HMAS Sydney I - SMS Emden Memorial, War memorial in Hyde Park, Sydney, Australia.
The HMAS Sydney I - SMS Emden Memorial is a war memorial in Hyde Park, Sydney, featuring a gun from the German cruiser SMS Emden mounted on a stone pedestal. It stands in the northern section of the park, visible from the surrounding footpaths.
The gun was offered by the Commonwealth Government to the City of Sydney in 1917 and accepted on 20 August 1917. It was unveiled in Hyde Park on 21 December 1917 by Lord Mayor R. D. Meagher. The monument commemorates the 9 November 1914 battle in which HMAS Sydney defeated SMS Emden, the Royal Australian Navy's first ship-to-ship victory.
The gun mounted on the stone pedestal is a real piece taken from a German warship, making it one of the few surviving physical objects from that naval encounter. Hyde Park draws a steady flow of people passing through the city center, so the memorial is seen by many visitors without them necessarily seeking it out.
The memorial stands in Hyde Park at the corner of Liverpool and College Streets, a short walk from the central business district. It is set among the park's paths, so it can be seen while crossing the park between the city centre and Woolloomooloo.
The gun on display is one of only 3 complete guns from SMS Emden known to have been preserved in Australia. The memorial name includes both ships, which is unusual as it acknowledges the defeated vessel alongside the victor.
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