Hobart Cenotaph

The Hobart Cenotaph is a war memorial in Queens Domain featuring a tall grey granite obelisk with a stepped bluestone base. Bronze laurel wreaths and illuminated Latin crosses below the cap are the main decorative elements.

Built in 1925, the memorial originally honored 522 Tasmanian soldiers killed in World War I, with their names preserved in a zinc casket beneath the base. In 2003, earthen walls were added to incorporate soil from the birthplaces and battlefields of Victoria Cross recipients.

The name cenotaph refers to a memorial for the absent dead, honoring those whose remains were never recovered or brought home. The site serves as a gathering place where visitors come to remember those who did not return.

The memorial sits on elevated ground where you can see both the city of Hobart and the River Derwent spread below. The location makes it visible from many different spots around town.

The site contains earthen walls holding soil from the birthplaces and battlefields of Tasmania's Victoria Cross recipients. This creates a direct physical link between the memorial and the places where these soldiers lived and fought.