The flags of Australia and the former South Vietnam will be flown together in Sunshine’s Wheelahan Gardens from next year under a new Vietnam War memorial plan approved by Brimbank council.
The memorial will pay tribute to the 521 Australians who lost their lives in the Vietnam War, Vietnamese people involved in the war and the Vietnamese community that now calls Australia home.
Steering committee member Vivienne Nguyen said the $200,000 commemorative display, with three distinct walls and five pedestals, would open by next year and add to the “cultural and historical richness” of the gardens.
“It will pay tribute to the Vietnam veterans who have had to endure the pain and suffering returning home and the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam,” she said. “With a large population of Vietnamese Australians … building a memorial in [Brimbank] makes sense.”
The memorial, which could also include paving and granite memorial stones, would complement the existing Avenue of Honour, which is a tribute to veterans from the Sunshine area who served in World War I.
The Australian flag and the yellow-and-red-striped South Vietnamese Co Vang flag will be flown annually at the new memorial on significant dates relating to the Vietnam War.
A steering committee, including Footscray and Sunshine RSL representatives, author and historian Bruce Davies and the Vietnam Veterans Association of Victoria, will guide the design of the memorial.
The memorial will be funded from community and business donations and the council is expected to maintain it once built.
