The new memorial shelter at Manly Warringah War Memorial State park, also known as Manly Dam, is now complete ahead of Anzac Day 2024.

Manly Dam is a significant place for descendants of servicemen and present-day members of the defence forces.

The new shelter memorialises our former and existing defence force members and offers additional recreational amenity to the space for social gatherings, community connection, shelter, rest and reflection. The shelter was designed to complement the natural environment and intends to respectfully sit alongside the war memorial space.

Shared pathway connections to key areas have also been completed as part of the works.

To complement the upgrades, a new raised boardwalk on the Manly Dam Link Trail is also being built to improve pedestrian access between Picnic Areas 2 and 3. Keep up to date on the related project here.

We consulted with you from 11 August to 10 September to seek feedback on building a memorial shelter, upgrading pathway connections and a kayak launch ramp at Manly Dam.

Submissions supporting the proposal commented on the importance of improved access at Manly Dam, additional shade structures and recognising our service personnel past and present. Submissions not supporting the proposal commented that there was no need to formalise the kayak access to the dam and did not support additional concrete pathways in the section.

Council has taken into consideration the comments relating to the kayak launch ramp and have removed this element from the design.

The Community Engagement report outlines what we heard from the community and stakeholders. You can download the report below for more information.