Latest News
2023 Spirit of Australia Foundation Melbourne Luncheon

Join us after the General Sir John Monash Service for luncheon and a speaker at No. 35 Sofitel Hotel, Melbourne.
Event
Date From : Fri Aug 11, 2023 : 12:30
Date To : Fri Aug 11, 2023 : 14:45
Battle of Amiens 2023 Ceremony at the Shrine

0808 - The Battle of Amiens. Gather at the Shrine of Remembrance at 07:45 am. All welcome, no registration required.
Event
Date From : Tue Aug 8, 2023 : 07:45
Date To : Tue Aug 8, 2023 : 09:00
2023 Monash Melbourne Commemorative Service

The 2023 Monash Commemorative Service will be held on 11th August in the Legislative Assembly of the Victorian Parliament.
Event
Date From : Fri Aug 11, 2023 : 10:00
Date To : Fri Aug 11, 2023 : 11:45
2022 Victorian Commemorative Service held in the Parliament of Victoria

On Friday 12 August 2022, the annual Spirit of Australia Foundation Monash Commemorative Service took place in the Legislative Assembly chamber of the Parliament of Victoria after a two-year hiatus.
Battle of Amiens 2022 Ceremony at the Shrine

0808 - The Battle of Amiens. Gather at the Shrine of Remembrance at 07:45 am. All welcome, no registration required.
Event
Date From : Mon Aug 8, 2022 : 07:45
Date To : Mon Aug 8, 2022 : 09:00
100 Greatest Country Australians

100 Greatest Country Australians
A list of the ‘100 Greatest Country Australians’ was printed in The Weekly Times newspaper dated 14 July 2021.
Centenary of the town of Monash, South Australia

Centenary of the town of Monash, South Australia
The town of Monash in South Australia turned 100 this year (2021).
TV documentary series - The Alliance

TV documentary series - The Alliance
Discusses General Sir John Monash commanding USA troops
Tatura Water Tower picturing General Sir John Monash
The Tatura Water Tower
Honoring General Sir John Monash
2021 Monash Medal Address

The Monash Medal
The Rotary Club of Melbourne presents the Monash Medal to remember and honour General Sir John Monash, a significant Charter Member of The Rotary Club of Melbourne (RCM) and a Founder of Rotary in Australia (RCM was Australia's first Rotary Club in 1921 and Monash was its 2nd President).
The Monash Medal is awarded annually to an outstanding Australian who has made a significant contribution to the Australian community and beyond. Leadership, Integrity and Service, core values of Rotary, integral in the life of Sir John Monash, are the criteria for selecting the Monash Medal recipient.
The 2021 Monash Medal was awarded to Prof The Hon Dr Barry Jones AC. Barry Jones has been a public servant, high school teacher, television and radio performer, university lecturer and lawyer. He took a leading role in campaigns to abolish the death penalty and revive the Australian film industry and achieved a reputation as a quiz champion.
COL John Dougall addresses the Foundation Lunch

The Spirit of Australia Foundation was privileged to host Colonel John Dougall, representing Chief of Army Lieutenant General Rick Burr, at our Victorian commemorative events in August.
In a second address at luncheon, Colonel Dougall discussed the contemporary Australian Army and his own leadership journey
COL John Dougall Addresses the Foundation Monash Service

The Spirit of Australia Foundation was privileged to host Colonel John Dougall, representing Chief of Army Lieutenant General Rick Burr, at our Victorian commemorative events in August.
Colonel Dougall provided a compelling address regarding the enduring significance of General Sir John Monash, both for the Australian Army and our broader society.
Monash, Chauvel & indigenous diggers honoured in Scotch College Armistice Centenary Commemoration

On Remembrance Day 2018, 100 years to the day since the guns of the Great War fell silent upon the signing of the Armistice, a major service of commemoration was held in the Memorial Hall at Scotch College, the foundation stone for which was laid by Sir John Monash in 1920.
Sea of Poppies at the Australian War Memorial and Parliament House

A display of 62,000 handcrafted, red poppies was installed on the grounds of the Australian War Memorial as the centrepiece of Great War commemorations, symbolically representing Australian lives lost in the First World War.
Victorian Commemorative Service held in the Parliament of Victoria

In early August 2018, the annual Spirit of Australia Foundation Monash Commemorative Service took place in the Legislative Assembly chamber of the Parliament of Victoria.
The assembled audience included nearly 100 students from a wide range of Victorian schools, including those with particularly close affiliation with Sir John Monash – Scotch College, Monash’s alma mater, and the Sir John Monash Science School.
Sir John Monash sculpture dedication

