A campaign was launched to rename the Toowong Cycle and Pedestrian Overpass to “Canon Garland and Anzac Memorial Cycle and Pedestrian Overpass”
The $5.4 million Toowong Cycle and Pedestrian Overpass was constructed between 2008-2009. The overpass links the Anzac Park and the adjacent Brisbane Botanic Gardens with the Western Freeway Bikeway. The overpass provides a safe way for cyclists and pedestrians to cross the freeway and access the facilities in the adjoining areas including Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens, Anzac Park, and Toowong State School.
The overpass features a 60 metre-long freeway-crossing, 160 metres of elevated structure, and fully enclosed screen protecting pedestrians from objects falling onto the roadway. Extensive additional pathways and ramp construction works by the Brisbane City Council along Mt Coot-tha Road are currently underway. This means that the overpass will extend eastwards and northwards into the Toowong Cemetery.
“Renaming this overpass would be a fitting gesture to mark the Centenary of the Signing of the Armistice which ended the Great War (1914-1918) and acknowledge the exceptional national, cultural and historical significance of the surrounding spaces and honour the memory of the ‘Architect of Anzac Day’, ” the petition said.
Canon Garland Memorial Society Inc./YouTube
The petition addressed to The Honourable the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland earned the support of Canon Garland Memorial Society Incorporated.
Anglican chaplain Canon Garland, a chaplain at the Enoggera Army Barracks during World War I, is recognized as the “Architect of Anzac Day’. Garland, serving as secretary of the ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee of Queensland, created the format by which to honour and remember the fallen at the landing at Gallipoli. On 25 April 1916, the first ANZAC Day was commemorated through a wide variety of services and ceremonies in Australia, London, and the Australian camp in Egypt.
The year 2018 happens to be the centenary year of the Signing of the Armistice and renaming the overpass is also a fitting tribute to the agreement that ended the Great War. The petition will be closed on 12 October.
Locals interested to join the e-petition may visit this link.