Sir Edward Weary Dunlop Memorial Statue
St Kilda Road, Kings Domain MELBOURNE, MELBOURNE CITY
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Statement of Significance
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Veterans Description for Public
Sir Edward Weary Dunlop Memorial Statue - Veterans Description for Public
In the Kings Domain, on St Kilda Road, stands a memorial statue of Sir Edward "Weary" Dunlop. The statue was sculpted by Peter Corlett and unveiled in 1995.
At the outbreak of the Second World War, Dunlop was working as a surgeon at St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington. He enlisted in the Australian Army Medical Corps (6th Division) on 13 November 1939 as Medical Officer, Headquarters, Australian Overseas Base, Jerusalem, and appointed Acting Assistant Director of Medical Services. He was promoted to major on 1 May 1940 and appointed Deputy Director of Medical Services on the staff of the Australian Corps Headquarters and AIF Headquarters in Gaza and Alexandria.
Appointed as AIF Medical Liason, he served in both Greece and Crete. On 18 July 1941, he was senior surgeon with the 2/2nd Casualty Clearing Station at Tobruk. With the withdrawal of the 6th and 7th Divisions from the Middle East, Dunlop and the 2/2nd Casualty Clearing Station were transferred to Java. Lieutenant Colonel Dunlop was in command of No.1 Allied General Hospital at Bandung when Java fell to the Japanese, and he became a prisoner of war.
Australian prisoners of war on Java under Dunlop's command were transferred later in 1942 to Singapore. On 20 January 1943, he left Singapore for Thailand in charge of 'Dunlop Force' to work on the Burma-Thailand railway. He remained there until the war ended, labouring tirelessly to save wounded, sick and malnourished men. Many times he put his own life at risk as he stood up to the brutality of his Japanese captors.
Other doctors, such as Albert Coates, acted in an equally selfless way, but Dunlop was the one to become an inspiration among Australian prisoners of war and in Australia after the war. Returning to Australia in October 1945, he was demobilised on 1 February 1946. In February 1946, Dunlop resumed his medical career, establishing a thriving private practice and working as honorary surgeon at the Royal Melbourne Hospital. In 1969, he was Team Leader of the Australian Surgical Team to South Vietnam.
Dunlop maintained an ongoing concern for the health and welfare of former prisoners of war. He led commemorative tours to the Burma-Thailand railway. He came to reject hatred of his former captors and promoted reconciliation with the Japanese. Dunlop died at home on 2 July 1993.
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RESIDENCEVictorian Heritage Register H0513
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RESIDENCEVictorian Heritage Register H0514
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FORMER GRAND RANK CABMAN'S SHELTERVictorian Heritage Register H0849
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