The Memorial in Landscape
The Australian War Memorial acknowledges the Ngunnawal people who are the traditional custodians of this land. The Memorial would also like to pay respect to their Elders, past and present, and the Elders from other communities viewing this exhibition.
For the newly federated nation of Australia, communicating the Australian Imperial Force’s First World War experiences through a memorial located on home soil was a critical assertion of national identity.
The Memorial occupies a prominent position in Walter Burley Griffin’s design for an ideal capital city, located on a majestic line of sight extending from Mt Ainslie to Parliament House. The first plans for the Memorial grounds, prepared in 1936 by architect Emil Sodersteen, were elaborate and extensive. Sodersteen proposed cascading garden terraces at the entrance to the Memorial, and water features and verdant plantings extending along Griffin’s land axis well beyond the current Memorial grounds.
While political and economic challenges forced the reassessment of these early ambitions, significant development over recent decades has allowed for expansion of the Memorial buildings, and today the Memorial grounds are host to commemorative ceremonies, sculptures, plaques, and gardens.
The Memorial in landscape is the third part of the exhibition series A home on a southern hill, presented online to mark the 80th anniversary of the Australian War Memorial building, which was inaugurated on 11 November 1941.