Operation ANZAC Revamp- Gallipoli
ANZAC CottageOperation ANZAC Revamp was a project that involved the revamping of several bus stops to reflect two of the conflicts that are associated with ANZAC Cottage: World War I and the Vietnam War. The project brought together servicemen from the New Zealand Defence Force and the Australian Defence Force working together as their forebears had in both of those conflicts as well as other wars. There were three elements identified that were common to both wars: sandbags, corrugated iron and timber and the design for the bus stops had to incorporate all of these materials.
The sandbags and timber formed the seat for the bus stops, with the sandbags actually comprised of cement filled hessian bags, with the hessian removed once the cement was set. This entailed a special mix of cement and a member of the New Zealand Defence Force who had worked on similar projects in New Zealand was brought over to Western Australia and was assisted by members of the 13 Field Squadron Australian Defence Force to construct this component of the revamp. The corrugated iron was incorporated as a 'ceiling' for the shelter roof part of the bus stop.
The mural was painted over several days at the local primary school. This enabled the students to interact with the artist both on his practice and on the actual content of the mural. On the 'back' of each of the bus stops, a number of panels containing 'slang' terms from each of the conflicts with the challenge for visitors to guess the meanings of the terms. Answers are listed on the ANZAC Cottage website. The Gallipoli bus stop is closest to ANZAC Cottage and reflects the origins of the Cottage that was built in 1916 on one day as a memorial to those who list their lives at the Gallipoli landing
Read more about this memorial at AnzacCottage.com.au
