St John's Cathedral, Brisbane and the Anzac Legend

One of these is St Martin’s War Memorial Hospital, built between 1919 and 1922, adjacent to the Cathedral and dedicated to all those who had served and died in the First World War (1914-1918)—including the Anzac campaigns in Gallipoli, the Middle East and the Western Front. The Hospital was funded by public subscription. Returned servicemen who had fought in the war, their dependants and former war nurses were treated at the hospital free-of-charge. The hospital was closed in 1971 and partially demolished, but the front section of the building, renamed St Martin’s House, was preserved. It now contains the offices of the Anglican Church Southern Queensland and of St John’s Cathedral. The second stage of the Cathedral itself, built between 1964 and 1968, was also dedicated as a memorial to Australian service personnel, particularly Queenslanders, who had taken part in war, in this instance the Second World War (1939 -1945). A further way in which the Cathedral has honoured our armed services has been through the erection over time of a series of memorials within the Cathedral recording specific events in both World Wars, and in other battles and conflicts where Australians, including Queenslanders, have taken part.

Soldiers of the Australian 9/49th Battalion marching to St John’s Cathedral in 1935 prior to laying up their ‘colours’ (standards) in the Cathedral. The Battalion fought in numerous battles on the Western Front in France and Belgium during the First World War.

Australian War Memorial 044619

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