Interpretive & Wayfinding

Battle of
Lone Pine Victoria Cross
The Plan..... On the 25th April 1915, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
(ANZAC) landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula, as part of a larger campaign to force Turkey out of
the war. This attack, while initially successful, was quickly halted by Turkish troops a few days
after the original landing occurred and soon both sides were resigned to stalemate. Unable to
move forward, both sides dug trenches and neither advanced nor retreated for five months.
Unable to sustain inactivity and a defensive war indefinitely, the ANZAC troops became part of
a larger plan to break out from the entrenched areas centred on Anzac Cove.
This breakout was to take place in August 1915. The plan aimed to seize the higher ground on
the left flank, leading to Chunuk Bair, the highest point of the Sari Bair Range. As a feint to
distract the Turks from the main objective, an attack was planned, using Australian battalions,
against Turkish trenches at Lone Pine in the southern sector of the ANZAC perimeter.
Should the main August Offensive have been successful, the Australians fighting at Lone Pine
would have pushed on through the Turkish defences and continued further inland towards the
Dardanelles, thus securing vital ground overlooking the Dardanelles.
The ANZAC soldiers fought against overwhelming odds to capture and hold the Turkish
trenches at Lone Pine. While the overall August Offensive failed to reach its objectives, the
victory at the Battle of Lone Pine remains as one of the Australian Military’s finest examples of
courage and perseverance in the face of a determined enemy.
The Victoria Cross is
awarded for “extreme
bravery in the face of the
enemy”. This is the highest
recognition possible for
acts of bravery within the
military and can be
awarded to personnel of
any rank or station.
Further along this
pathway are boards telling
of the lives and
courageous actions of the
seven Victoria Cross
recipients from the Battle
of Lone Pine.
Present Day Australian Lone Pine War Memorial, Gallipoli
It is situated where “ No Mans Land” once stood during the
Battle of Lone Pine, 1915
"Lone Pine Battlefield" by Steven Johnson Photography www.stevenjohnsonphoto.com
No known Copyright restrictions. Source of images: Australian War Memorial Collection
Tuncurry Park
Anzac Memorial
A series of interpretive signs were produced in collaboration
with Tuncurry Senior Campus to coincide with the 100 year
Anzac Anniversary. The panels depict servicemen who were
awarded the Victoria Cross after the battle of Lone Pine.
Students & teachers from the Tuncurry Senior Campus along
with members of the Tuncurry RSL were involved in the
design of these memorial panels.
Soldiers making bombs
out of jam tins filled with
schrapnel and fused
gun-cotton.
Battle of
Lone Pine
The Battle..... The initial attack was made by the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Battalions of the 1st
Brigade with the 1st Battalion held in reserve. At 5pm, after an hour long artillery bombardment,
the men leapt from their positions and rushed the Turkish lines. When they reached the enemy
trenches they found them to be covered by log “roofs”. Some men tore up the roofing and plunged
into the trenches below. Others stormed to the rear of the Turkish trenches and forced themselves
into the tunnel complex.
What followed, and continued for four vicious days, was some of the fiercest hand to hand fighting
ever experienced by Australian soldiers. In the narrow confines of the trenches men fought with
rifles, bayonets and even their bare hands as they struggled to overcome their brave and
determined enemy. Turkish grenades rained down on the Australian troops. Many of these were
caught and thrown back as the battle raged. The Australians retaliated with bombs made from
metal scraps, an explosive charge and fuse all encased in empty jam tins. More battalions of the
1st Division were led into the battle to relieve exhausted soldiers as the Turks desperately fought to
retake their trenches.
After four days the ceaseless fighting of the Battle of Lone Pine came to an end. The Australian
troops had captured and held the Turkish positions, but the cost was high. Australia suffered losses
of 2277 killed or wounded while Turkish casualties are estimated to be over 5000.
It was from actions such as the Battle of Lone Pine that the ANZAC spirit was born.
Diarama of the atack on the Turkish trenches at Lone Pine. (AWM)
No known Copyright restrictions. Source of images: Australian War Memorial Collection
Pinus Halepensis as
found on the Gallipoli
Peninsula