Sandakan Memorial

Sandakan Memorial in the sculpture garden at the Australian War Memorial.

The plaque reads:

Anne Ferguson

Sandakan memorial

granite, sandstone, and glass
acquired under commission in 2005
ART92680

This memorial was unveiled on 29 may 2005
by the Hon. De-Anne Kelly, MP. Minister for Veterans Affairs.

Designed as an accurate sundial, the memorial is rich in symbolism.
The shape of the stone, with four steps carved in one side to represent
the number of years spent in captivity, was inspired by the airfields the
prisoners were sent to construct. The swirling patterns in the granite
recall the winds and mountains of Borneo, "the land beneath the wind".
The sundial marks the passage of time, and evokes our remembrance
of the past and of lives cut short. Engraved lines trace the shadows
cast on the summer and winter solstice (the outer lines)
and on Remembrance Day (the inner line).