Governor, Lieutenant General John Sanderson and dedicated by Chaplain Major Keith Wheeler on 22 April 2001. Seven plaques along the memorial track give the history of this campaign from July to November 1942 on the Kokoda Track, which crosses the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea.

Commemorates those Western Australians of these units who died in both World Wars.

On 13 September 1861 the Metropolitan Rifle Volunteers was raised in Perth. This unit, a direct ancestor of the 11th Infantry Battalion (The City of Perth Regiment), became the 11th Battalion of the Australian Imperial Forces in Western Australia on the outbreak of war in 1914. They were the first troops to land on Gallipoli at Fisherman’s Hut, one mile north of Ari Burnu.

At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the 2/11 Battalion was the first infantry unit to be raised in Western Australia. On 14 August 1966 this memorial was unveiled by the Premier, Sir David Brand and dedicated by Reverend Captain Charles Gostelow.

Perpetuating the memory of the officers and men who lost their lives when the ships, HMAS Perth and USS Houston, were sunk in the Sunda Strait off Java on 1 March 1942 during World War II. Mrs Nancy Waller, wife of the ship’s captain dedicated the plaque commemorating the men of HMAS Perth on 23 March 1966. A second plaque was dedicated on 27 January 1992 by survivors of HMAS Perth for the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Sunda Strait, in memory of the ship’s company of USS Houston.

Erected to honour soldiers of the Jewish faith who died in World War I. The foundation stone was laid by Lieutenant General Sir John Monash on 19 December 1919 and the memorial dedicated by the Governor, Sir Francis Newdegate on 13 June 1920. A plaque was added to the memorial to commemorate those who lost their lives in World War II and was unveiled on 19 April 1953.

Commemorates the loss and suffering due to the Bali terrorist attacks, which occurred on 12 October 2002. The “Sunrise axis” is aligned so that a ray of light enters the memorial at sunrise on 12 October each year. In addition to the engraved plaque, a grove of sixteen grass trees was planted in memory of each Western Australian who died. The memorial was officially dedicated by the Governor, Lieutenant General John Sanderson on the first anniversary of the tragedy.

Carved from marble by sculptor Francis John Williamson of Esher, England, the statue was unveiled on 17 October 1903. It is mounted on Aberdeen granite and raised to a greater height on a Meckering granite base. The bronze bas-reliefs on two sides of the Aberdeen granite show the heads of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra. Mr Allen H.P. Stoneham of London presented this statue to the people of Western Australia in 1902.

Erected as a memorial to George Leake, former Premier of Western Australia, it was unveiled on 27 July 1904. Four sided, it consists of coloured marble columns and is capped by a solid marble dome. Two marble bowls with taps are fixed against deeply etched marble arches. The memorial was designed by W.R. Linton.

A spring water fountain built in 1861, it is situated below Mount Eliza next to the Mounts Bay Gardens. The original geometrical decorative cast iron balustrade and timber posts have been replaced with a Toodyay Stone wall. An inscription on the front of the old limestone of the fountain reads, “1861 AEK” over a carving of a swan. The plaque on the back of the fountain is inscribed, “Perth’s first public water supply fountain erected by Gov’r A E Kennedy 1861”.

Unveiled on 28 August 1927. Mount Eliza was first gazetted in 1872 as a reserve of 175ha and on 15 September 1890, John Forrest as Surveyor General, gazetted additional land to the original reserve bringing the area to 400.8ha. He became the first Premier of Western Australia on 29 December 1890 and on 24 January 1896 became the first President of the Board appointed to manage Perth Park. In 1901 the name was changed to Kings Park marking the accession to the throne of King Edward VII during a visit to Perth by his son, the Duke of Cornwall and York (later King George V). Forrest served as President of the Kings Park Board until his death in 1918. An inscription at the base of this statue gives a list of his achievements. Sir Bertram MacKennal was the sculptor.

Designed by Phillipa O’Brien and opened on 5 June 1997, World Environment Day. The two curved seats situated on opposite sides of the Banksia Garden are constructed from banksia wood and the black painted wrought iron backs are designed as serrated Banksia grandis leaves. Each seat stands on a paved platform set with different coloured marble depicting some of the banksias and the birds that feed on them. Gordon McDowell hand cut the marble.

