Victorian Emergency Services Memorial

Melbourne, Australia

Photo © John Gollings

Photo © Rush Wright Associates

Photo © John Gollings

Photo © Rush Wright Associates

Photo © John Gollings

Photo © Rush Wright Asociates

Photo © Rush Wright Associates

Landscape Architects: Rush\Wright Associates

Location: 2-18 Spring St, East Melbourne Australia, 3002 Melbourne, Australia
Year: 2020
Client: Victorian Emergency Services and CFAVic (Country Fire Authority) and City of Melbourne
Stone supplier: Pyrenees Quarries
Landscaping: PTA Landscapes

Rush Wright Associates worked in collaboration with CFA, VicSES, City of Melbourne and PTA Landscapes on the Victorian Emergency Services Memorial.

The memorial is crafted from the need to combine the memorial designs for the six Emergency Services Organisations into the historically significant grounds of Treasury Gardens in Melbourne.

The brave men and women of our Victorian Emergency Services lay their lives on the line, daily, right around Victoria. Their service and sacrifice is continuous; their courage, bravery and duty of care to others equals their comrades in the armed forces and their exposure to risk never ceases.

For this reason, the design has evolved to become a ‘garden memorial’. This strategy differs from other memorials in Melbourne’s parklands, which are typically individual sculptures or objects placed into the larger parkland scene.

An emphasis on crafting a selection of Victorian stones juxtaposing rough and sawn edges to reveal hand sculpted cast bronze commemorative elements lends a tactile pathos to the Memorial and links to the tradition of stonework in Melbourne’s historic central parks.

The new memorial will become a place of sanctuary and reflection for members’ families, as they gather either individually or in groups to reflect on the service and sacrifice of their loved ones.