Annual Report 2017-2018

Australian War Memorial Annual Report 2017–2018

Annual report for the year ended 30 June 2018, together with the financial statements and the report of the Auditor-Genera

Copyright © Australian War Memorial

ISSN 1441 4198

This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Cover image: Guests gather after the Last Post Ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the Battle of Coral–Balmoral.

Page vii: Schoolchildren taking part in a wreathlaying ceremony in the Hall of Memory.

Page x: Crowds gathered on the Parade Ground for the 2018 Anzac Day Dawn Service.

Page 1: Visiting buglers from Menin Gate, Ieper, Belgium, perform at the Last Post Ceremony

Page 7: A visitor lays a poppy on the Roll of Honour.

Page 19: A didgeridoo performance opens the 2018 Anzac Day National Ceremony.

Page 75: RAAF flyover signifies the end of the 2018 Anzac Day National Ceremony.

Page 81: The Pool of Reflection in the Memorial’s Commemorative Area.

Page 107 The Pool of Reflection and Eternal Flame.

Australian War Memorial 
GPO Box 345 
Canberra, ACT 2601 
Australia

02 6243 4211

www.awm.gov.au

CONTENTS

• Acceptance Letter
• Table of contents
• PART 1 – INTRODUCTION
  • Introduction
  • Highlights
  • Spotlight
• PART 2 – GOVERNANCE
  • Chairman’s address
  • Governance structure
  • Council of the Memorial
    • Council performance
      • Council Committee membership
    • Finance, Audit and Compliance Committee (FACC)
      • Finance, Audit, and Compliance Committee membership
    • Remuneration Committee
      • Remuneration Committee membership
    • Roll of Honour Committee
      • Roll of Honour Committee Membership
• PART 3 – CORPORATE SUMMAY
  • Director’s Address
  • Purpose
  • Mission
  • Vision
  • Values
  • Planning and Reporting Framework
  • Location
  • Organisation Chart and senior staff
  • Branch Descriptions
    • National Collection
    • Public Programs
    • Corporate Services
• PART 4 – ANNUAL PERFORMANCE STATEMENTS
  • Outcome and Outputs Structure
  • Overall performance against the outcome
  • Commemoration performance indicator
  • Accessibility performance indicator
  • Knowledge and understanding performance indicator
  • Program Component 1.1 – Commemorative Ceremonies
  • Program Component 1.2 – The National Memorial and Grounds
  • Program Component 1.3 – The National Collection
  • Program Component 1.4 – Exhibitions
  • Program Component 1.5 – Interpretive Services
  • Program Component 1.6 – Promotion and Community Services
  • Program Component 1.7 – Research, Information and Dissemination
  • Program Component 1.8 – Visitor Services
  • Program Component 1.9 – Corporate Governance
  • Program Component 1.10 – Executive Strategic Management
  • Program Component 1.11 – Resource Management
  • Program Component 1.12 – Revenue Generation
  • Program Component 1.13 – Team Management
• PART 5 – LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK AND EXTERNAL SCRUTINY
  • Enabling legislation
  • Functions and powers of the Memorial
  • Responsible minister
  • Effects of ministerial directions
  • Internal and external audits
  • Indemnities and insurance premiums
  • Legal actions
  • Ombudsman
  • Freedom of Information
  • Social justice and equity
  • Energy consumption and environmental management
  • Advertising and market research expenditure
• PART 6 – ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
  • Report by the Auditor-General
  • Annual Financial Statements
• PART 7 – APPENDICES
  • Appendix 1 – Council profiles
  • Appendix 2 – Senior staff profiles
  • Appendix 3 – Selected VIP visits, events, and ceremonies
  • Appendix 4 – Staff lectures and publications
• GLOSSARY
• COMPLIANCE INDEX
• INDEX

CONTENTS

• Acceptance Letter
• Table of contents
• PART 1 – INTRODUCTION
  • Introduction
  • Highlights
  • Spotlight
• PART 2 – GOVERNANCE
  • Chairman’s address
  • Governance structure
  • Council of the Memorial
    • Council performance
      • Council Committee membership
    • Finance, Audit and Compliance Committee (FACC)
      • Finance, Audit, and Compliance Committee membership
    • Remuneration Committee
      • Remuneration Committee membership
    • Roll of Honour Committee
      • Roll of Honour Committee Membership
• PART 3 – CORPORATE SUMMAY
  • Director’s Address
  • Purpose
  • Mission
  • Vision
  • Values
  • Planning and Reporting Framework
  • Location
  • Organisation Chart and senior staff
  • Branch Descriptions
    • National Collection
    • Public Programs
    • Corporate Services
• PART 4 – ANNUAL PERFORMANCE STATEMENTS
  • Outcome and Outputs Structure
  • Overall performance against the outcome
  • Commemoration performance indicator
  • Accessibility performance indicator
  • Knowledge and understanding performance indicator
  • Program Component 1.1 – Commemorative Ceremonies
  • Program Component 1.2 – The National Memorial and Grounds
  • Program Component 1.3 – The National Collection
  • Program Component 1.4 – Exhibitions
  • Program Component 1.5 – Interpretive Services
  • Program Component 1.6 – Promotion and Community Services
  • Program Component 1.7 – Research, Information and Dissemination
  • Program Component 1.8 – Visitor Services
  • Program Component 1.9 – Corporate Governance
  • Program Component 1.10 – Executive Strategic Management
  • Program Component 1.11 – Resource Management
  • Program Component 1.12 – Revenue Generation
  • Program Component 1.13 – Team Management
• PART 5 – LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK AND EXTERNAL SCRUTINY
  • Enabling legislation
  • Functions and powers of the Memorial
  • Responsible minister
  • Effects of ministerial directions
  • Internal and external audits
  • Indemnities and insurance premiums
  • Legal actions
  • Ombudsman
  • Freedom of Information
  • Social justice and equity
  • Energy consumption and environmental management
  • Advertising and market research expenditure
• PART 6 – ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
  • Report by the Auditor-General
  • Annual Financial Statements
• PART 7 – APPENDICES
  • Appendix 1 – Council profiles
  • Appendix 2 – Senior staff profiles
  • Appendix 3 – Selected VIP visits, events, and ceremonies
  • Appendix 4 – Staff lectures and publications
• GLOSSARY
• COMPLIANCE INDEX
• INDEX

INTRODUCTION

The Annual Report of the Australian War Memorial for the year ended 30 June 2018 was produced in the format for an annual report for a corporate Commonwealth entity under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (the PGPA Act).

To assist entities to understand and comply with their obligations under the PGPA Act, the Department of Finance has issued the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014 (the Rules), and Resource Management Guide (RMG) No. 136 Annual reports for corporate Commonwealth entities. The following report is prepared in accordance with the Act, the Rules and RMG 136.

In keeping with the intention of these documents, this report aims to provide a report into the operations of the Australian War Memorial, providing clear linkages between its Portfolio Budget Statements, Corporate Plan, and day-to-day operations.

This report is organised into seven parts:

PART ONE

Introduction introduces the report and describes its layout.

PART TWO

Governance includes the Chair’s Address; and details of the Council, its operation and performance during 2017–18.

PART THREE

Corporate summary includes the Director’s Address; an overview of the Memorial’s corporate structure and reporting framework, and its performance during 2017–18.

PART FOUR

Annual performance statements details the Memorial’s performance against corporate objectives, and external and internal outputs.

PART FIVE

Legislative compliance provides detailed information about the Memorial required for reporting.

PART SIX

Financial statements includes the report by the AuditorGeneral and Financial Statements

PART SEVEN

Appendices provide additional information about the Memorial, including staff profiles, collection acquisitions and disposals, and major sponsors.

Visitation

1.089 million 
visitors to the Memorial’s Campbell site or Mitchell storage facility (page 21)

Social Media and online access

106,700 
Facebook followers (page 56)

5.8 million 
Flickr views (page 56)

4.052 million 
Visits to the Memorial’s website (page 56)

Outreach

Memorial boxes loaned to 343 community groups, reaching 43,605 students (page 48)

Media coverage to an audience of nearly 17.2 million during Remembrance Day period (page 52)

Media coverage to an audience of over 50 million during the Anzac Day period (page 52)

13,667 research enquiries answered (page 59)

Ceremonies and commemorations

37,500 
attendees at the Anzac Day Dawn Service (page 23)

3,100 
attendees at the Remembrance Day Ceremony (page 23)

11,500 
attendees at the Anzac Day national ceremony (page 23)

143,318 
attendees at Last Post ceremonies (page 23)

8,626 
students attended 164 school wreathlaying ceremonies (page 23)

The National Collection

19,456 
new items acquired for the National Collection (page 40)

438,351 
object records are now available on the Memorial’s website (page 41)

SPOTLIGHT

Art of nation: a new way to showcase Memorial collections online

Art of nation: Australia’s official art and photography of the First World War is a digital interpretation of the earliest plans for the Australian War Memorial. Visitors can explore a 3D model of how founder Charles Bean imagined the Memorial, based on the sketch he created as he returned home after the war in 1919.

Within the building are exhibitions of the official First World War art and photography collections. Over 70 large paintings are exhibited in a dedicated art gallery for the first time, depicting Australia’s role in the war. The photography gallery displays a recreation of the first major exhibition of Australian official war photography in London in May 1918.

Art of nation creates an accessible pathway into Australia’s military history and art history. Paintings and photographs link to more information, as well as maps that trace the journeys of artists and photographers. Photographs and sketches have been pinned to maps, allowing visitors to explore where Australians served and, by using Google Street View, what these places look like today. Animations attached to photographer Frank Hurley’s composite images reveal how these works were created, while a “magic lantern” slide projection features the early colour photography process used to record the war.

