Remembering via Brisbane’s street signs

Inspiring remembrance

Peter Rasey is an author, podcaster, YouTuber and active member of the Australian American Association Queensland Division who enjoys researching Australia’s military history for memorialisation purposes. He credits a close friend with sparking his interest in Australian war memorials and military tourism during their work together on Brisbane’s Expo 88.  

“My interest in military history started when a friend of mine, the late Sir Frank Moore AO, told me to take up the cause of remembering WWII. And I did, because I had a slight interest as my mother and father were indirectly involved in WWII,” Peter recalls. 

Upon diving into his new interest, Peter was surprised to discover a deep and significant connection between WWII and his hometown of Brisbane. This included the Pensacola Convoy’s arrival into the city after the attack on Pearl Harbor, General Douglas MacArthur’s command headquarters in the CBD, and the Battle of Brisbane in 1942. 

His budding interest grew into a burning passion, eventually leading him and Sir Frank to lobby Brisbane City Council to prioritise building and maintaining places of remembrance. 

“Sir Frank and I worked on the legacy of Expo 88, which led us to the World Expo 88 Rainforest Grove at Toowong, further leading us to Canon Garland Place as former Lord Mayor Graham Quirk so named it to house the national memorials contained within it,” Peter explains. 

“Brisbane was not awash with national memorials, and Sir Frank knew about the National Australia Remembers Freedom Wall, with its 15,600 plaques, opposite Canon Garland Place. The initiative fitted nicely with the remembrance work that Sir Frank thought we should be doing, so Brisbane City Council restored and re-signed the Freedom Wall as a result of our lobbying.” 

Encouraged by this positive result, Peter continued his work contributing to the memorialisation of Australian military personnel and historical events, including the recent 80th anniversary of Victory in the Pacific Day work in 2025. 

Honouring streets of remembrance 

Peter now lives in Queensland’s South Burnett region and continues his remembrance activities in various capacities. In more recent years, he has voluntarily collaborated with Brisbane City Council through his role at the Australian American Association to help identify 27 street signs that have been – or are in the process of being – formally recognised as part of Council’s Streets of Remembrance project. 

“Google led us to the 2015 Lord Mayor Graham Quirk-inspired Streets of Remembrance campaign. The campaign was originally conceived to celebrate the centenary of the end of World War I in 2018. However, in 2020, the Council opened the project up to all wars,” Peter explains. 

“Since then, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has been a great supporter of the effort. Hopefully the additional WWII streets will be finished within 18 months.” 

The Streets of Remembrance project exists to commemorate the ANZAC spirit and those who have embodied it through their service. Alongside Brisbane, similar projects can be found in Bundaberg and on the Gold Coast. 

Peter is one of many contributors who assist the Council by identifying street signs throughout Brisbane that are associated with the names of service personnel, places and events from past conflicts.  

Volunteers then liaise with Council to recognise each sign’s military link. Once submissions are accepted, Council adds a military service badge to the sign as an ANZAC Day or Remembrance Day commemoration gesture. 

Thinking about the impact of the project, Peter believes that while there is more to be done, the progress made since work began in 2020 has been significant. 

The Allied capital of Australia 

“As Paul Budde from the Camp Columbia Heritage Association says, ‘Brisbane was the Allied capital of Australia’, so the Streets of Remembrance additions add special icing to the cake of our military story,” Peter says. 

“While the street signs by themselves have little relevance, when the remembrance memorials are added to them on ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day, they begin to play a role."

“For example, the Brisbane Streets of Remembrance sign and tribute on Feldt Street in Moorooka links in with the excellent work of Councillor Steve Griffiths. Along with the newly unveiled Coastwatchers Memorial at Newstead Terrace Park, these were really the first Australian mainland WWII memorials dedicated to the Coastwatchers.”  

So far, Brisbane City Council’s Streets of Remembrance project has seen 757 street signs marked with badges in 230 locations across Brisbane, collectively acknowledging 161 people, places and events in Australia’s military history, with another 21 signs in the works. The project represents a significant mark of respect for Australian veterans – an initiative Peter hopes will continue for future generations.