Many times a week, I drive along Monash Way and have pondered on its name, so I decided to do a bit of research into its origins.
Monash Way is named after Sir John Monash, a famous Australian who was a scholar, soldier and engineer. Some interesting points about John Monash.
- John Monash was born in West Melbourne, Victoria in 1865.
- He is considered one of the war’s outstanding commanders in the First World War.
- In May 1918 he became commander of the Australian Corps, at the time the largest corps on the Western Front.
- The successful Allied attack at the Battle of Amiens on 8 August 1918, which expedited the end of the war, was planned by Monash.
- After the First World War, he returned to engineering and became Chairman of Victoria's new State Electricity Commission.
- Monash was a founding member of the Rotary Club of Melbourne, Australia's first Rotary Club.
- He became one of Australia's foremost experts in reinforced concrete for bridges, railways and other large construction projects.
- His face is on Australia's highest value currency note ($100).
- Monash Way, Monash Freeway, Monash University, the City of Monash, Monash Medical Centre, John Monash Science School and the South Australia town of Monash are named after him.
- He was one of the principal organisers of the annual observance of ANZAC Day, and oversaw the planning for Melbourne's monumental war memorial, the Shrine of Remembrance.
- He died in 1931 and he was given a state funeral, which was attended by as estimated 300,000 mourners, the nation's largest funeral crowd to that time.
PARKING NOTES
There is a small spot on the left to pull off and park just as you turn into Colleys Rd from Monash Way.