Lone Pine Memorial

The Lone Pine Memorial in Gallipoli in Turkey commemorates over 4,900 New Zealand and Australian soldiers who perished in the Anzac area and who have no known grave during the Gallipoli Campaign of World War I. The Lone Pine Memorial is within the Lone Pine Cemetery and stands before the front lines of one of the battle sites of the Gallipoli Campaign.

Lone Pine Memorial history

The Gallipoli Campaign involved troops from throughout the Commonwealth and from France. It was an eight month effort to open supply lines through the Dardanelles and the Black Sea through to Russia and to remove the Ottoman Empire from the war.

The Allies landed on the peninsula on 25-26 April 1915; the 29th Division at Cape Helles in the south and the Australian and New Zealand Corps north of Gaba Tepe on the west coast, an area soon known as Anzac.

On 6 August, further landings were made at Suvla, just north of Anzac, and the climax of the campaign came in early August when simultaneous assaults were launched on all three fronts.

Lone Pine was a strategically important plateau in the southern part of Anzac which was briefly in the hands of Australian forces following the landings on 25 April. It became a Turkish strong point from May to July, when it was known by them as ‘Kanli Sirt’ (Bloody Ridge).

The Australians pushed mines towards the plateau from the end of May to the beginning of August and on the afternoon of 6 August, after mine explosions and bombardment from land and sea, the position was stormed by the 1st Australian Brigade. By 10 August, the Turkish counter-attacks had failed and the position was consolidated. It was held by the 1st Australian Division until 12 September, and then by the 2nd, until the evacuation of the peninsula in December.

The Lone Pine Memorial stands in the area where the fighting was most intense and overlooks where the front line would have been in May 1915.

Lone Pine Memorial today

The Lone Pine Memorial is within the Lone Pine Cemetery and stands before the front lines of one of the battle sites of the Gallipoli Campaign.

Getting to Lone Pine Memorial

The Lone Pine Memorial is at the east end of Lone Pine Cemetery. The Anzac and Suvla cemeteries are first signposted from the left hand junction of the Eceabat – Bigali road. From this junction, travel into the main Anzac area. Take a right turn to Chunuk Bair and initially take the road to Kemalyeri. After around 10 kilometres, Lone Pine will be found on the left. Lone Pine Cemetery stand on the plateau at the top of Victoria Gully.