Art of nation is a new direction for the AWM, providing a detailed, engaging display of the art and photography collections in a way that was not previously possible.

Art of nation is the result of a partnership with Brisbanebased Ortelia Interactive Spaces and generous financial support of the Bean Foundation, allowing outreach including global access. This ground-breaking exhibition was awarded Best Permanent Exhibition at the 2018 Museums and Galleries National Awards.

SPOTLIGHT

General Sir John Monash commemorative sculpture

In 2016 the Memorial commissioned a portrait sculpture to commemorate General Sir John Monash’s contribution to Australia’s military history. The sculpture was installed in the western grounds of the Memorial on 23 May 2018. It was dedicated by Lieutenant General Angus Campbell AO DSC, Chief of Army, in a ceremony on 4 July 2018 – the 100th Anniversary of Monash’s victory at the battle of Hamel.

Commissioning is one of the most rewarding aspects of my role as Curator in the Art Section. I love being able to work directly with artists and seeing the fresh perspectives and engaging interpretations of our military histories they bring to the National Collection.

From submissions by five artists, an elegant and dynamic design by Charles Robb and Sarah Holland-Batt was successful. The design emphasises Monash’s significance as an outstanding commander and general of the First World War, while also highlighting his distinct character and personal attributes.

It has been a wonderful two-year journey through each stage of the sculpture’s production. The modelling of the figure and fabrication of the plinth took place in the Visual Arts Workshops at the Queensland University of Technology over a period of four months from October 2017. This was the most intense period for the artist, who wrangled more than half a tonne of clay to successfully capture his likeness of Monash.

The sculpture was then cast in bronze at Billman’s Foundry, Castlemaine, Victoria in March 2018. Casting in bronze is a complex craft with the foundry technicians working closely with the artists to mould the figure using molten metal.

The Monash sculpture commission is the biggest project I have managed during my eight years at the Memorial. A new sculpture commission for the grounds is a huge undertaking that requires cooperation of team members from across the Memorial. Personally I gained a better appreciation for the professionalism and dedication of colleagues and watching the smooth installation on site in May was so satisfying.

Alexandra Torrens, Curator, Art Section

The General Sir John Monash sculpture installation in the grounds of the Memorial presented a number of challenges for the installation team. The sculpture and plinth were made in different locations and had not been fitted together prior to being delivered to the Australian War Memorial’s conservation and storage facilities at Mitchell. It required a trial fitting of the 260 kg bronze sculpture to the 1700 kg steel and render (concrete) plinth to be conducted at Mitchell using the Memorial’s bridge crane to resolve any potential issues prior to installation on site at the Memorial. The trial fitup was also an opportunity to establish slinging points and centres of gravity for the sculpture, plinth, and the two elements combined. While the sculpture and plinth appear quite robust and solid, they required specialised handling techniques the Memorial’s installation team have developed while handling and lifting military aircraft, vehicles, and other large and often fragile technology objects in the Memorial’s collection. On a personal level, it was very rewarding and satisfying to work on the planning and installation of a significant sculpture in the Australian War Memorial’s grounds.

Gordon Klebba, Assistant Registrar, Collection Services

I think when you’ve been staring at something in CAD files, Photoshop mock-up, and projections, and seeing it unfold in its various components totally removed from one another, to actually have it all coming together and meeting one another for the first time it’s a lovely moment … happily we had perfect conditions, an excellent team with a high level of attention to detail, and it’s just been a really wonderful and uncomplicatedly pleasant day.

Charles Robb and Sarah Holland-Batt on installation of the General Sir John Monash sculpture, May 2018.

GOVERNANCE

Chairman’s Address

On the morning of 18 August 1969, soldiers of 6RAR/NZ (ANZAC) stood quietly and reverently, lining either side of a large cross in Long Tan, Vietnam. The cross marked the site where three years earlier, on 18 August 1966, 108 soldiers of D Company, 6RAR, had fought a fierce battle against Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army forces. As they stood, they listened to the battalion chaplain deliver a service in memory of 18 of their mates who had died in the battle of Long Tan three years earlier. The cross, which had been erected that day, became known as the Long Tan Cross. Almost 50 years later, I and other Council members were fortunate to witness the historical unveiling of the cross at the Memorial on 6 December 2017, and to hear the stories of the battle from some of the men who had survived.

The Long Tan Cross has come to symbolise the Vietnam War as a single structure that marked the place where lives were lost. Almost 60,000 Australian men and women served in Vietnam, and 521 paid the ultimate sacrifice with their lives. It was an honour for Council to meet Lieutenant Colonel Adrian Roberts OAM (Retd) and Colonel Peter Dinham AM (Retd) who had fought in the battle, and to understand the importance for them of the cross being housed at the Memorial.

The cross will now be permanently displayed within the Memorial, offering a therapeutic and spiritual sanctuary for Vietnam veterans, but also serving as a powerful reminder of the impact of the conflict for Australians.

Four months later, Council was privileged to meet one of the Rats of Tobruk, Mr Robert J.K. Semple OAM BEM, as we commemorated Anzac Day. Speaking with Bob, it was easy to see how the importance of mateship and his love of music saw him through tough times during the Second World War, and how both helped to define his character. I was fortunate to see the violin that Bob took overseas, still with the sand inside the case from El Alamein and the names of his gun crew etched on the outside. His stories should never be forgotten, and my time with Bob will remain one of the most poignant experiences of my time as Chair.

As we listened to Bob deliver his moving commemorative address at the National Ceremony, a further example of the Australian spirit and the importance of mateship was being demonstrated at the commemorations for the 100th Anniversary of the battle of Villers-Bretonneux, at the Australian National Memorial in France. Council member Major General Greg Melick joined many other Australians who had made the pilgrimage to France for this historic event. He represented the Memorial and Council at the opening of the Sir John Monash Centre, which tells the stories of Australians on the battlefields of the Western Front during the First World War, and is an example of the enduring relationship between Australia and France.

Since opening in 1941, the Australian War Memorial has evolved from its original purpose of accommodating displays and historical records related to the First World War. It now combines a shrine, a world-class museum, and an extensive archive covering all wars and operations involving Australian military forces. The Memorial is one of the most iconic and recognisable landmarks in Australia, and we welcome more than one million visitors each year. The unveiling of the Long Tan Cross and Bob Semple’s Anzac Day address are two examples demonstrating the enduring importance of the Memorial as the soul of our nation, and the national place for commemorating Australia’s experience of war.

Council members firmly believe it is our responsibility to ensure that all Australians understand the sacrifice of the men and women at Long Tan, Tobruk, Villers–Bretonneux, and all our serving military personnel and veterans across all conflicts. It is the sacrifice of these generations past and present that has forged the Australia we know today and the freedom we experience. However, limited space in the galleries restricts the Memorial’s ability to honour not only those who served during past conflicts but also those who have served and continue to serve in conflicts. The Memorial’s National Collection contains four million objects, artefacts and relics, but only three per cent is on display for visitors to appreciate.

The Memorial must remain relevant to all Australians. During 2017–18 Council continued its focus on the Memorial’s long-term future. We again welcomed the government’s funding for development of a detailed business case for the redevelopment concept, which if approved, will see increased and improved exhibition space, collection storage, and visitor amenities, as well as new galleries, an expanded education centre for school visitors, a larger theatre, orientation space, and room for large technology from contemporary conflicts and operations.

Council continued its oversight of the development of the Memorial’s long-term collection storage needs at our Mitchell site. When complete the redeveloped storage will not only safeguard our National Collection and preserve the stories of serving personnel and veterans, but will enable the Memorial to collect significant land, sea, and air artefacts currently being retired by the Australian Defence Force.

Council was also pleased to receive funding provided in the May budget for digitisation of our National Collection, which will accelerate the Memorial’s preservation program and significantly mitigate the risk around deterioration and loss of collection items.

Council has appreciated firsthand the imperative for digitisation when we viewed rare and fragile First World War glass plate negatives and acetate photo negatives from the Second World War and Malayan Emergency. These important time capsules cannot be lost to the Australian public, and the digitisation program will ensure they are protected and made available online for all Australians into the future.

During the 2017–18 financial year, Council oversaw the development of a revised set of strategic priorities and a Corporate Plan for the period 2018–2022. The focus on strategic goal setting helps Council to ensure the Memorial delivers long-term broad strategic direction and helps to shape internal business planning and key objectives.

Over the past 12 months, Council continued to oversee the development of the official history of East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Vietnam medical legacies project. Council believes that it is imperative that the histories of these conflicts are documented for all Australians, particularly for those who served.

The launch of the exhibition From the shadows: Australia’s Special Forces in October 2017 was a very special event for Council. For decades, the highly trained, motivated, and experienced men and women of Australia’s Special Forces have been deployed on constant operations in secrecy to protect Australia and to support its allies. But their history and traditions go back further, back to the Second World War. As Chair of Council, I’ve been privileged to hear stories of their gallantry and courage; of the gruelling training regime; and most importantly the stories of commitment to one another that epitomise what it means to be Australian. From the shadows gave us a glimpse into this secret world.

As we me move towards the end of the centenary of the First World War, Council continues to focus on Remembrance Day 2018, ensuring it presents an opportunity for Australians to remember and reflect on the Armistice and the 62,000 Australian lives that were lost from 1914 to 1918. For this very special occasion we will also pay special tribute to the nurses, wives, and war widows of all conflicts – their devotion cannot be overlooked.

