On Saturday, the 25th October 2014 at the Australian War Memorial a commemorative ceremony for Australia was held in the context of marking the Centenary of the Great War and Serbia in that war under the unique name “SERBIA IN THE GREAT WAR – AUSTRALIAN TESTIMONIES”.
The organizer of this event was the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Australia in cooperation with the Australian War Memorial, the Metropolitanate of Australia and New Zealand of the Serbian Orthodox church, the Youth Association SOYA and numerous individuals from the Serbian community in Australia.
The program was designed and implemented as an all-day event where a number of different contents about testimonies of Serbia’s involvement in the Great War and the relations that existed between Serbia and Australia in that period were presented to the audience.
The commemorative academy at the Australian War Memorial, fully implemented in English language, was attended by around 200 guests who were addressed by appropriate speeches from the Ambassador of Serbia in Australia, H.E. Mr. Miroljub Petrovic, Mr. Peter Hendy member of the Australian federal Parliament, who attended this event in the role of the representative of the Minister for Veterans Affairs and the Vice-President of the Parliamentary Friendship Group of the Australian War Memorial and His Grace the Right Reverend Bishop Irinej in front of the Metropolitanate of Australian and New Zealand of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
On Saturday, the 25th October 2014 at the Australian War Memorial a commemorative ceremony for Australia was held in the context of marking the Centenary of the Great War and Serbia in that war under the unique name “SERBIA IN THE GREAT WAR – AUSTRALIAN TESTIMONIES”.
The organizer of this event was the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Australia in cooperation with the Australian War Memorial, the Metropolitanate of Australia and New Zealand of the Serbian Orthodox church, the Youth Association SOYA and numerous individuals from the Serbian community in Australia.
The program was designed and implemented as an all-day event where a number of different contents about testimonies of Serbia’s involvement in the Great War and the relations that existed between Serbia and Australia in that period were presented to the audience.
A Pan-Orthodox Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at the Serbian Orthodox church “St. Sava” at Farrer in Canberra organized by the Metropolitanate of Australia and New Zealand of the Serbian Orthodox church and conducted by His Grace the Right Reverend Bishop Irinej with the co celebration of His Grace Bishop Iakovos from the Greek Orthodox church and the hierarchal deputy from the Russian Orthodox church, Protopresbyter-Stavrophor Protopopov and the priesthood from the Serbian, Greek and Russian Orthodox church, preceded the central event.
The commemorative academy at the Australian War Memorial, fully implemented in English language, was attended by around 200 guests who were addressed by appropriate speeches from the Ambassador of Serbia in Australia, H.E. Mr. Miroljub Petrovic, Mr. Peter Hendy member of the Australian federal Parliament, who attended this event in the role of the representative of the Minister for Veterans Affairs and the Vice-President of the Parliamentary Friendship Group of the Australian War Memorial and His Grace the Right Reverend Bishop Irinej in front of the Metropolitanate of Australian and New Zealand of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
The publication of the book “Serbia in the Great War 1914-1928” in English language by authors Mrs. Mira Radojevic and Mr. Ljubodrag Dimic, about which a historian Mr. Mladen Spasic from Melbourne inspiringly spoke, was presented during the commemorative academy.
Then followed the presentation of the publication – a special edition from the magazine “Transcultural Studies” which was for this occasion prepared and edited by Professor Dr. Slobodanka Vladiv-Glover from the Monash University in Melbourne. The special value of this publication is the fact that it is the first time that the manuscript of the famous Australian writer Stella Miles Franklin “Six months with the Serbs – Ne mari nista” is entirely published as well as her drama “By Far Kaymaktchalanа”. The manuscripts of these works from the inheritance of the famous writer were obtained by the kindness of the State Michell Library from Sydney and represent a valuable and authentic testimony about Serbs and the Serbian Army on the Salonika Front, thatwas acquired and recorded during her six months stay at the Ostrovo hospital, from Аugust 1917 till February 1918.
In the third segment of the commemorative academy Mrs. Mirjana Djukic, a librarian from Sydney, presented a life story of Olive Kelso King, the Australian woman who has spent more than two years at the Salonika Front in the ranks of the Serbian Army as a fearless ambulance driver, to after the war continue her humanitarian work in Serbia.
In the content of this part of the academy a mixed choir of the Serbian Choral Society “Kornelije Stankovic” from Melbourne under the conductor’s wand of Ms. Sanja Drljaca, sang the songs “Mars na Drinu”, “Tamo daleko” i “Oj Srbijo mila mati”, and in the follow up program in the Gallery of the Australian War Memorial one more song “Krece se ladja francuska”, and together with the Protodeacon Petar Mrakic a song “Srpska trobojnica”.
In the part of the Australian War Memorial Gallery premises, designated for the purpose of the commemorative ceremony, a display of the war medals and Serbian medals from the period of the Great War was exhibited from 10.00am till 4.30pm and for this occasion organized by Father Sasa Radojicic from Sydney. The decorations and medals are a part of a rich private collection of a few collectors from Sydney.
The uniform of the Serbian soldier from the Great War that has been restored and displayed again after more than 20 years of storage in the depot has attracted a special attention of the visitors in the display area. It is indeed the uniform from the private collection that the Government of Serbia has donated to the Australian War Memorial in the 1920s (not long after the Great War ended) and which was the part of the permanent exhibition at the most representative Australian institution in the field of nurturing military and war traditions from the 1941 until the beginning of the last decade of last century, so more than 50 years. Thanks to the understanding of the Australian War Memorial management, the uniform has been restored and again shown to the visitors, with the expectation of it finding its place again in the permanent exhibition dedicated to the Great War.
The medals that Olive Kelso King has received for the great humanitarian works and shown courage have also been presented to the visitors.
Amongst the guests of this unique event were the representatives from many Australian institutions – beside Mr. Peter Hendy, the Member of the Parliament, Commodore Peter Quinn, the representative of the Chief of the Defence Force of Australia, Mr. Peter Collas from the RSL, Mr. Kevin Maggee, Assistant Secretary at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and many more. The event was also attended by many members from the Canberra Diplomatic Corps as well as members from the Serbian community from Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide and Canberra.
The books and publications presented during the commemorative academy as well as the adequate material from the National Tourism Organisation of Serbia dedicated to the marking of the centenary of the Great War and the brochure about the event held on the 25th October were available to visitors.
(Photos from the commemorative event HERE)
