Australian Corps Memorial Park, Le Hamel

Unveiled in 1998 on the 80th anniversary of the 1918 World War One battle of Le Hamel, the memorial is positioned on a hill overlooking the Somme Valley on the site of the battle that is located 3 hours north of Paris.

Designed as an inclusive circle, the memorial features three dramatic sweeping granite walls that enclose and define the heart of the memorial that features an ode by the then French President Clemenceau to Australia’s role in the campaign.

“When the Australians came to France, the French people expected a great deal of you... We knew that you would fight a real fight, but we did not know that from the very beginning you would astonish the whole continent... I shall go back tomorrow and say to my countrymen, I have seen the Australians, I have looked in their faces, I know that these men will fight alongside of us again until the cause for which we are all fighting is safe for us and for our children.”

Centred on the granite walls is a dramatically scaled Australian rising sun army badge that is the symbol of the ANZAC spirit. Interpretation of the battle on site includes the important role of the Australian commander Sir Major General John Monash who led the troops to victory and was knighted in the field by King George, the British King.   

The memorial is a site of pilgrimage and is visited by international travellers, organised battlefield tours and is a key part of the interpretation of World War One of 1914-1918.