Opened on 14 January 1968 by Lady Kendrew, wife of the Governor of Western Australia, Major General Sir Douglas Kendrew. The bronze statue of mother and child in her arms stands on two stepping stones in a pond surrounded by fountains. Sculptured by Margaret Priest, this is the centrepiece of a water garden designed by architect Geoffrey Summerhayes. In 1999, the garden was refurbished to include a Water Garden Pavilion designed by students from West Coast College of TAFE, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the achievement of the right to vote by non-Aboriginal women of Western Australia (Aboriginal women gained voting rights in 1962). Sculpture students from the Central Metropolitan College of TAFE prepared bronze works for the precinct. The refurbished area was opened on 21 November 1999.

The plaque on this pink granite rock marks the official opening of the Botanic Garden by the Premier, Sir David Brand in 1965.

A limestone wall featuring a sculpted bas-relief mural depicting women in various stages from infancy to maturity. The mural symbolises the part women have played in developing Western Australia from colonial times to the present day. The Governor, Air Chief Marshall Sir Wallace Kyle unveiled this mural on 28 January 1979 to celebrate 150 years since the foundation of Western Australia. Athanasios Kalamaras was the sculptor.

Opened in September 1998. These steps feature six wattle species in mosaic pattern picked out in granite and marble. Seed pods of each flower are depicted on the steps. Designed and built by artist Stuart Green.

Situated within the Botanic Garden, the seat was presented to Kings Park by the Drummond family on 7 April 1968 to commemorate their ancestor, James Drummond, who was the first Government Botanist. In 1829 he travelled to the Swan River Colony with Captain James Stirling aboard the ‘Parmelia’. His six major botanic collections of over 48,000 specimens became a foundation of botanical studies in Western Australia.

Unveiled on 4 November 1956, the memorial honours John Septimus Roe, Western Australia’s first Surveyor General, who arrived from England in 1829 with his family on the sailing ship, ‘Parmelia’, to help found the Swan River Colony. The central hexagonal granite memorial supports a bronze plaque illustrating his original 1838 plan of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. He noted on 31 December 1831 that Mount Eliza should be reserved for public purposes. On the front of the memorial there is a bronze bas-relief portrait of Roe, sculpted by Margaret Priest.

Originally built of sandstone and similar in design to the Australian memorial which once stood at the Tobruk War Cemetery in Libya, it was first dedicated on 4 December 1966. A replacement for this memorial, built of red granite, was re-dedicated on 14 April 1985.

A field gun, as used in the siege, stands alongside. A fig tree growing nearby represents a famous landmark at Tobruk. The T-shape black and yellow colour patch of the Rats of Tobruk is set into the concrete in front of the memorial as are the tablets, originally placed in the Court of Contemplation which read, “Let Silent Contemplation Be Your Offering”.

In 2002 six brass plaques listing units involved in the eight month siege of Tobruk, were placed on pillars at the front of the memorial. The architect for the upgrade was Michael Broadhurst.

A memorial honouring Australian servicemen and women who fought in the Korean War was unveiled in Kings Park to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the armistice.

The Korean War Memorial Committee fundraised the central monument which features a 10-tonne stone centrepiece donated from South Korea by the Gapyeong County in Gyeonggi Province.

The natural feature comes from the Battle of Kapyong site, a battle which saw the courageous efforts of the significantly outnumbered 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment prevent opposition forces from recapturing Seoul.

The memorial includes the names of all 1916 Western Australians who fought in the Korean War and an honour roll of the 34 West Australian who lost their lives.

Originally named the 2nd Independent Company. This tree-lined grassed area in Lovekin Drive, was dedicated by Archbishop Moline on 5 December 1948 and honours fifty two soldiers of the Squadron who lost their lives in World War II.

In 1973 a memorial cairn of rough-cut granite, incorporating a bronze plaque detailing the Squadron Roll of Honour, was erected. Two wooden hanging plaques at either end of the lawns indicate the Squadron saw action in Timor, New Britain and New Guinea.

Situated in the roundabout at the entrance to Kings Park and Botanic Garden. The tower was unveiled on 9 June 1934. Edith Cowan was the first woman elected to Parliament in Australia winning a seat in Western Australia in 1921 on the platform of equal citizenship for women.