Lest we forget

The Australian War Memorial in Canberra is more than a place for a pilgrimage, it’s a homecoming for heroes and a space to reflect on the country’s past and present involvement with worldwide conflicts. Bruce Holmes reports.

The Australian War Memorial's First World War diorama.

The Australian War Memorial’s First World War exhibit features dioramas, created in the 1920s, which portray significant battles. Names such as Lone Pine, the Somme, Dernancourt and Mandhaba will be in Australians’ minds as we pause for a minute’s silence at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, commemorating the Great War’s symbolic conclusion on Armistice Day.

Kneeling, with the railing at eye level, is the best perspective. Here the art form of the diorama takes on a life of its own, giving some sense of what it was like in the trenches, facing the bayonets or riding in cavalry charges.

A different view can be experienced at one of the newest exhibits at the Memorial. ‘Over the Front: The Great War in the Air’ showcases five rare WWI aircraft, three Allied and two German, which, according to the Head of Exhibitions, Katherine McMahon, “tell the story of the young men in the Australian Flying Corps during their time on the Western Front in 1917 and 1918”.

As a single-engine SE5a fighter plane hovers above, suspended from the ceiling, visitors watch a short film by director Peter Jackson, featuring a dramatic re-enactment of an aerial dogfight. Projected onto a 21m-long screen, it feels like it’s happening around us.

Last but not least, collection items on display include the left boot of Manfred von Richthofen, the Red Baron, and the control stick taken from his plane when it was shot down on 21 April 1918, arguably by gunners of the Australian 11th Battalion.

As well as being a memorial site, the War Memorial functions as a museum and has displays, artefacts and films covering the world wars and conflicts to the present day. The Hall of Valour honours the 97 Australians who’ve been awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery in time of war.

For educating the young there’s the Discovery Zone with five environments: a WWI trench, a Second World War backyard, an Oberon class submarine, a Vietnam helicopter that you can sit in and a peacekeeping scenario. If you’re taking the grand-kids, visit between 12.30 and 1.30pm to avoid finding it closed because of school group bookings.

Moving outside, we find the Sculpture Garden. Pieces include a modern, stainless steel lattice column representing an anti-aircraft beam, a towering bronze figure of an Australian serviceman, another of ‘Weary’ Dunlop, and my favourite, Simpson and his donkey. There’s even a Lone Pine tree, raised from the seed of a pine cone sent home by a soldier at Gallipoli to his mother.

Art and museum aside, the Australian War Memorial is, above all, the place where we remember those who have given their lives for our country. It’s not just on Anzac Day or Armistice Day, but every day, that people search the Roll of Honour. On it, the names of Australians who have died in war since 1885, more than 102,000, are inscribed in bronze. The red paper poppies inserted next to so many names show the significance of this roll for visitors.

At the far end of the Commemorative Courtyard is the Hall of Memory, with its beautiful, stained-glass windows and one of the world's largest mosaics. In this solemn space lies the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier.

At the closing ceremony each day, just before 5pm, the crowd moves back toward the entrance leaving the courtyard empty. There is a silence as either a bugler or piper strides purposefully to a spot beyond the Pool of Reflection and its Eternal Flame.

Then the stirring sounds of The Last Post are heard echoing through the annals of history. The piper turns and marches into the Hall of Memory, the doors of which close behind him.

Australian War Memorial

Tel: (02) 6243 4211

Visit: www.awm.gov.au

The writer was a guest of Australian Capital Tourism.