Suddenly, the Gallipoli Peninsula has lost its bronze guides Bob Hawke inspects a bronze plaque at Lone Pine in 1990. Photo: Ross Bastiaan Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims have been guided since 1990 through the Anzac story of Gallipoli by a series of bronze plaques cast in Victoria and placed strategically around the old battlefield. Suddenly, all of the plaques - along with every trace of commemorative bronze and brass in the Anzac area, including material from Turkish memorials and a sculpted bust of the revered Turkish leader Ataturk - have disappeared at the hands of thieves, shocking and angering historians, local residents and authorities as the extent of the desecration is revealed. "Every piece of bronze plaque on Anzac, upper and lower, has gone," said prominent historian Dr Michael McKernan, who was visiting Gallipoli when the thefts occurred. The Australian and Turkish Governments, preparing for next April's centenary commemoration of the Anzac landings, are still trying to assess whether to replace the much-loved works and if so, how. The plaques, each weighing 63kg and sculpted by Mornington Peninsula orthodontist Ross Bastiaan, told the stories of the best-known sites in English, Turkish, German and French so all visitors from the main countries involved in the war on Gallipoli could begin to understand what had happened beneath their feet. "There's no way the thieves didn't know what they were stealing," a shocked Dr Bastiaan told Fairfax Media. More than a week ago, the gang chiselled the letters ANZAC from the official commemorative site at North Beach, but also levered away Dr Bastiaan's works - each secured by bronze bolts in concrete - from their stone bases. The plaques disappeared from the Ari Burnu Cemetery alongside Anzac Cove, from Lone Pine, Quinn's and Courtneys Post's and The Nek, among other famous sites. Investigators believe the works would be sold for scrap metal and melted down. The gang also removed signage from the Turkish 57th Regiment memorial site - considered sacred to the Turkish people - and looted stalls operated by Turkish traders on the peninsula. The thieves even removed the sculpted head of the revered Turkish military leader and first president, Kemal Ataturk from the wall near Anzac Cove which quotes Ataturk's words from 1934, urging mothers not to weep because "your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well. Dr Bastiaan, of the Mornington Peninsula, took on the huge task of recording the story of Anzac in bronze as a personal challenge after he visited Gallipoli in the 1980s and discovered there was no reliable signage. There was no financial support from government authorities. When prime minister Bob Hawke led an official pilgrimage to Gallipoli in 1990, he unveiled the plaques and told Dr Bastiaan they would receive proper care in perpetuity. A spokeswoman for Veterans Affairs Minister Michael Ronaldson said the department was is "still assessing options." "Those options include assessing materials that are not brass and therefore not appealing to thieves," she said. The department is still in the process of collecting details of other dedication plaques that need to be replaced and are in discussions with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and relevant Turkish authorities about next steps. Dr McKernan described Dr Bastiaan's works as irreplaceable: " Each one unique to each individual site and handmade."