St John's Cathedral, Brisbane and the Anzac Legend

This historic flag and national treasure had hung in the Cathedral for many years. Legend had it that it was used during the Gallipoli campaign but all records relating to the flag—when it was presented, who presented it and its history at Gallipoli—had been lost by the Cathedral over time. However, in 2017, a chance discovery of a newspaper article dating from 1929, and subsequent research, revealed that the flag was used by an Anzac chaplain—Captain the Reverend Alexander Maxwell, a Queenslander— throughout the Gallipoli campaign. Importantly, Maxwell carried the flag through Anzac Cove, under enemy fire, on the very last day of the evacuation of the Australians and New Zealanders, and he presented the flag to St John’s Cathedral on Anzac Day 1929. The fact that the flag is the last known to be displayed by an Australian or New Zealander at Gallipoli is of considerable historical and sentimental interest.

Australian naval ratings march outside St John’s Cathedral during the Second World War. The former St Martin’s Hospital, dedicated as a memorial to those killed in the First World War, can be seen in the background.

State Library of Queensland

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