The past year has also seen a number of changes to Council and the Memorial’s management.

On behalf of Council I would like to thank retiring Council member, Brigadier Alison Creagh CSC (Retd), for her service to Council and to the Memorial, and to welcome Colonel Susan Neuhaus CSC (Retd), who has been appointed for a three-year term from June 2017. We also congratulate Mrs Josephine Stone AM and Major General Greg Melick AO RFD FANZCN SC who were reappointed for further three-year terms.

We also farewelled two of our ex officio members, Vice Admiral Tim Barret AO CSC RAN, and Lieutenant General Angus Campbell AO DSC. Their support of the Memorial, along with that of Air Marshal Leo Davies AO CSC, is always very much appreciated. Council wishes Vice Admiral Barrett well in his retirement and congratulates Lieutenant General Campbell as he fulfils the role of Chief of the Australian Defence Force.

Council would like to thank the Memorial’s management, Leanne Patterson, Anne Bennie, Brian Dawson, and Brendan Nelson for their continued dedication and professionalism. We would also like to acknowledge and thank former Assistant Director Tim Sullivan, who achieved much in his four years as the head of the National Collection branch.

Finally, Council would like to thank the Memorial’s staff, visitor service officers, and volunteers. The Memorial is fortunate to have so many dedicated staff who work tirelessly to ensure the Memorial remains the wonderful institution that it is today.

Mr Kerry Stokes AC 
Chairman

Governance structure

The Australian War Memorial is established as an independent statutory authority under, and draws its authority from, the Australian War Memorial Act 1980 (the Act). The Act allows for the appointment of a Council and a Director as Chief Executive Officer of the Memorial.

The performance of the Memorial and the accountability of its Council and management are subject to the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, which imposes key reporting, financial, and pecuniary obligations on the Memorial and its Council members. Many of these are modelled on provisions which apply under corporations’ law, particularly those for directors.

The Memorial is subject to other acts that bear on its operation, and is accountable to the government through the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs. It has a strong link to the Department of Finance for budgetary processes, appropriations, grants, and financial management processes, and it follows the advice and guidance provided by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO). The Memorial adheres to Australian accounting standards in the preparation of its financial reports and follows best practice in its financial management.

Council of the Memorial

The Council of the Australian War Memorial is established by section 9 of the Act.

The Council is responsible for the conduct and control of the affairs of the Memorial, and the policy of the Memorial with respect to any matters as determined by the Council.

In particular, the Council:

• establishes the strategic direction and vision of the Memorial
• approves the goals and key objectives of the Memorial
• approves the annual budget and monitors expenditure and financial reporting, including for major projects
• ensures agreed corporate objectives are met
• ensures decisions made are consistent with the ethos of the Memorial
• ensures that the Memorial communicates effectively with the public and key stakeholders
• monitors and evaluates the performance of the Director
• adopts a strategic plan, which includes a business plan with objectives and key reporting measures
• ensures the Memorial has adequate financial resources to meet known and planned future commitments
• ensures that systems, processes, and internal controls are in place for effective management and monitoring of the principal risks to which the Memorial is exposed
• ensures that satisfactory procedures are in place for auditing the Memorial’s financial affairs and that the scope of internal and external audits are adequate.

Council performance

Council reviews its performance – in terms of the achievement of targets associated with the outputs specified in the Business Plan – at least once a year. A report on Council activities is included under Internal Output 1.9, on page 61.

New Council members undertake orientation training, and all are provided with a manual outlining the functioning of the Council in terms of applicable acts and member responsibilities.

Section 18 of the Act empowers Council to constitute committees to assist Council in the execution of its functions and responsibilities. Accordingly, Council has established three Committees: the Finance, Audit and Compliance Committee (FACC); the Remuneration Committee; and the Roll of Honour Committee.

Council Committee membership

The Chief of Navy, the Chief of Army, and the Chief of Air Force (ex officio members of Council) are not formal Committee members, but are invited to attend all Standing Committee meetings other than Remuneration.

Council membership

Outgoing members

Brigadier Alison Creagh CSC (Retd) – term concluded 25 March 2018

Incoming members

Colonel Susan Neuhaus CSC (Retd) – appointed 27 April 2018

Profiles of Council Members can be found in Appendix 1

Finance, Audit and Compliance Committee (FACC)

Constituted by a mix of Council members and independent members, the Finance, Audit and Compliance Committee (FACC) is established as an advisory committee to provide independent assurance and advice to Council on:

• the Memorial’s risk, control, and compliance framework
• financial statement responsibilities
• legislative and policy compliance
• internal and external audit activities.

To assist FACC in its responsibilities, the following subcommittees are established:

• Audit and Risk Sub-committee
• Finance and Budget Sub-committee.

Finance, Audit, and Compliance Committee membership

Wing Commander Sharon Bown was appointed to the FACC on 15 May 2018. Wing Commander Bown had previously attended meetings as a guest.

Guests:

Dr Brendan Nelson AO, Director

Ms Leanne Patterson, Assistant Director, Branch Head, Corporate Services

Ms Helen Petrovski, Chief Finance Officer

Mr Kerry Stokes AC, Chair, Australian War Memorial Council

Other invited guests for relevant portions of the meeting:

Representatives from Australian National Audit Office

Representatives from PricewaterhouseCoopers (as internal auditor)

Remuneration Committee

Constituted wholly by members of Council, the Remuneration Committee is established to:

• on behalf of Council, agree annually on the measures for and undertake appraisal of the performance of the Memorial’s Director
• communicate as necessary with the Remuneration Tribunal in relation to the remuneration arrangement for the Director
• consider and pursue other matters as referred by Council in relation to the remuneration and other conditions of service for the Director

Remuneration Committee membership

Roll of Honour Committee

Constituted by members of Council and augmented by the inclusion of Captain Bruce Legge CSC RAN, and with Professor Alexander McFarlane as advisor, the Roll of Honour Committee was established as an advisory committee to research, establish policy and provide recommendations to Council on:

• whether members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), whose deaths have resulted from suicide following deployment on operational service, be included on the Roll of Honour
• alternatives for recognition if these personnel are not to be included on the Roll of Honour.

Roll of Honour Committee membership

CORPORATE SUMMARY

Director’s Address

On 1 July 1942 a US Navy submarine, USS Sturgeon, sank the Japanese transport ship SS Montevideo Maru. Unbeknown to Lieutenant Commander William Wright, the ship was carrying a thousand Australian prisoners of war and civilians.

None of these men, and only a handful of the Japanese crew, survived the sinking. One of the Australians was 20-year-old Ken Drew, a bandsman with the 2/22nd Battalion. His father, Richard, who learned of his death only in 1945, wrote a poem of tribute:

Keep brave my boy in days of gloom there are brighter days ahead.

On 1 July 2017 we marked the 75th anniversary of the sinking of the Montevideo Maru, the loss of Ken and all the Australians aboard. It was an infinitely brighter day than those dark times of 1942. The ceremony, attended by scores of relatives of those lost, was just the first of many important anniversaries the Memorial has marked throughout 2017–18.

Those anniversaries included others 75 years on from that most pivotal of years: 1942. Battles such as Kokoda, Milne Bay, the beach heads, and El Alamein, speak truth to the Australian experience of war. With the assistance of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs the Memorial was privileged to host veterans from each of these campaigns and honour them – and their mates who didn’t come home from those hallowed places – at special Last Post ceremonies. In predawn darkness, the entire Kokoda honour roll of 741 was read by Royal Military College Duntroon cadets in the Memorial’s Commemorative Area.

There continued to be strong attendance at our major national ceremonies through the year. Remembrance Day 2017 saw Senator the Hon Mathias Cormann, Minister for Finance, speak to an audience of 3,100. Reflecting on the connections between his country of birth, Belgium, and his country of choice he told the story of 23-year-old Cyrille Knockaert, a Belgian–Australian member of the Australian Imperial Force who was killed in Flanders, and reminded those present that “it is only on the back of their legacy that we enjoy peace”.

For those in attendance on Anzac Day 2018 there were three different but powerful reminders of the importance of remembrance. At the Dawn Service Colonel Susan Neuhaus CSC (Retd), an Army surgeon and veteran of multiple overseas deployments during an Australian Defence Force career spanning over 20 years, spoke of those with whom she served and those who came before them,

… every Australian, regardless of whether we have a direct link to those that wore the uniform or not, is a recipient of their sacrifice.

Even in the pre-dawn stillness of the Dawn Ceremony, the silence of the crowd as Colonel Neuhaus spoke was remarkable. Colonel Neuhaus has since been appointed to the Council of the Australian War Memorial along with Ms Margaret Jackson AC, also appointed to Council this year.

The National Ceremony and Anzac Day March, which took place in unseasonably warm weather, saw more than 49,000 gather to hear those other two reminders. The first was from the Honourable Kim Beazley AC, now Governor of Western Australia, who spoke of his family’s experience of war. Governor Beazley’s grandmother lost her husband in 1915, and never re-married. Her daughter, Governor Beazley’s mother, was a ward of Legacy who dealt with the loss of her father every day. His speech reminded us that it is not only those who serve who pay a price for war which we must always remember.

