On the slopes of the hill overlooking the college is the grave of William Throsby Bridges,[4] the first commandant of the college and one of only two AustralianWorld War I soldiers killed in action or died of wounds who was buried in Australia. The other is The Unknown Soldier, disinterred from a French grave and buried at the Australian War Memorial in 1991. Bridges was the commander of the 1st Australian Division at Gallipoli.
While touring the lines on 15 May 1915, Bridges was shot through the femoral artery by a Turkish sniper. Dragged to safety he was evacuated to the hospital ship Gascon where he died the following day. His body was returned to Melbourne where he received a state funeral. He was buried on 3 September 1915, on the slopes of Mount Pleasant. The grave was designed by Walter Burley Griffin, the designer of Canberra. It is the only permanent structure designed by Griffin ever built in Canberra. The memorial stone on the grave was unveiled in 1920.