Lemnos, situated in Greater Shepparton, is known to have been named after a Greek island in the Aegean Sea which formed a staging area for allied troops during the World War One Gallipoli campaign, and a point to which Australian soldiers were evacuated during this time.
To commemorate this, a Notice of Motion was carried at the August 2023 Council Meeting to investigate the costs associated with designing and erecting a memorial structure in Lemnos. The Notice of Motion also sought to engage with the local Lemnos community to assist with the establishment of a community group that can advocate for the interests and aspirations of the locality.
Following the Notice of Motion, a report was presented to the October Council Meeting which outlined the work undertaken to investigate different options for the memorial structure to honour the 130 nurses who served at the hospitals on the island of Lemnos, in addition to initial engagement with community and consultation with historians.
Mayor, Cr Shane Sali, said the report presented to the October Council Meeting was the next step in the process to see whether this commemorative structure was supported by the Greater Shepparton community.
“Further work will now be undertaken to explore the historical links between Lemnos in Greater Shepparton and the Greek Island, and to understand the community’s feedback on a commemorative structure like this,” he said.
“Council will also look to identify any opportunities around possible funding sources, with a report expected to come back to Council early next year with the findings.”
Cr Dinny Adem, who presented the initial Notice of Motion to Council, said he was pleased to see this idea further investigated.
“The Notice of Motion was initially presented to address the possibility of a memorial structure for Lemnos and what this could look like,” he said.
“The initial work undertaken has been an education and quite revealing about the name and its historically significant links to the ANZACS and the Gallipoli campaign. Further work will assist in understanding the possible scope of the structure by engaging with Lemnos locals to consider their thoughts and ideas towards this project.”
