Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2024L00408:front:0:p297
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have a memorial as a permanent marker... it eases the burden... that's what these memorials do...'  (Ian, Focus Group 2)

Anzac Parade as a key element in the iconic Land Axis

The Land Axis and vista is already nationally recognised and its values are well described in previous assessments discussed above.  In relation to Anzac Parade itself, Ken Taylor, writing in the Canberra Times notes,

    'the national significance of Anzac Parade, overlain with the Anzac legend and Australian history and nationhood, have added another layer of meaning to Griffin's axis...'  (Taylor 2011, p. 19)

The Director of the Australian War Memorial wrote about the significance of the Land Axis, and in particular Anzac Parade, in a submission to the parliamentary inquiry into the National Memorials Ordnance.  Commenting on the realisation of memorials on the Land Axis, he notes that it,

    'represents a symbolically strong sight line that can be read on several levels... on one level it represents the primacy of parliament in a democratic nation... and... represents a powerful reminder when democratically elected representatives of the people are considering the implications of committing young men and women of the Australian Defence Force overseas in the national interest...'  (Gower 2011)

He also notes that there is a risk of distracting from or diminishing this symbolism should new structures be placed on the axis.

Anzac Parade and its memorials as a focus for personal grief and grieving and remembering

Anzac Parade and more particularly the memorials are places for people to remember, to come together and to grieve.

It may be surprising to describe a memorial as a meeting place, but for those with Service connections, Canberra is the preferred place for many reunions.  Discussed at the first focus group, participants agreed that a typical reunion would involve people getting together at a local venue to socialise and then they would visit their particular memorial, probably followed by dinner together and then to the Australian War Memorial the next day.

    'The memorials are really meeting places and a focal point'  (Focus Group 1)

Creating a place where particular people or groups can be remembered has become one of the purposes of Anzac Parade.  Inglis writes about the creation of Anzac Parade as a 'sacred way', with the flanking memorials reminiscent of the sacred way joining 'Athens to Eleusis, flanked by sculptures commemorating heroes, gods and civic events' (Inglis 2005, pp. 402-403).  As Inglis notes, 'here were sites looking for monuments' and he describes how the establishment of virtually every memorial was advocated by those with direct connections to the events, people and organisations to be memorialised.

The importance of memorials in Australia is seen to be connected to the nature of