The Memorial Arch is a tribute to the World War One servicemen who built the Great Ocean Road.
The Memorial Arch here at Eastern View is the fourth to be constructed at this location. In 1939, the first Arch was built by The Great Ocean Road Trust near to the current site and was made mostly from wood. This spot was one of the original toll points of the Great Ocean Road, where people paid to use the road. The toll was two shillings for a motor car and 10 shillings for wagons with more than two horses. The tolls paid for road construction. The toll point was taken down once the construction costs were fully paid off.
The second Arch was constructed in 1973 when the road was widened. In 1983 the Ash Wednesday bushfires caused devastation from the start of the road all the way to Lorne destroying homes, bushland, buildings and also the second Arch. Shortly after the devastating fires, the third instalment was built. This time the Arch was constructed mostly of metal in an attempt to prevent it from being destroyed again by fire. Unfortunately, it was not an attractive design.
The third Arch was accidentally hit by a truck, destroying it. The fourth version was then installed and is still there today.
The sign that sits at the top, is the original sign on the first Arch.
The Arch is a small part of the 243km stretch of the Great Ocean Road which was built by three thousand retired Australian soldiers and sailors of the First World War (1914 to 1918) with picks and shovels. They survived a terrible World War in which 330,000 Australian volunteered to fight in Europe, Turkey and the Middle East, 60,000 were killed and 160,000 wounded. The highest casualty rate for Australians in any war. Finding employment for many of the returned servicemen was a crucial factor in their rehabilitation back to civilian life. Many had their pre-war jobs preserved and some took up soldier settler farms subsidised by the government.
The construction of the road took place between 1919 to 1932 and was dedicated to soldiers killed during World War I. The road is the world's largest war memorial.
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Virtual Rewards 2.0 - 2019/2020
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between June 4, 2019 and June 4, 2020. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 2.0 on the Geocaching Blog.
Source:
www.visitvictoria.com
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Ocean_Road
Ross J.Bastlaan Sculpture and Text 2007