Wattle Grove and Dardanelles Memorial

Golden Wattle Park / Mirnu Wirra (Park 21W)

Women from the Soldiers' Mothers' Association assembled at Wattle Grove in the Adelaide parklands for an Anzac Day service, State Library of South Australia, SRG 168/1/58/46, circa 1927

State Library of South Australia, PRG 280/1/17/203, circa 1915

Walter Torode

Following its transfer from the South Parklands to Kintore Avenue the Dardanelles Memorial was rededicated on 11 November 2018 by Chaplain Carl Aiken and Rob Manton, Director of Veterans SA, State Library of South Australia, B 77250

This memorial is called the Dardanelles Memorial, and was dedicated on Wattle Day, 7 September 1915. Most memorials were not erected until after the war. A State Heritage Place, the memorial was also dedicated to 'Australasians', including New Zealanders, whereas most memorials were dedicated to Australians or local men.

The Wattle Grove, designed to showcase the Dardanelles Memorial, was situated on the eastern side of the park, where a few wattle trees still remain. The memorial originally stood within a timber pergola and was surrounded by hundreds of wattles. Trees and plantings were continually added to the grove until the end of the 1920s.

The Dardanelles Memorial was relocated to Lundie Gardens in 1940, due to the site being overgrown and the deterioration of the pergola. It was finally relocated to Kintore Avenue in the city as part of the ANZAC Centenary Walk.

The memorial was designed and built by Walter Torode, a local builder and member of the Wattle Day League. Built and erected by volunteers, and at no cost to the public, the memorial is a symbol of the great support South Australians had for those fighting at Gallipoli.

The Wattle Day League was a nationalistic body which supported compulsory military training. Torode is widely credited with the idea of tree planting in memory of soldiers throughout Australia.

Mirnu Wirra is the Kaurna name for this park, which means "Golden Wattle Grove". The Kaurna people are the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the Adelaide Plains.

City of Adelaide acknowledges the traditional Country of the Kaurna people of the Adelaide Plains and pays respect to Elders past and present. We recognise and respect their cultural heritage, beliefs and relationship with the land. We acknowledge that they are of continuing importance to the Kaurna people living today. We also extend that respect to other Aboriginal Language Groups and other First Nations.

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