Honour, Remembrance and Respect at the Australian War Memorial
Located an one end of ANZAC Parade in Canberra is the Australian War Memorial - a place to stop, reflect and honour the sacrifices made by so many Australian men and women over the past 120 years.
From the Boer War to Peacekeeping....
While the main exhibit as you enter the War Memorial Museum features items collected from World War 1, the Memorial pays respect to all conflicts that involved Australian men and women from the Boer War from 1899 to 1902 right through to the more recent Peacekeeping missions including Iraq, the Middle East and East Timor.
The World War 1 exhibit contains a vast collection of artifacts collected from the battlefields and are chronologically displayed to educate visitors on the the major theatre of military operations: Gallipoli, the Western Front, Sinai and Palestine.
Current exhibits - The Holocaust: Witnesses and Survivors
“The Holocaust reveals the extremes of humanity’s capacity for evil, as well as its spirit of endurance and survival.”
The Holocaust during World War Two resulted in the death of over six million Jewish men, women and children, along with the deaths of other minority groups that were deemed to be 'racially and biologically inferior' by the Nazi party following their rise to political power prior to the commencement of the War.
The Holocaust is considered by many as the worst act of genocide in modern history, and the exhibit at the War Memorial is a great way to educate visitors - local and international - on the events that took place, while also sharing stories of the victims and survivors.
Respecting the Unknown Soldier
The original unknown soldier was laid to rest in Westminster Abbey on the 11th November 1920. On the same date, the French Government buried their own unknown soldier under the Arc de Triomphe, with other nations following suite.
While the idea to bury our own unknown soldier was floated by the Australian Government in the 1920s, it wasn't until 1993 that an unidentified soldier was brought home from the Adelaide Cemetery on the Villers-Bretonneux battlefield.
The Australian Unknown Soldier was officially laid to rest in the War Memorial in Canberra on 11th November 1993, and represents all Australians who have given the greatest sacrifice to protect the interests of their nation and fellow Australians.
Lest we forget
Whether you're a military history buff, a weekend visitor to Canberra, travelling on your own or with a family, the Australian War Memorial truly is a must visit when visiting the country's capital city.
Australian War Memorial - https://www.awm.gov.au/