On the centenary of the battle of Hamel, the Australian War Memorial has dedicated a new sculpture in the Memorial’s grounds commemorating the life and achievements of General Sir John Monash.
Celebrating 100 Years of Mateship

100 Years of Australian - American Mateship - a bond forged under fire
On 4 July 2018 Australia and the United States of America celebrated the first 100 Years of Mateship.
Governor General leads Le Hamel memorial service

The Governor-General, His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd), and Lady Cosgrove led Australia’s representation at the centenary memorial service for the Battle of Hamel during their visit to France on 4 July.
100 years on remembering the Battle of Hamel

On 4 July 1918 the Australian Corps, led by General Sir John Monash, were victorious at the Battle of Hamel.
The Battle of Hamel was a major milestone in Australian military history and cemented the reputation of commander General John Monash.
Sir John Monash Centre Opens at Viller-Bretonneux

On 24 April 2018, the centenary of the crucial Australian victory at the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux, the Sir John Monash Centre was launched by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, together with the Prime Minister of the Republic of France, His Excellency Monsieur Édouard Philippe.
Monash profiled on ABC Radio

Roland Perry, author of ‘Monash, the Outsider Who Won a War’ and Spirit of Australia Director interviewed by the ABC on the leadership and legacy of Sir John Monash
Launch of Monash Commemorative Coins

The legacy of General Sir John Monash been recognised in two commemorative coins produced by the Royal Australian Mint.
The coins, produced by the Royal Australian Mint (the Mint), pay tribute to one of our most distinguished Australians. A brilliant military tactician, Sir John Monash played a pivotal role in Australia’s participation in the First World War
The Legacy Of Monash In The Australian Army Of Today

An address by MAJGEN Paul McLachlan AM CSC, Head Land Systems on the occasion of the Spirit of Australia Foundation 2015 Monash Commemorative Service, on Friday 14th August 2015.
Campaign to promote General Sir John Monash to rank of Field Marshal

The Spirit of Australia Foundation endorses Saluting Monash Council’s campaign to promote General Sir John Monash to rank of Field Marshal.
Monash approached battles as he approached engineering projects
Monash approached battles as he approached engineering projects ... BRIG David Smith AM DSM speaks at the 2017 Victorian General Sir John Monash Service.
General Sir John Monash's Relevance Today

2017 Monash Service speech by representative of Chief of Army, Brigadier Phillip Moses, at St Catherine’s School Waverley, NSW, based upon a brief by Roland J Perry, author of “Monash – The Outsider who won a War”.
Jacqueline Mowbray 2017 Monash Service address

Jacqueline Mowbray, 2004 General Sir John Monash Scholar addresses the 2017 Monash Service at St Catherines NSW.
BRIG David Smith AM DSM on Leadership

During my time in the army, I have also learned many things about leadership. Some of these things I have learned by doing (and often failing) and others from watching and working directly for some of the finest leaders in the nation including General Sir Peter Cosgrove, the current chief of Army Lieutenant General Angus Campbell and the former Queensland flood task force commander and forces commander Australia Major General Mick Slater (retired).
Monash and Chauvel

Why write MONASH AND CHAUVEL? It’s now nearly a century since the deciding year of the First World War, 1918.
I wanted a book that encapsulated the impact of the First AIF in the two major fronts of that War. The best way was to combine the two narratives in one. By a bit of luck it worked.
Roland Perry
Australian Cricket Team remembers

The Australian cricket team has spent several days learning about the sacrifice of Australian forces on the Western Front a century ago.
Led by team captain Tim Paine, the cricketers embarked on a quiet act of commemoration to honour a past generation of young men who fought and fell on the now silent battlefields of Belgium and France.
Centenary of the Battle of Hamel

Planned and executed by General Sir John Monash GC KCB VD and regarded as the “textbook example” of an efficient and effective set-piece military engagement, the centenary of the Battle of Hamel will be marked on 4 July 2018.
John Monash

This biography of Sir John Monash is published by the State Electricity of Victoria as a tribute to a great man. It was written by Vernon R. Northwood, with assistance from the late Dr. Gershon Bennett, son-in-law of Sir John Monash, and was first published in the “S.E.C. Magazine” in December 1950.
The Spirit of Australia Foundation
The Spirit of Australia Foundation was established to remember and commemorate Australia’s heritage.
Our aims are to:
- educate Australians, especially school students, about great Australian role models who have made a significant contribution to our country in a variety of endeavours, and
- remember and commemorate Significant Australians and events