61st Battalion Queensland Cameron Highlanders Memorial Shelter
Stewart Place Memorial Reserve, Cnr Stewart and Waterworks Roads
Ashgrove QLD 4060
The memorial consists of the reclaimed former Stewart Place tram shelter, and houses the tributes, history and memories of the 61st Battalion Queensland Cameron Highlanders between 1938 and 1946. The Ashgrove RSL Sub-Branch, with financial support from various sources, renovated the shelter and included signage and 12 interpretive panels that tell the story of the service, sacrifice and triumph of this unit.
- Inscription
LEST WE FORGET
Refer to extra images for the interpretive panels.
- Conflicts commemorated
- Second World War, 1939–1945
- Unit memorials
- Memorial type
- Structure
- Commemorative services held
- The memorial was dedicated by a ceremony on Sunday 15 November 2009, and will be the site for the commemorative events of ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day.
- Additional information
In late 1938 Colonel John Grant MC VD of Ashgrove was appointed to raise and command the 61st Battalion Queensland Cameron Highlanders. A militia unit with its own kilted uniform and Pipes and Drums, it was well trained and highly regarded.
In 1942 the 61st Battalion played a leading role in the Battle of Milne Bay, New Guinea. When the fierce battle ended with the Japanese withdrawal it broke the 'spell of the seemingly invincible Japanese Army'. Having swept through South-East
Asia and into New Guinea, this was their first defeat on land in the Second World War. This significantly boosted morale for Allied forces in the Pacific and Asia. Milne Bay was the furthest south the Japanese Army reached in the Second World War.The memorial is complemented by three other memorials in the Stewart Place memorial precinct. The other memorials are:
Ashgrove War Memorial
Ashgrove Stewart Place Gallipoli Pine
Ashgrove Stewart Place Field Gun61st Battalion Queensland Cameron Highlanders Plaque - Shrine of Memories, ANZAC Square
- Recorded by
- Matt Smith, QLD War Memorial Register
- Date recorded
- 25 November 2009