The final word on Anzac Day 2018 belonged to Second World War veteran Mr Bob Semple OAM BEM. Bob served with the famed 9th Australian Division and was a Rat of Tobruk, a veteran of El Alamein, and a survivor of the jungles of New Guinea. Bob spoke of his mates, of shared experiences and a bond that could not be found anywhere else, reminding us that even in war some good can be found:

I vividly recall the strength, loyalty and faith experienced on occasions at El Alamein … Coming under German Stuka dive bombing, and periodic shelling of the gun position by enemy counter-battery artillery fire, we would take refuge in the skinny slit trenches, adjacent to the gun pit, holding hands across the shoulders and muttering, “If this is it we all go together”. Such was the spirit within the gun crew … 

… l am sure when we pause and reflect from time to time, about why we come together, it has a great deal to do with circumstances and mateship.

We were also able to honour Australia’s peacekeepers and peacemakers on the 70th anniversary of Australia’s first peacekeeping operation in Indonesia. Since that time Australians have participated in more than 60 United Nations and multilateral peacekeeping or peacemaking operations. Through September 2017 the Memorial held both ceremonies and public programs exploring the sustained commitment by this country to help those less fortunate than ourselves.

Australian Army Private Theogene Ngamije spoke at the national ceremony. As a young boy in Rwanda in 1994 his life was saved by an Australian soldier, a moment that inspired Private Ngamije to join the Army in 2017 upon gaining his Australian citizenship:

I chose to enlist into the Army due to the help, inspiration, and unforgettable rescue I received from that Australian soldier. I also wanted to pay back this wonderful community for everything they gave me. I pray that someday I get to change someone else’s life.

I can think of no more powerful tribute to the work of the men and women of the Australian Defence Force, Australian Federal Police, and other government agencies on peacekeeping operations than this.

These commemorations were enhanced by the release of Volume VI of the Official History of Peacekeeping, In their time of need: Australia’s overseas emergency relief operations, 1918–2006. Authored by Dr Steven Bullard and launched by the Honourable Gareth Evans AC QC, Chancellor of the Australian National University, it speaks to Australia’s proud record of providing relief and assistance to its strategic partners, allies, and closest neighbours.

Another very special ceremony was the 50th anniversary of Battle of Coral–Balmoral. These battles, fought through May and June 1968, were among the fiercest, most sustained battles fought by Australians in the Vietnam War and were the scene to a special courage recognised this year with the award of a Unit Citation for Gallantry for the veterans of those units involved.

As Lieutenant Colonel McLennan, Commanding Officer, 1RAR, said of the Memorial’s service:

The extended Last Post Ceremony of 13th May will remain one of the most poignant moments of my career, and my life. I have rarely experienced such collective and unifying pride in the valiant actions of our veterans; actions which secured our great nation’s hopes, prestige, and way of life.

We of course also marked the continuing Centenary of Anzac with centenary ceremonies for a number of key battles of 1917 and 1918. Of these, from Beersheba to Villers– Bretonneux, one stands out: Passchendaele.

One hundred years on that word continues to conjure images of mud, blood, and the loss of a generation of bright young Australians – more than 77,000 of whom were wounded and 22,000 killed on the Western Front in 1917.

One of those lost in 1917 was Corporal John “Jack” Ison. His sergeant major later wrote to Ison’s father:

When I lost him I lost a friend … we went through Gallipoli, Egypt, France, Pozières, Belgium, the Somme and again at Ypres together … I miss Jack as much as my own brother. I know it is an awful thing to part with one’s son … but you have no idea of the troops’ suffering … 

It really is a mercy from God to take us … at times I have asked God to take me from this life.

The loss so evident in that letter, undoubtedly felt even more keenly at home, and thousands more like it, continues to reverberate today. This was marked in the record number of family requests for Last Post ceremonies throughout the year. That many families travelled from around the country specifically to honour the centenary of the loss of a relative on the battlefields of Flanders, France, or Palestine made these ceremonies even more special.

Dr Brendan Nelson AO with one of the Menin Gate Lions before they are packed and transported on loan to the City of Ieper, Belgium, for the centenary period.

The centenary of the Third Ypres campaign was also marked by the loan of the Menin Gate Lions to the City of Ieper in Belgium. The lions returned to Australia and pride of place at the Memorial’s entrance in December 2017. Their return coincided with the airing on the Seven Network of a magnificent documentary, produced by the Memorial, on the lions and their meaning to both Australia and Belgium.

The Memorial, in partnership with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, was proud to announce that it will donate a set of replica lions to the City of Ieper in 2018 to mark the Centenary of the Armistice.

The Memorial of course is not only a shrine, but also a world class museum and archive, and there were a number of significant achievements in these areas throughout 2017–18 as well.

Amongst those achievements was the service provided by the Memorial’s volunteers, education and visitor services teams to more than 1.088 million visitors. Surveys and public comments throughout the year demonstrated that the Memorial’s front-of-house staff continued to deliver outstanding service, with a satisfaction rate amongst respondents of 97 per cent.

Student engagement was also a highlight of the year, with 132,576 students attending on-site programs at the Memorial and a further 46,305 participating in our outreach programs including the Memorial Box program, ensuring that young Australians continue to learn about the service and sacrifice of the more than two million Australians to have worn our nation’s uniform.

The public reception of the Memorial’s exhibitions was also outstanding. Visitors from all over Australia, and the globe, were treated to a world first in our Special Forces exhibition From the shadows: Australia’s Special Forces. This major exhibition, developed in close co-operation with the ADF’s Special Operations Command, which opened in September 2017 lifts the veil of secrecy on Australia’s elite forces and tells their never-before-heard stories.

Negotiations are underway to tour From the shadows to Western Australia in 2019. Our special showcase exhibition, For Country, for Nation, has commenced its national tour, with the first display in Bundaberg being warmly received by the local community.

The Memorial also developed several smaller exhibitions through the year including A matter of trust: Dayaks and Z Special Unit operatives in Borneo 1945; Hearts and minds: wartime propaganda; and a special display of artist Judith Leman’s Beersheba-inspired sculptures to mark the centenary of that famous battle.

Stakeholders and veterans involved in the restoration of the OV-10A Bronco in the Treloar Technology Centre workshop

Enhancements to our permanent galleries were also made throughout the year, the most notable of which was the new Milne Bay exhibition in Anzac Hall. Another important addition was the Reflections exhibition. Located at the end of the Second World War galleries this powerful display features the images of more than 6,000 veterans of that war, captured by dozens of volunteer members of the Australian Institute of Professional Photography, as they appeared in 2015 and 2016.

In December 2017 the Long Tan Cross finally returned to the Memorial on a permanent basis. A gift from the Government of Vietnam to the people of Australia, this unique, sacred object is now, along with the bullet-ridden Gallipoli Ascot landing boat, the Lancaster bomber “G for George”, and the bullet ridden uniform of Vivian Bullwinkel, one of the most significant relics we have.

The cross will take pride of place in our Conflicts 1945 to Today gallery in a chapel-like environment.

Staff from our National Collections branch have accepted more than 19,400 objects into the collection this year.

One of the major acquisitions was a vast painting by artists from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands in South Australia. Kulatangku angakanyini manta munu Tjukurpa (Country and Culture will be protected by spears). A Memorial commission, it hangs permanently opposite the bullet-ridden Gallipoli landing boat depicting the importance of protection of country, of land, to the first Australians.

Our expert conservators also performed sterling work through 2017–18, conserving and restoring priceless paintings, digitising thousands of photos and making them available online, and working on major restoration projects such as the Vietnam era OV-10A Bronco aircraft.

They were also intimately engaged, along with our Military Heraldry and Technology team, in receiving two major ADF donations to the Memorial: an A350 Squirrel helicopter and an S-70B Seahawk helicopter. They will tell the story of Royal Australian Navy operations over a quarter of a century

Our Photo, Film and Sound staff worked hard to record the arrival of these aircraft for the collection and, importantly, to interview the men and women who flew and serviced them, for the National Collection.

In 2018 we look forward to other new acquisitions including the winning work from the Napier Waller Art Prize – Australia’s first veterans-and-serving-personnel-only art competition – and additional items from the ADF including an AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft.

Engagement with our redeveloped website was strong throughout the year, with more than 4,052,000 web page visits helping visitors plan their trips, learn about their family history, and explore our military heritage.

Beyond the website 2017–18 was another exciting year for the Memorial’s digital engagement program. With the generous support of the C.E.W. Bean Foundation and Ruth and Steve Lambert we released Art of nation: Australia’s official art and photography of the First World War online. A digital interpretation of the earliest plans for the Australian War Memorial it allows website visitors to see the art and photos Charles Bean might have selected to fill his own original design for the Memorial.

In June 2018 our first virtual reality production, The Battle of Hamel, was delivered to the public and work commenced on several other projects including 360-degree video experiences of major technology objects, such as the First World War Mark IV tank, and the National Register of War Memorials. We are very excited to share these with the public in the future.

The Memorial also continued its efforts to share the resources held in the Research Centre and the expertise of the historians of the Military History Section. More than 11,830 records, diaries, letters, and books were accessed for research purposes by more than 37,945 family members, academics, researchers, and historians. The dedicated volunteers and staff of our family history program assisted visitors to interpret these records including through our expanded hours of operation for weekend visitors.

Our quarterly magazine, Wartime, had a strong year with the issues themed around 1918 and Special Forces proving particularly popular. Demand for advice and expertise from the history team was also strong, especially during the centenary of the Third Battle of Ypres and the anniversaries of Kokoda, Milne Bay, and Coral–Balmoral.

The teams’ expertise and original research form the foundation of much of the Memorial’s work. Through the year they have been called on to provide interviews with the media, speeches for government officials, develop exhibitions, and research and write stories for our Last Post Ceremony.

