Eighth Division Memorial Avenue and Remembrance Wall

About

Eighth Division Memorial Avenue is a full avenue of Mugga Ironbark trees established in 1957 in memory of those fallen of the Eighth Division and supporting forces from 1939‐1945. As far as known, this Avenue is the only memorial of its type to the Eighth Division in Australia.The Avenue is lined with flowering gums and also features a two‐tiered concrete platform with a flagpole attached, with inscriptions on both the top and bottom, and a brass military badge at the top. A curved bricked memorial wall with individual name plaques accompanies the memorial and features the names of those members of the 8th Division who returned alive. It was their concept to construct this memorial avenue to the memory of their comrades who did not return.The memorial name plaques of those who did not return were originally placed at the base of the Mugga Ironbark trees. Due to exposure to the weather, the growth of the trees and build up of leaf litter, the state of the plaques had deteriorated to the extent they were no longer legible to interested visitors. Their location at the base of the trees also presented safety and access concerns for veterans and visitors wanting to pay their respect. In 2020, the Gunnedah RSL sub-Branch, in accordance with its charter to preserve local military history, had the memorial name plaques refurbished. In 2022, the plaques were relocated and placed on four stands, still within the Avenue, as advised by the War Graves Commission. These stands now give everyone the opportunity to pay their respects. A fifth stand also bears the words - 8th Division 2nd Australia Imperial Force.The 20,000 strong 8th Division 2AIF, was raised from volunteers in 1940. The intention was to deploy the Division to the Middle East. Due to the increased hostilities in the Pacific Area, the Division was divided into four separate forces which were deployed to different parts of the Asia-Pacific region, notably Malaya, Rabaul, Ambon and Timor. All of these formations were destroyed as fighting units by the end of February 1942. Most of the surviving members of the Division became Prisoners of War and when liberated in 1945, one third of the P.O.W’s had died in captivity.  Note of veterans' names:• The inscription for Joseph H Appleby is given on the memorial as Joseph H Applebee.• The inscription for Marjorie Schuman is given on the memorial as Marjorie Shuman.