Virtual Tour of the Memorial

First World War 1914–1918 Gallery

For Australians, the horrific face of modern battle was first seen during the First World War. This war was Australia's most costly; our soldiers' deeds on Gallipoli, in Palestine and on the Western Front still loom large in our national memory.

The exhibition consists of two main areas:

Gallipoli Gallery

The Gallipoli campaign is popularly seen as the birthplace of Australian nationhood and of the "ANZAC legend".  The Gallipoli gallery follows the story of the campaign, from the departure of the first convoy of Australian and New Zealand troops to the Middle East in November 1914 through to the evacuation of Gallipoli in December 1915.

Gallipoli gallery
360° Panorama of the Gallipoli Gallery
Low resolution (225 Kb, Java)
High resolution (1.77 M, QuickTime™ VR)

Model of the terrain encountered during the Gallipoli Campaign, RELAWM09636 Postcards, letters and other memorabilia from soldiers training in Egypt. Lone Pine diorama, ART41017
Click to enlarge

With the Western Front deadlocked, the Gallipoli campaign was intended to force the Dardanelles, capture Constantinople and put Germany's ally, Turkey, out of the war. The aims of the campaign and the part played by the ANZACs are explained in text and on a terrain map located in the gallery. Major events of the campaign are also illustrated through paintings, such as George Lambert's imaginative reconstructions of the landing and the futile charge at the Nek, and by a large diorama of the attack on Lone Pine.

The gallery concentrates on the experiences of ordinary Australian soldiers. Rations, including fly-blown jam, personal possessions, a periscope rifle invented on the spot, clothing and cooking utensils. It illustrates the daily life of Australian soldiers in the trenches. Soldiers' letters and stereoscope viewers give visitors a glimpse of life on the Peninsular.

Mannequins of Turkish and ANZAC soldiers and an Australian nurse are displayed, along with a "drip rifle", invented by two Australian soldiers, which demonstrates one of the techniques which allowed the ANZACs to evacuate their position without alerting the Turkish defenders.

Western Front Gallery

Following the defeat of the invading German armies at the Battle of the Marne in the autumn of 1914 by French and British forces, a stalemate developed. Both forces dug in along a line stretching through Belgium and France from the North Sea to the Swiss border. This was the Western Front. Over the next four years, millions of lives were lost as each side struggled to gain a decisive victory. Some 46,000 Australians died in France and Flanders between 1916 and 1918.

Western Front gallery
360° Panorama of the Western Front Gallery, featuring the Dernacourt diorama
Low resolution (254 Kb, Java)
High resolution (2.17 Mb, QuickTime™ VR)

Recruitment poster featuring Albert Jacka VC, ARTV00026 Sculpture Zero hour by Leslie Bowles, ART12504Mont St Quentin 1918 diorama, ART41018 French 75mm light field gun, RELAWM05023 A man by Hilda Rix Nicholas, ART19613Mobile Shield, REL/14715
Click to enlarge

Two galleries depict the Australian experience of fighting on the Western Front. A small introductory gallery introduces the visitor to the conditions and technology of trench warfare. Equipment and uniforms used on the Western Front are displayed, and the gallery is dominated by a life-size diorama depicting an exhausted soldier in the mud of Belgium. A video shows footage of Australians on the Western Front.

The larger gallery focuses on the major battles fought by Australians in France and Belgium. Pozières (1916) and Mont St Quentin (1918) were actions in which Australians played an important role and are among those depicted in large dioramas, memorabilia and paintings by Arthur Streeton and George Lambert. A series of smaller dioramas illustrates the process of evacuating wounded Australians from the front. Uniforms, field guns and other items of technology are also displayed.

Objects on display

First World War uniform

Private George Giles of the 29th Battalion Australian Imperial Force (AIF), took part in the attack by the 5th Australian Division at Morlancourt on 29 July 1918.

After the action, Charles Bean collected Giles' uniform, equipment and personal effects from the weary soldier. The battle gear has been left covered in mud to give some idea to the conditions Australian soldiers faced on the Western Front. This is a remarkable group of relics, for it shows what Australian soldiers carried going into an assault, including sufficient supplies to support themselves once they had captured enemy positions, and until supply lines forward had been established.

World War 1 uniform
This uniform is one of the relics collected by C.E.W. Bean and is therefore a particularly significant item in the Memorial's collection. It is a battle-stained private's uniform from the battle of Morlancourt, one of the later operations in the three gruelling years spent by Australian soldiers on the Western Front.
RELAWM04500.003

Septimus Power's, First Australian Division Artillery going into the 3rd Battle of Ypres

Septimus Power' s works are action-filled and especially depict horses at work on the battlefield . In this powerful portrait, 18-pounder guns are being brought forward by teams of six horses. Other guns are seen in position and firing.

For conservation reasons, art works in the Memorial collection are regularly rotated through the galleries.

First Australian Division Artillery going into the 3rd Battle of Ypres
Septimus Power
First Australian Division Artillery going into the 3rd Battle of Ypres
Painting, England 1919
ART03330

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