This year for the first time the work of our historians, researchers, and other staff writers has been supported by a dedicated in-house journalist, Claire Hunter, who has written a series of wonderful articles for our website ranging from interviews with veterans to explorations of behind the scenes activity at the Memorial.

Supported by the Public Service Modernisation Fund the Memorial has also commenced implementing a major IT Modernisation Project which will improve and enhance information technology, human resources, and finance systems over the coming year

Close collaboration between Corporate Services and National Collections branches has also been vital to the successful commencement of the Treloar E project. These works will greatly expand the Memorial’s storage, logistics, and conservation facilities at its Mitchell storage precinct, and will be completed by early 2019.

The Treloar E project will also play a major role in the Memorial’s long-term future as the Memorial is now well advanced in development of a Detailed Business Case for the Memorial Redevelopment project. Intended to overcome issues regarding a lack of space to tell the stories of service from the last 50 years in full and to cater for the next 50 years of history, this project will be a focus of planning for 2018–19.

The Memorial has carefully sought to manage its operations under sound financial management principles and practices, and to conduct its activities within the available funding. We continue to seek support from government and nongovernment sources, and are grateful to those companies and individuals who have invested in the Memorial’s vision over this financial year.

The most significant challenge faced by the Memorial is the absence of sufficient space to adequately tell the stories of contemporary operations, let alone those to come. In this context, we have put considerable resources into the development of a detailed business case for extensions and renovation. It is essential that servicemen and servicewomen, veterans, and their families know their stories are being told, and told now with pride, rather than decades later.

We are particularly grateful to our generous supporters and partners. Their support has enabled us to present more of our nation’s stories than would otherwise be possible. I also thank the Commonwealth Government, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, and the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs the Honourable Darren Chester, for their ongoing support. I would also like to thank former Ministers the Honourable Dan Tehan and the Honourable Michael McCormack for their support through the year.

The Memorial was particularly grateful for the government’s strong support and funding of several important initiatives for 2018–19, including an enhanced digitisation program to preserve delicate and vulnerable collection material, and a boost to sustainability funding.

My deep gratitude goes to all members of Council for their leadership, oversight, strategic direction, and guidance. I am particularly indebted to Mr Kerry Stokes AC in his role as Chair of the Australian War Memorial Council. His active and generous support of the Memorial events and ceremonies, and his leadership and support to management are deeply appreciated. I am also grateful to the partners and families of our Council who have supported them over this past year.

All that has been achieved this year would have been impossible without the hard work, enthusiasm, skills, and knowledge of the Memorial’s staff and volunteers. I cannot thank them enough for their passion and dedication in delivering outstanding service to our community this past year. Their professionalism and personal engagement with the Memorial’s mission is a key to our success, and I look forward to the next year knowing they will continue to make me proud to lead this organisation.

The leadership and support of my assistant directors Tim Sullivan and his successor Brian Dawson in the National Collection Branch, Leanne Patterson in Corporate Services, and Anne Bennie overseeing Public Programs has been instrumental in making 2017–18 a success. Their expertise, judgement, hard work, and commitment have delivered extraordinary results this year and prepared us well for financial year ahead.

We have well developed plans for the post-Centenary of Anzac period and for the Memorial’s long term future, and will continue to develop both throughout the next financial year.

Dr Brendan Nelson AO 
Director

Corporate

Purpose

The purpose of the Australian War Memorial is to commemorate the sacrifice of those Australians who have died in war or on operational service.

Mission

The mission of the Australian War Memorial is to assist Australians to remember, interpret, and understand the Australian experience of war and its enduring impact on Australian society.

Vision

Our vision is for the Memorial to:

• play the leading role in the nation’s commemoration of the Australian experience of war
• engage with people and communities to achieve our purpose
• collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders and partners to create mutual long-term value
• be a workplace that inspires integrity and excellence.

Values

The Memorial is committed to the Australian Public Service (APS) values:

Impartial 
The APS is apolitical and provides the government with advice that is frank, honest, timely, and based on the best available evidence

Committed to service 
The APS is professional, objective, innovative, and efficient, and works collaboratively to achieve the best results for the Australian community and the government.

Accountable 
The APS is open and accountable to the Australian community under the law and within the framework of ministerial responsibility.

Respectful 
The APS respects all people, including their rights and their heritage.

Ethical 
The APS demonstrates leadership, is trustworthy, and acts with integrity in all that it does.

The Honourable Malcolm Turnbull MP, Prime Minister of Australia, The Honourable Bill Shorten MP, Leader of the Federal Opposition, and members of parliament, attended the Last Post Ceremony on the first day of Parliament for 2018.

Planning and reporting framework

The Memorial is a statutory authority within the Department of Veterans’ Affairs portfolio, and is responsible for functions in accordance with the requirements of the Australian War Memorial Act 1980, the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, and other applicable acts.

The Memorial’s strategic direction and policies are set by its Council.

Management and implementation of strategies and policies are the responsibility of the Director, who is a statutory appointee under the Australian War Memorial Act 1980.

The strategic direction for the Memorial over 2017–18 is articulated in the Memorial’s Corporate Plan. The plan includes the outcomes to be achieved by the Memorial, as well as its vision, corporate priorities, and values. The Corporate Plan, approved and regularly reviewed by Council, provides the framework for developing the annual Business Plan and its related budget. All Memorial activities are linked directly to corporate priorities and associated performance targets. Performance information related to these outputs is contained in Part 4 of this report, commencing on page 19.

The Memorial has a number of other plans that focus on particular activities including collection development; collection documentation; collection conservation; gallery and site development; audit; risk; business continuity; budget; fraud control; information technology; workplace diversity; and security of physical assets, people, and information.

Further details of applicable legislation, functions, and powers can be found in Part 5, at page 75.

Location

The Memorial’s main site is located at the northern end of Anzac Parade, in Campbell in the Australian Capital Territory, with storage and collection facilities approximately nine kilometres away in the northern Canberra suburb of Mitchell.

Organisation and senior staff

Day-to-day corporate operations are conducted in accordance with the policies and strategic direction set by the Council of the Memorial and its management team.

The management structure of the Memorial comprises three branches based on functional responsibilities with outputs achieved by cross-branch activities.

Project teams for particular tasks are established as required, drawing on staff from sections across the Memorial managed and coordinated by the Memorial’s senior executive committee, the Corporate Management Group (CMG), which is comprised of the Director and the three assistant directors. Meeting weekly, CMG is responsible for the overall leadership, management and implementation of strategies and policies, and the regular review of performance. For all financial matters, the Chief Finance Officer attends CMG and also has direct access to the Director as necessary

Profiles of senior staff are at Appendix 2.

Branch descriptions

National Collection 
The National Collection branch develops, manages, conserves, researches, and interprets the National Collection and makes it accessible through an extensive range of programs.

The Memorial’s collection is an invaluable resource comprising the historical and cultural artefacts of Australia’s experience of war and our involvement in peacekeeping, humanitarian, and other operational service. It underpins the Memorial’s capability to tell the stories of Australian service in exhibitions and other public programs, to educate and inform its visitors, and to meet the information needs of public enquiries, researchers, and academic and official organisations.

Each section of the branch manages a particular collection type and provides management information services to provide the essential historical and cultural context of the collection. The National Collection branch is comprised of Art; Military Heraldry and Technology; Photographs, Film and Sound; the Research Centre; and Collection Services. Curators in these areas are responsible for researching and developing the collection; ensuring that it is accessible, well documented, and appropriately stored and conserved; and that its significance is understood. National Collection staff provide intellectual input to the curatorial development and interpretation of exhibitions and public programs, deal with public and official enquiries, engage in archival research and access, and make collection material available online. Collection Services staff provide expert services in conservation, storage, movement, and physical handling of the collection, as well as management of the collection management system. The branch also manages the Roll of Honour and Commemorative Roll, national and international loans of Memorial material, and donations of historically significant material.

The Branch maintains liaison with the Australian Defence Force and its history and heritage units through the Collections Coordination Group (CCG), which enables the Memorial to maintain its traditions of collection in the field during current operations.

Public Programs 
The function of the Public Programs branch is to engage all Australian and international visitors to the Memorial in commemoration and to gain a deeper understanding of Australia’s military history. This occurs through ceremonies, exhibitions, education, interpretation, digital engagement, public relations, and marketing.

Major and minor ceremonies are conducted to mark anniversaries relating to Australia’s experience of war, in particular Anzac Day and Remembrance Day, and by producing and conducting the daily Last Post Ceremony to remember those individuals who lost their lives in conflict. The exhibitions program contributes to the remembrance and understanding of the Australian experience of war through the development and maintenance of world-class museum displays incorporating audio-visual and interactive displays, relics, photographs, and works of art. The Memorial’s goals are further supported through a program of changing temporary displays and exhibitions in the Special Exhibitions Gallery. The Memorial’s Touring Exhibition program has been re-established to actively engage Australian in other cities and regional locations.

The Public Programs branch conducts research to identify the needs and expectations of visitors and major interest groups, and evaluates the extent to which those needs are being met. It conducts a program of public events and a range of visitor services and services, including those provided by the Memorial’s volunteers and historians. The branch develops and implements education programs that are linked with national education curriculum, both for delivery on site and as part of its outreach strategy.

A focused digital experience strategy now provides an experience connected with the Memorial through further development of the website and use of social media and digital channels.

The branch is also responsible for seeking, managing, and servicing fundraising and sponsorship opportunities; developing and coordinating marketing initiatives across the Memorial; providing public relations direction and support; supplying authoritative historical research and interpretation; and researching and writing the official history of Australia’s involvement in peacekeeping, humanitarian, and post–Cold War operations, East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, and an independent history of the medical legacies of the Vietnam War.

