Anzac artwork a shining success
Explore Councils by state
17 April 2019
With less than two weeks until the Field of Light: Avenue of Honour fades into the night for the final time, Albany Mayor Dennis Wellington has reflected on what it represents and thanked all those involved in its success.
Opening in October last year, more than 154,000 attendees have experienced the 16,000 stemmed glass spheres glowing along the Avenue of Honour in homage to the lives lost in World War I to commemorate the end of the Anzac Centenary.
And that number is expected to continue to rise as people visit Albany this Easter long weekend and on Anzac Day to get a last glimpse of the lights before they go out on April 28.
“I don’t think it will be a surprise if we get close to 180,000,” he said. “That would be just incredible. Visitors have come from all over including Victoria, New South Wales, New Zealand and the United Kingdom to see this very fitting tribute at the place where the Anzac story really began.”
With large crowds expected to visit the Field of Light: Avenue of Honour over Easter, there will be a free public shuttle service from the Albany Boat Shed on Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday, departing every 15 minutes from 5pm to 10.30pm.
“When you stand in the Avenue of Honour and see all those lights glowing at night, the scale of the loss of life really hits home, it’s quite moving,” the Mayor said.
Albany was the first gathering point for Australian and New Zealand troopships heading for World War I, with the first Anzac convoy departing King George Sound in November 1914. For most of the 41,000 troops on those ships, Albany was their last sight of home.
The Mayor credited the success of the display to everyone involved in delivering the project.
“The volunteers that offered their time to help install and coordinate this exhibition are the unsung heroes of the Field of Light,” he said.
“I must also thank FORM for what has been a wonderful partnership with the City of Albany to realise this amazing project with artist Bruce Munro. It will be sad to see it go, but we feel extremely privileged to have hosted it and hope we can bring more projects like this here in future.”
The Field of Light: Avenue of Honour installation was made possible by funding from the Australian Government through the Building Better Regions Fund and the State Government through Tourism Western Australia, and Lotterywest with the support from Christine & Kerry Stokes AC.