About the Memorial

Welcome

Memorial Director Steve Gower outlines the scope of the web site and some of its more interesting features.

Director's favourites

The Director invites you to view some of his personal favourites from Memorial's extensive Natiional Collection.

Plan your visit

Find out how to make the most of your visit to the Memorial in Canberra, including information on location, opening hours, transport, parking, accessability, tours, and more.

Community

Join the Memorial's online communities on Facebook, Youtube and Flickr and extend your experience with videos, photographs and events. Keep up-to-date on activities within the Memorial, upcoming events, ceremonies and exhibition launches.

Origins of the Memorial

Charles Bean first began thinking about commemorating the sacrifice of Australians in war in 1915 on Gallipoli. The idea of a national museum took hold later, while Bean was visiting Pozières, France, where the Australian divisions suffered 23,000 casualties in less than seven weeks of fighting in 1916. Bean's idea was to set aside a place in Australia where families and friends could grieve for those buried in places far away and difficult to visit – a place that would also contribute to the understanding of war itself. Both commemoration and furthering our understanding of war inspire our work at the Memorial today.

Virtual tour

The Memorial complex includes commemorative areas, Sculpture Garden, gallery exhibits, research facilities, and function spaces. Discover what there is to see and do on your visit.

Collections

During the First World War Australian troops were officially encouraged to collect relics of the battles in which they had fought. The tradition of acquisition and preservation continues today, enhancing the written record of war, and has produced one of the finest military artefact, document, and media collections in the world. This web site makes some of those collections accessible online to everyone for the first time.

Conservation

The Memorial is concerned with conserving our cultural heritage. Find out how trained Memorial staff carry out conservation on works of art, textiles, paper, photographs, small objects, and large technology objects. Also discover what you can do to help care for your own precious items.