The Public Programs branch has had the responsibility for coordinating many Memorial activities relating to the centenary of Anzac.

Corporate Services 
The Corporate Services Branch is responsible for the delivery of a range of internal and external governance, compliance, and resource management functions. Implementation of government reforms relevant to the Memorial is also coordinated by the branch.

The branch facilitates the management of the Memorial’s resources, including staff, finances, facilities, information technology, and office services. It provides grounds and property management, and security and records management services. It is responsible for corporate planning and issues relating to administrative law, work health and safety, fraud control, risk management, and ethics. Corporate Services also manages procurement and contract advisory functions, financial policy, internal audit, and asset management. The branch is also responsible for management of the Memorial Shop and e-Business.

Executive functions and ministerial and parliamentary liaison are coordinated in this branch.

PERFORMANCE STATEMENTS

Outcome and outputs structure

All Australian government departments and agencies are required to measure their performance in terms of Outcomes. These are the results, impacts, or consequences of their actions on the Australian community. The performance of the Australian War Memorial is expressed in terms of a single Outcome:

Outcome 1

Australians remembering, interpreting and understanding the Australian experience of war and its enduring impact through maintaining and developing the National 

Memorial, its collection and exhibition of historical material, commemorative ceremonies and research.

The Memorial’s Outcome will be achieved through the maintenance and development of the national memorial and a national collection of historical material, through commemorative ceremonies, exhibitions, research, interpretation, and dissemination.

The Memorial delivers 13 programs, five of which are internally generated, to achieve the Outcome:

Overall performance against outcome

This year the Memorial addressed the needs of the Centenary of First World War commemorative program while also taking great strides to position itself post-centenary.

The special exhibition From the shadows: Australia’s Special Forces has met the challenge of responding to public and stakeholder interests with an exhibition that presents a contemporary perspective grounded in history, which is informative and authentic. In the first half of its display period it has motivated repeat visitation, especially from local Canberra residents, that compensated for a decline in some interstate categories.

The Memorial welcomed back more general visitors who have not been to the Memorial for over ten years with a 12 per cent increase in this category. Satisfaction ratings have seen shifts from satisfied to very satisfied across many of the areas of activity, including the Memorial’s outdoor displays, talks, presentations, family programs and facilities.

The impact of weather and the day of the week on the Memorial’s commemorative outdoor events could be seen in the vibrancy and increased attendances at the Anzac Day National Ceremony compared to lower attendance at Remembrance Day, which took place on a rainy Saturday.

During December 2017 there were two returns of significant objects to the Memorial: the Menin Gate Lions returned after their tour and loan to their hometown of Ieper, Belgium, and the Long Tan Cross was received by the Memorial on a permanent basis as a gift from the Government of Vietnam.

Commemoration performance indicator

Total attendance at the Memorial’s Anzac Day ceremonies increased to 49,000. This increase was predominantly due to an additional 4,500 people attending the National Ceremony. The audience profile this year was markedly different to previous years. The march included a reunion of Australian Army Apprentices to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the formation of the Army Apprentices Schools. The marchers enjoyed a strong support crowd of family and friends who closely lined the full length of Anzac parade. Unusually fine weather also made the National Ceremony a destination for families with young children adding a new warmth and dimension to the day.

The Remembrance Day 2017 Ceremony fell on a Saturday this year, affecting school group bookings, and rain forecast for the afternoon may have deterred general visitors. The overall result was a decrease in attendance of 600 people.

The Last Post ceremonies continue to be a successful focus for regular commemoration available to all visitors. This year the daily ceremonies were attended by 143,318 visitors, an increase on the previous year

Attendance at wreathlaying ceremonies, including VIP and school ceremonies, increased with a total of 11,410 people in attendance or participating.

The general visitor satisfaction rating for commemorative ceremonies received a 5 per cent increase in those rating very satisfied.

Accessibility performance indicator

Most visitors visited the Australian War Memorial to see everything there was to see on a general visit and spent an average 2 hours and 10 minutes at the Memorial. There have been some shifts in the profile this year:

• The average time spent decreased by 6 minutes on average from 2 hours 16 minutes. There was a 6 per cent increase in visitors spending 1 to 2 hours at the Memorial
• There was a small decrease (2 per cent) in international visitors overall compared to last year
• Domestic visitation showed small decreases in visitors from Victoria and Queensland but this was matched by a 9 per cent increase in local visitors from the Australian Capital Territory. Twenty per cent of the visitors from the ACT visited especially to see Out of the shadows: Australia’s Special Forces. Visitors from the ACT and WA were prominent amongst those who returned within 12 months to see this special exhibition
• There was a 12 per cent increase in visitors who had not been to the Memorial for over ten years or more. This was relatively consistent across visitation from all states except the ACT
• The gender balance became closer with female visitation increasing by 3 per cent to 47 per cent in total
• This year there was a 4 per cent increase in visits from the 25–44 year age range and decreases in those aged over 55 years. Visitors aged between 25 and 34 years have increased steadily by 3 per cent since 2015–16
• 8 per cent increase in visitors with no connection to the Australian Defence Force, and a 7 per cent decrease in visitors who were relatives or friends of Australian defence servicemen or servicewomen. Visitors who were current or former serving members of the Australian Defence Force stayed relatively static
• 9 per cent increase in visitors with an education level of Bachelor degree or Bachelor degree with Honours
• General public front gate attendance showed a 1 per cent decrease this year. Program and event individual attendances overall decreased in comparison to 2016–17 due primarily to many significant anniversary events 4 PERFORMANCE STATEMENTS 22 AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL ANNUAL REPORT 2017–2018 falling within 2016–17. Big Things in Store was not held this financial year.

The Memorial had two travelling exhibitions available this year; Remember me: lost Diggers of Vignacourt and For Country for Nation.

Overall, a combined estimated total of 1.089 million people visited the Memorial’s Campbell site or storage facility at Mitchell. A further 11,851 visitors attended the Memorial’s touring exhibitions at other venues.

Knowledge and understanding performance indicator

Responses to the Memorial’s question about the importance of the Australian experiences of war creating and shaping the Australian identity showed that 82 per cent of visitors felt it was extremely important to very important. This is a 1 per cent increase on the previous year.

This year visitors were also asked how the Memorial contributed to or shaped their views on Australian military history. Around 36 per cent stated that it had made them appreciative of those who served Australia and their heroism. Another 36 per cent said that it had been informative and educational. Twenty-four per cent gave mixed answers relating to broadening of views, was good and excellent, or that it met specific personal interests such as family history.

“[The Memorial] has not shaped my views but allowed me to see and feel [the experiences of those] who served and shaped Australian history.”

“It is important to put faces, sound, names to war and its affects to ensure we understand the gravity of war and preciousness of freedom.”

Ninety-eight per cent of those exiting the For Country for Nation exhibition appreciated having seen this exhibition at the Memorial.

Ninety-eight per cent of those exiting the For Country for Nation exhibition appreciated having seen this exhibition at the Memorial.

Visitors were asked what impression the exhibition made and how it made them feel. Just over half or respondents (56 per cent) relayed an emotional response relating to feeling that recognition was due to and pride in the contribution of serving Indigenous men and women, angry and/or ashamed at the treatment of Indigenous people by the wider Australian community, or a mix of supportive and saddened feelings. Twenty-five per cent felt informed, and that they had greater understanding and awareness. The rest held mixed opinions, including that the exhibitions was balanced; reflective; or too small.

“It made me feel proud and respected.”

“Grateful our mostly Indigenous school group had something like this to connect with.”

“Powerful impact. Art tells personal stories so I felt proud of their contributions, sorry for their losses, and ashamed we respect them so little.”

• 88 per cent strongly agreed or agreed that the exhibition gave them a better understanding of the Australian Indigenous experience of war
• 83 per cent strongly agreed or agreed that it gave them a realistic insight into impacts of war on Australian servicemen and servicewomen
• 96 per cent rated the quality of objects, artworks, and stories as very good or good
• 94 per cent rated the exhibition overall as very good or good.

From the shadows: Australia’s Special Forces opened on 17 October 2017 and is open until September 2018. This subject has always been popular with visitors and the exhibition has not disappointed. Initial findings from the first 300 surveys indicate that 87 per cent thought it was an accurate representation of Australian Special Forces, acknowledging that not everything would or could be told. Visitors think the exhibition conveys a range of significant and complex messages. The main categories in responses received so far are:

• 32 per cent think it informs on the role of Special Operations in Defence, the skills and training
• 17 per cent think it provides appropriate importance and recognition
• 17 per cent think it provides insight into the personal qualities of those who serve in this Command
• 14 per cent think its aim is to bring to light, inform, and prove insights
• 8 per cent think it examines the balance of national benefit and personal sacrifice.

Output 1.1 – Commemorative ceremonies

Major national ceremonies, particularly Anzac Day and Remembrance Day, and other commemorative ceremonies are conducted in an engaging, dignified, and appropriate manner, with assistance provided to organisations conducting commemorative ceremonies.

Overview

The Memorial’s commemorative events and ceremonies continued to see considerable growth in interest and attendance, with a number of events marking significant anniversaries held throughout the 2017–18 reporting period.

On 11 November 2017, the Remembrance Day National Ceremony marked two significant anniversaries: the 99th anniversary of the Armistice which ended the First World War, and the 100th anniversary of the Passchendaele campaign in Belgium. Both of these events were recognised on this occasion, with the Commemorative Address delivered by the Belgian-born Federal Minister for Finance, Senator the Honourable Mathias Cormann. The ceremony was attended by 3,100 people including 280 students from seven schools across Australia. Representing the more than 102,000 names on the Memorial’s Roll of Honour, 11 students participated by laying a Commemorative Cross at the Stone of Remembrance.

