Monday’s Monument: Peace Park, Canberra, Australia

The Canberra Peace Park is beside Lake Burley Griffin between the lake and the National Library of Australia, in Canberra, the national capital of Australia. It was built in 1986, the United Nations Year of Peace. The central zone contains a square granite plinth with a peace symbol in it, surrounded by a quartered plinth incised with the word Peace written in the official languages of the United Nations and also the language of the local Ngunnawal Australian aborigine people, and a statement of dedication. This is bordered by a fountain and a cobbled granite walk way with formal gardens of lavender at each corner. The monument was unveiled on 24 October 1990. The monument’s statement of dedication asks, “All who visit here are invited to commit themselves to peace and the elimination of weapons of mass destruction.”