29 September 1987
A competition to design a National Memorial to the Australian Army, commemorating all facets of its long and proud history, has been won by a West Australian sculptor. Mrs Joan Walsh-Smith of Gidgegannup, Western Australia, in
association with Ken Maher and Partners Pty Ltd, is the winner of the competition.
11 November 1988 has been proposed as the most suitable date for the dedication of this memorial to those distinguished men and women who created the heritage of the Australian Army. It is particularly fitting that the unveiling is to take
place in our Bicentennial year.
The memorial will be erected in the niche on the western side of Anzac Parade, Canberra, closest to the Australian War memorial.
The area is being planned to cater for both major commemorative ceremonies and for quiet contemplation. The central theme and focus of the memorial will be two sculptured figures on a raised dais set against a semi-circular background of seven pillars representing seven major campaigns in which the Australian Army has been involved.
Ms Walsh-Smith, the winning sculptor, and her husband Charlie Smith work as a team. They arrived in Australia from Ireland in 1984 and are members of the Sculptor Society of Ireland, the Association of Artists in Ireland and the
National Association of Visual Arts in Australia. The competition for the design was conducted by the National Capital Development Commission on behalf of the Commonwealth Government. Ms Walsh-Smith and Ken Maher and Partners Pty Ltd will be commissioned to construct the memorial.
( NOTE: The Prime Minister is the Chairman of the Canberra National Memorials Committee.)