In April 2018 we commemorated the 100th anniversary of the battle of Villers-Bretonneux and the 103rd anniversary of the landings at Gallipoli. On 25 April 2018, in the stillness of the morning, 37,500 people gathered at the Anzac Day Dawn Service to hear the moving Commemorative Address by surgeon Colonel Susan Neuhaus CSC (Retd).

An estimated 11,500 attended the Anzac Day National Ceremony and veterans’ march coordinated by the ACT Branch of the Returned and Services League of Australia. Mr Robert J.K. Semple OAM BEM, a Second World War veteran and Rat of Tobruk provided a remarkable speech, reflecting on his personal experiences. This was followed by the review of the veterans’ march by the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd) and a stirring Commemorative Address delivered by the Honourable Kim Beazley AC.

Performance information: commemorative ceremonies

Performance target 
Three major commemorative ceremonies.

Result

> Result

Performance target

Performance target 
Three major ceremonies: the Anzac Day Dawn Service, the Anzac Day National Ceremony, and the Remembrance Day National Ceremony.

> Result

Attendance at and participation in a commemorative ceremony is an explicit act of remembrance.

Just over 208,000 people attended commemorative ceremonies held during 2017–18.

Attendance at the three major commemorative ceremonies held during 2017–18:

1. Anzac Day Dawn Service: approximately 37,500 visitors (38,000 last year)

2. Anzac Day National Ceremony: 11,500 visitors (7,000 last year)

3. Remembrance Day Ceremony: 3,100 visitors (3,700 last year).

Performance target 
At least ten other commemorative ceremonies

> Result

Performance target 
At least two ceremonies per week (during school terms) for the school wreathlaying program.

> Result

School wreathlaying ceremonies are free programs and continue to be popular and engaging.

School wreathlaying ceremonies are free programs and continue to be popular and engaging.

In 2017–18, 164 ceremonies were attended by 8,626 students.

Funding support provided by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs enables this program to continue to be delivered.

“Very moving, respectful and brings home the meaning of why we are here. Very well organised and good to listen to the veteran.”

St Eugene College, Burpengary, Qld, October 2017

Moerlina School, Mt Claremont, WA, March 2018

“It gave them the opportunity to apply their understanding of sacrifice, courage and the ANZAC legacy in a real way. A genuine commemoration helps them understand why we continue to commemorate ANZAC Day and why it is so important.”

“It gave them the opportunity to apply their understanding of sacrifice, courage and the ANZAC legacy in a real way. A genuine commemoration helps them understand why we continue to commemorate ANZAC Day and why it is so important.”

Kaleen Primary School, ACT, April 2018

“Excellent explanation of the ceremony and its purpose from the staff and guest speaker. The students obviously felt/ acknowledged the solemnity of the occasion and understand that the feats of our servicemen and women should be remembered.”

“Canberra tours can be hectic, one site to another. The ceremony ensured this was not just another stop in our tour. Reverence and awe are key for children’s understanding of sacrifice. The ceremony ensured both.”

“Canberra tours can be hectic, one site to another. The ceremony ensured this was not just another stop in our tour. Reverence and awe are key for children’s understanding of sacrifice. The ceremony ensured both.”

St Brigid’s Catholic School, New Norfolk, Tas, October 2017

“Dear staff at the Australian War Memorial

“Dear staff at the Australian War Memorial

We would like to say thank you to you for letting us visit and learn about Australia’s experiences in wars. We found the wreathlaying ceremony amazing and we appreciated the opportunity to have a ceremony like this in such a special place.”

St Brigid’s Catholic School, New Norfolk, Tas, October 2017

“Dear Mr Walker

We would like to say thank you to you for sharing your experiences as an Australian war veteran with us. We found it very interesting to learn about the experiences you and your father had serving Australia. We loved seeing the medals and the rail spike you had from Burma, and seeing the photos of all the men in uniform. We think they looked very young to be soldiers. Thank you for your service fighting for Australia.”

St Brigid’s Catholic School, Tas, November 2017

“It was really cool to hear the veteran, John speak about his stories about when he fought for our incredible country. When we were at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, I felt a sense of warmth in the air because everyone was silent and remembering those who lost their lives fighting for us.”

Woodleigh School, Vic, May 2018

■ Performance target 
The Last Post Ceremony on a daily basis

> Result

The Last Post Ceremony was delivered every day except Christmas Day, when the Memorial is closed to the public. Over the last year, the Memorial has facilitated almost 200 family requests for ceremonies, more than 50 significant military anniversaries, and 10 association requests.

Some of the most significant ceremonies held during the last 12 months include the centenaries of Passchendaele and Beersheba; the 90th anniversary of the opening of Menin Gate; and the 70th anniversary of peacekeeping operations. More recently, the Memorial commemorated the 50th anniversary of the attacks on Fire Support Bases Coral– Balmoral. Over 1,000 people attended, many of whom were veterans and their families. The honour roll for the battle was recited by the Memorial’s Director, Dr Brendan Nelson, and the colours and devices of the participating artillery, armour, engineers, and infantry corps were on display.

The number of requests for family ceremonies continues to grow steadily extending the time from request to delivery. The current projected delivery timeframe for a new request is over two years. The Memorial receives a great deal of feedback from families expressing their gratitude in being able to commemorate their ancestor in such a memorable way.

The delivery support received from Defence personnel remains positive and is appreciated. Each day, a current serving member of Defence volunteers their time to read the story and recite the ode. Australia’s Federation Guard has participated in nearly 40 Last Post ceremonies in the reporting period, and colour parties have paraded on two occasions.

Involvement of veterans has grown significantly, particularly within the Vietnam Veterans’ community, with many associations seeking to include the Last Post Ceremony as a part of their reunion activities. The Department of Veterans’ Affairs has assisted many Second World War veterans to attend significant anniversaries commemorated at the Last Post Ceremony including the 75th anniversaries of Milne Bay, Kokoda, and El Alamein.

Two pipe bands have participated in the Last Post Ceremony during the year: the Canberra Burns Club Pipe Band for the centenary anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele, and the Dubbo Pipe Band on the 75th anniversary of the Fall of Gona. On both occasions, the pipe bands played a splendid rendition of Flowers of the forest to accompany the wreathlaying.

Kokoda vale recitation

Kokoda vale recitation

During August 2017, the Australian War Memorial conducted a program of activities observing the 75th anniversaries of the battle of Milne Bay and the Kokoda campaign. On Wednesday 30 August 2017, the Kokoda campaign was commemorated at a special ceremony held in the Commemorative Area. From 7 am cadets from the Royal Military College, Duntroon Kokoda Company, recited the names of the 641 Australians who died in the three months of fighting on the Kokoda Trail. During this time, visitors were able to enter the Commemorative Area and place poppies to remember the fallen.

70th anniversary of Australian peacekeeping remembrance service

On 13 September 2017, the 70th anniversary of Australia’s involvement in international peacekeeping efforts was marked in a unique ceremony in the Memorial’s Commemorative Area. The ceremony commenced at 7.30 am with a member of the Australian Defence Force Academy reciting the names of Australian peacekeepers killed on duty. The proceedings included readings by military, police, and civilian representatives, as well as the personal reflections of family members. The World Peace Flame was displayed symbolising peace, unity, and a celebration of freedom. The flame has been burning since July 1999 when seven flames lit by eminent peacekeepers on five continents were joined as one. The ceremony concluded with the release of a single dove, the internationally recognised symbol of peace. Following the ceremony, guests were invited to place a poppy on the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier and to view a selection of archival images depicting Australian peacekeepers.

The Honourable Charlot Salwai Tabimasmas, Prime Minister of the Republic of Vanuatu, accompanied by Mrs Marie-Justine Salwai, hosted by Rear Admiral Ken Doolan AO RAN (Retd).

VIP visits

The Memorial conducted 111 VIP visits in 2017–18 including visits by Prince Moulay Idriss Alaoui of Morocco; His Royal Highness Tuanku Muhriz ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir, Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia; the Honourable Manasseh Sogavare MP, Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands and Madam Emmy Sogavare; Her Excellency Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic´, President of the Republic of Croatia and Mr Jakov Kitarovic´; His Excellency Mahamadou Issoufou, President of Niger; and His Excellency Michael Higgins, President of Ireland and Mrs Sabina Higgins.

A complete list of VIP visits and ceremonies is provided at Appendix 3.

Output 1.2 – The National Memorial and grounds

The Memorial building and grounds are conserved and developed as a national memorial to Australians who served and died in war.

Overview

The Memorial buildings and grounds are maintained as important commemorative areas.

A sculpture to commemorate General Sir John Monash and his significance as an outstanding Australian commander was installed in the grounds in May 2018 and dedicated on 4 July 2018. A new pedestrian path was installed to improve visitor safety and pedestrian access around the sculpture. Planning continues for a sculpture to commemorate families of Australians who have served in war, peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. Design has commenced on a commemorative space within the Sculpture Garden to recognise and commemorate the military service and experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.

The latest Campbell Site Development Plan was completed by Johnson Pilton Walker in 2017 with suggested improvements to visitor flow, additional memorial locations within the grounds, further building development opportunities, and increased site safety and security.

Three new bronze plaques were installed in the grounds. Enhancements to the Roll of Honour, with the additions of names previously not included or misspelled, have been implemented.

