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Character Range: 907811–910828

their families.'  (Lake War Memorials Forum, www.lakewarmemorialsforum.org/23March.html, accessed 2011, archived at https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/tep/157452)

Neil James, Executive Director of the Australia Defence Association, comments on the vista and its symbolism,

    'First, there is the continuing importance of the vista from the new and old parliament houses down Federation Mall across the lake up Anzac Parade to the Australian War Memorial.  This is not just a scenic or town planning issue.  This vista is important in symbolic, moral, historical and indeed practical terms.  It serves as a perpetual reminder to all at Parliament House, and all who visit it, that generations of Australians have had to defend in war the liberties and general way of life that parliament represents.  Most of them ordinary Australians, not defence force personnel by profession, serving in our defence force temporarily and only for the duration of such wars.'  (Lake War Memorials forum, 'Neil James', www.lakewarmemorialsforum.org/23March.html, accessed 2011, archived at https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/tep/157452)

Turning to Anzac Parade he notes the,

    'two giant handles of a Maori Keti, or basket, on each of the corners with Constitution Avenue.  These frame, and begin, the national avenue of war memorials very well and form a triangle with the Australian War Memorial at the other end.  They imaginatively commemorate our deep and continuing military and strategic links with New Zealand and the sacrifices made, and probably again made in future, together.'  (Lake War Memorials forum, 'Neil James, www.lakewarmemorialsforum.org/23March.html, accessed 2011, archived at https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/tep/157452)

For focus group participants, commemoration in Anzac Parade is very much about the individuals who served, rather than about particular conflicts or services.  While several memorials, such as the Vietnam and Korea memorials, focus on particular conflicts, in another way the recognition offered by these memorials was designed to counter the lack of recognition felt by service personnel following their return from overseas service.  Both examples contain a strong sense of those who served – in the Korean memorial through the life-size figures and in the Vietnam memorial through the wall of words and the images.

    'the memorials give a sense of recognition – and anybody who has made a sacrifice (either by serving overseas or suffering loss of some sort)... comes back not with a need for recognition as an overt thing... but getting recognition makes an enormous difference to the loss they or their mates have made... especially if they have lost mates... they want their mates to get recognition... And second it gives meaning to those losses to 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