The Fallen Lifesavers bronze statue, sculpted by Australian artist Alan Somerville, depicts a Digger in his iconic hat and a lifesaver with the traditional belt and reel that was formerly used as a rescue device.

NSW Premier Mike Baird said lifesavers embody the greatest that Australia has to offer, while Army Chaplain Lieutenant Colonel Jim Cosgrove said the sculpture, with hands grasped in friendship, represented the kind of sacrifice that could inspire us to build a better world for futures to come.

Wentworth MP Malcolm Turnbull, representing the Prime Minister of Australia, said the thread of service, of sacrifice, of love of others drove both the armed forces and the Australian lifesaving movement.

“Love of others is at the core of what our defence forces do today: Love of country, love for each other, love for our nation. And that thread runs through our lifesaving movement,” Mr Turnbull said. SEE OUR PHOTO GALLERY

“At the bottom of all of this service is love. And that continuity between the service of our armed forces and the service of our volunteers in the lifesaving movement, and in so many other volunteer organisations here in Australia, has been beautifully captured here today in Alan Sommerville’s magnificent work and it is captured every Anzac Day.”

Surf Life Saving Australia president Graham Ford said: “As surf lifesavers our job is to protect to preserve and save lives and when the call came for our lifesavers to serve our country in war they volunteered by the thousands

“This Fallen Lifesavers Memorial celebrates the contribution that surf lifesavers have made to our nation.

“This fine scultpure by Alan Sommerville captures the essence of service and sacrifice

“The scultpture also reflects the common bond of commeraderie and mateship that is unique to our iconic organisations - the Australian servicemen and women and the Australian surf lifesaver.

“I can’t think of a more special place for this memorial to be then here overlooking the beach and the ocean we protect.”

Randwick Mayor Scott Nash said the National Fallen Lifesavers Memorial recognised the significant contribution Australian surf lifesavers had made to our nation’s history.

He said surf lifesavers not only served us in war, they also patrolled beaches in war zones and set up new clubs in places like Torokina Beach in the Solomon Islands, Jaffa, Syria, and Papua New Guinea and participated in carnivals and surf lifesaving displays in Palestine, Borneo, and Cornwall.

“Coogee beach will now be a symbol of that contribution,” he said.

“This beach is serviced by one of the oldest surf life saving clubs in Australia, and is the perfect location for this memorial.”

The day kicked off with surf boats tearing up the waves off Coogee beach, delivering flags to surf lifesaving club members from Bondi, Bronte, Clovelly, Coogee, Manly, Maroubra, North Bondi, South Maroubra and Tamarama. Lifesavers from the clubs then marched the flags to the southern end of Coogee beach to the site of the Fallen Lifesavers Memorial.

The unveiling honours yesterday went to NSW Governor Marie Bashir, Mr Baird and Cr Nash.

Cr Nash described the work by Somerville, whose other public works include the two bronze soldiers on the Anzac Bridge, the bull at World Square, Sir Henry Parkes in Centennial Park, Sir Roden Cutler at Manly, and the three bronze sculptures at the Australian War Memorial, as “nothing short of perfect”.

Matthew Waller, from Coogee Surf Life Saving Club, introduced the crowd to one of the fallen lifesavers. He read out a letter Flight Sergeant Clifton Wedd wrote to his mother while he was stationed in Darwin during the bombings in 1942.

The crowd heard that before Sgt Wedd served his country in WWII he was Randwick Marist Boy, a champion swimmer and passionate Coogee surf lifesaver.

“I certainly do not find the thought of death as a great terror that weighs on me” Mr Wedd wrote. “I feel rather that if I was killed it would be you, and those who love me, that would have the real burden to bear. And I am writing this letter to explain why, afer all, I do not think it should be regarded as such. We make the decision between life and death as if it were dates, but just as we sleep half of our lives, so when we are awake we know we are only half alive.

“Life infact, it seems to me, is a quality rather than quantity.”

Cr Nash said this memorial represented and honoured the legacy of Australian lifesavers, on our beaches, and on the many foreign shores they have served.