Heritage and aesthetic considerations of the Commemorative Area remain important, and are carefully managed in alignment with the Memorial’s Heritage Management Plan.

■ Performance target 
The Memorial heritage building, Commemorative Area, and surrounding grounds maintained and presented to the highest standard.

> Result

• 97 per cent very satisfied or satisfied with their overall visit (80 per cent very satisfied)
• 99 per cent very satisfied or satisfied with the Memorial grounds (85 per cent very satisfied)
• 100 per cent (99.8) very satisfied or satisfied with the Commemorative Area (83 per cent very satisfied).

The ongoing maintenance program for the preservation of the Memorial’s building, gardens, and grounds ensures their presentation at the highest possible standard. Replacement of trees and other plantings was undertaken as required, as was maintenance of sculptures and memorials, buildings, and the Pool of Reflection.

A comprehensive tree audit for the Campbell site has been completed, identifying GPS coordinates, species, and recommendations to ensure the health, safety, and longevity of all trees.

Maintenance of the Pool of Reflection in the Commemorative Area and the National Service Memorial Fountain in the courtyard continues at a high standard and has reduced conservation requirements.

■ Performance target 
Access to the Memorial and visitor facilities of the highest standards.

> Result

An updated Campbell Site Development Plan – including improvements to visitor flow, further building development opportunities, and increased site safety and security – was completed this year. It is being considered as part of the future planning and development of the business case in support of the Australian War Memorial redevelopment project currently underway. Design and documentation has progressed to upgrade the handrails, improve lighting for evening and night events, and meet safety and legislated requirements for the southern Commemorative Area stairs.

■ Performance target 
Building works that comply with relevant standards, codes, and regulations.

> Result

All building works at the Memorial are undertaken in accordance with relevant standards, codes, and regulations.

■ Performance target 
Management and conservation of heritage elements using the Australia ICOMOS Burra Charter.

> Result

Memorial staff continue to liaise with heritage specialists as required to seek advice for building works in heritage sensitive areas.

An ongoing maintenance and conservation regime is in place to protect and repair the stonework in the Memorial building.

A regular maintenance regime for the Lone Pine tree (Pinus halepensis) continues to assist in ensuring its longevity. A replacement pine, grown from a seed taken from the original Lone Pine tree, was planted by Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on Anzac Day 2014. The new tree is in a healthy state, and this is assisted by the fence and bird netting which is expanded as the tree grows. It is anticipated that this tree will have grown to a suitable size when the original Lone Pine reaches senescence.

See also “Heritage Management” on page 79.

■ Performance target 
Timely completion of works to minimise impact on visitors

> Result

All minor works at the Memorial, including regular maintenance, cleaning, and conservation of the main building, are scheduled out of hours where possible and in consideration of significant public events. Any major works that may be disruptive are scoped and planned to ensure that intrusive elements of the work are scheduled at the most appropriate times, that alternative arrangements for visitors are made, and that the public is informed.

Other related activities:

Roll of Honour

The Memorial’s bronze Roll of Honour panels were updated for accuracy, with 12 in situ amendments made.

The Australian Light Armoured Vehicle (ASLAV-25) was installed into its new home on the western side of Anzac Hall adjacent to the Bushmaster and Centurion tank in October 2017.

Output 1.3 – The National Collection

A national collection of historical material related to Australia’s military history that is developed, managed, preserved, and interpreted to make it accessible.

Overview

As the centenary of the signing of the Armistice on 11 November 1918 approaches, so too does the end of the Memorial’s Armistice centenary commemorations. The program of events at the Memorial over the last four years has marked one of the most significant periods in the Memorial’s 77-year history.

These last four years have been significant for the National Collections team, and 2017–18 has been no exception.

The Memorial continues to grow and enhance the National Collection through donations, purchases, and commissions. Significant efforts have been made to make these acquisitions accessible to the public, principally via the website through an active digitisation program. However, the limitation of appropriate exhibition spaces within the main building restricts our ability to make all items accessible to the public, particularly for larger objects.

The Memorial is grateful for the ongoing support of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) through the Collections Coordination Group, which facilitates the liaison between the memorial and the ADF’s services history and heritage units; and the Defence Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group (CASG) which provides technical expertise and project management in supporting the transfer of assets to the National Collection.

Art

In 2016 the Australian War Memorial commissioned a new public artwork by Charles Robb and Sarah Holland-Batt for the Sculpture Garden to commemorate the contribution of General Sir John Monash to Australian military history and his dedication to civic duty in the years after the war. The sculpture will be dedicated by Lieutenant General Angus Campbell AO DSC on 4 July 2018, the 100th anniversary of the battle of Hamel. Planning for a families sculpture dedicated to recognising the families of Australians who have served in war, peacekeeping, and humanitarian operations is underway. The first stage is to be completed in late 2018, with selection of the preferred artistic design and delivery of maquette for the fundraising campaign.

In a major new initiative the Memorial has partnered with the University of Canberra and launched the inaugural Napier Waller Art Prize, the first ever national art prize offered exclusively to Defence personnel, with sponsorship support from Thales Australia and charity organisation

The Road Home. The $10,000 prize is open to all current and former Defence personnel. It aims to promote the healing potential of art for servicemen and servicewomen, and to raise a broader awareness of military experience and the impact of service on individuals. The inaugural winner will be announced in September 2018 and the winning work will go on display at the Memorial.

Charles Bean’s unfulfilled ambition to create an art gallery of the Official War Art Scheme was brought to life in virtual form. The online exhibition entitled Art of nation enables visitors to encounter the First World War art collection as Bean intended it to be displayed, view the paintings, click through to map views and historical images to compare landscapes and locations with their current appearance, and to track the journeys of featured artists through the theatres of the First World War.

On 16 November 2017, the Australian War Memorial unveiled a painting by artists from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands in South Australia. Commissioned in late 2016, Kulatangku angakanyini manta munu Tjukurpa (Country and Culture will be protected by spears). This major new work explores the theme of defence of Country from an Aboriginal Australian perspective, and was put on permanent display in the Memorial’s Orientation Gallery. The painting was created by 19 senior male artists of the APY lands, commissioned by the Memorial to tell their story of Aboriginal Australians defending Country.

The launch event was attended by approximately 60 guests including a number of artists of the APY Art Collective, and Art Centre staff. The proceedings commenced with the screening of a short documentary about the art commission and the process of creating the remarkable artwork. The documentary is also shown alongside the painting for the information of visitors to the Memorial. During the event, Mr Frank Young, Chairperson of the APY Executive Board and Director of Tjala Arts, and Mumu Mike Williams, Director of Mimili Maku Arts, spoke of the inherent connection to Country that inspired the work. The event concluded with a rare performance by a number of the artists, of traditional Aboriginal singing and dancing or Inma to reflect the significance of the painting coming to the Australian War Memorial.

Following the November 2017 launch of the painting, APY artist Robert Fielding donated a drawing of poppies, each inscribed with the name of an Indigenous man who served in the First World War, to the National Collection. Two further APY Art Collective works were acquired: Ngangkari Ngura (Healing Country) a large painting by senior Pitjantjatjara artist and traditional healer Betty Muffler, and Maralinga Story drawn by senior Yankunytjatjara artist Alec Baker.

Australian Angela Tiatia and Singaporean Debbie Ding were commissioned to undertake a reciprocal one-month artist residency and commission at the Memorial and the National Museum of Singapore. Both artists created new work in response to Australia and Singapore’s shared Second World War history. These commissions featured prominently in the National Museum of Singapore’s major exhibition about the Fall of Singapore, Witness to war: Remembering 1942, which opened in September 2017. The commissions were funded by the Australian Government’s ANZAC Centenary Arts and Culture Fund, and the Singaporean Ministry for Culture, Community and Youth through the National Heritage Board. The Anzac Centenary Fund has provided funding for similar commissioning residencies in Papua New Guinea, Korea, and Vietnam to be undertaken in 2018.

The Memorial began an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant, Art in conflict: transforming contemporary art at the Australian War Memorial, with Curtin University and in collaboration with an international academic team from University of Melbourne, the University of New South Wales, and the University of Manchester. The project will consider the Official War Art Scheme as well as other important commissions in the Memorial’s Art collection. Since 2007, the Memorial has built on its Official War Artist scheme to transform the commissioning of war art, engaging high profile contemporary artists to produce sometimes challenging work. This project shines a critical light upon this important yet under-researched national collection of art, placing it at the centre of current discussions around contemporary art and war. This investigation seeks to continue to transform the Memorial’s curatorial approaches and build an enduring digital archive of analysis and interpretation.

The Memorial continued its official war art and art commissioning program with the following works:

• Juan Ford was commissioned to paint a portrait of Victoria Cross recipient Corporal Daniel Keighran. The life-size portrait creates an immersive experience for the viewer
• Turkish artist Köken Ergun was commissioned to make a video work that observes the social and historical rituals performed at Gallipoli by Australian and Turkish tourists. The video was shown at Artspace Sydney in 2018
• George Gittoes created a painting depicting Jonathan Church carrying a child at Kibeho, Rwanda in 1995, a powerful acknowledgement of Church’s role in Rwanda, and of Australian and international peacekeepers more generally
• Torres Strait Islander artist Alick Tipoti was deployed as an official war artist with 51st Far North Queensland Regiment. The artist created a commemorative suite of six paintings and six linoleum prints that relate to the choreography and chant of a new dance he created for the Sarpeye Dancers
• Three contemporary Australian artists – Alison Alder, