One year before its inauguration in 2016, the ’42nd Street’ Anzac memorial – financed by the Greek Australian community and the Municipality of Chania – is nearing completion.
The memorial marks the location of one of the final actions by Anzac forces during the last days of the battle for the island, and one of the few occasions when Australian and New Zealand troops fought side by side.
On 27 May 1941 hundreds of Kiwi soldiers and diggers counter-attacked advancing German forces near the village of Tsikalaria, buying precious time for the Allied retreat to the coast and evacuation.
The action – known as the charge at 42nd Street – became a legendary part of the Anzac story in Crete. With the site never having been marked, four years ago the family of an Australian soldier who fought at 42nd Street – Captain Reg Saunders of the 2/7th Battalion – began a campaign to erect a monument at the site.
Captain Saunders’ eldest daughter Glenda Humes established the Friends of 42nd Street – a charitable trust to manage and fundraise for the project.
This week Ms Humes paid tribute to Chania mayor Tassos Vamvoukas, telling Neos Kosmos that his support had ensured the memorial’s speedy progress.
“We’re very grateful. For the Municipality of Chania to give its financial backing to the project – at a time of immense economic difficulty in Greece – shows how committed they are to emphasising, in new ways, the deep bond that exists between Australia, New Zealand and the Cretan people,” said Ms Humes.
“We now need to push on and find the cash to help finish the job – to have a monument worthy of the duty and sacrifice that it depicts.”
While a bronze plaque was created last year as the centrepiece for the monument, it now looks unlikely it will be used, with the municipality citing concerns over security at the open site.
As Greece’s economic crisis worsened in recent years, a number of cases of monuments being stolen for their raw material value have occurred.
The 42nd Street bronze now takes pride of place in a special display at the Nautical Museum of Crete’s permanent Battle of Crete exhibition, and project organisers are looking at alternative options for the central display at the memorial.
Meanwhile, with its main concrete structure in place on the 170m2 site, the work remaining – estimated to cost $12,000 – includes landscaping, tree planting, the installation of an automated watering system and the construction of a footpath.
To date the project has cost some $30,000, with the Municipality of Chania contributing $14,000 and Greek Australian community associations and private donors covering the rest.
The project’s major donors include the Cretan Association of NSW, the Pancretan Association of Melbourne, the Greek Community of Melbourne, and the Andriotakis family of Sydney.