Italian Prisoners Of War Memorial

Murchison-Nagambie Road, Cemetery MURCHISON, GREATER SHEPPARTON CITY

All information on this page is maintained by Vic. War Heritage Inventory. Click below for their website and contact details.

Vic. War Heritage Inventory

Murch 11.jpg

Statement of Significance

• Additional Place Information

  • Veterans Description for Public

    Italian Prisoners Of War Memorial - Veterans Description for Public

    Inside the cemetery on Murchison-Nagambie Road, is a memorial dedicated to Italian Prisoners of War who died while interned in the Murchison camps. The memorial comprises of a stone pedestal topped by a green metal wreath; which features a golden hand clasping a cross and a star joining the two fronds at the top and an Italian helmet at the base. On the front face of the pedestal is a map of Italy and the inscription: "Who for the homeland spent life and more. This monument was erected by Italian prisoners of war in the Rushworth (Vic)concentration camp and transported to this Italian chapel of Murchison (Vic) on 7th September 1968 through the interest of Cavilieri Urbano A. Segafredo President and Founder of the Bendigo Section of the Italian Federation of Ex Service and War Veterans." The memorial was moved to Murchison in 1968 from Rushworth, where it had been constructed by Italian prisoners of war.

    During the Second World War, 4000 Italian, German and Japanese prisoners of war were detained at Murchison. Those who died at Murchison were buried in the local cemetery, but floods in 1956 did major damage to the graves. Luigi Gigliotti persuaded Italian families living in the Goulburn Valley to pay for the building of a mausoleum - the Ossario. He also managed to persuade the authorities to bury all the Italian prisoners of war and detainees who died in Australian prison camps in the mausoleum, which was completed in 1961.

• Location map
• Explore related places
  • Show:
    -- select -- Nearby Places

  • 
    Murchison Italian Soldiers Memorial

    

    Vic. War Heritage Inventory
  • 
    Murchison Italian War Memorial Plaque

    

    Vic. War Heritage Inventory
  • 
    Murchison Bridge over Goulbourn River

    

    National Trust
• Public contributions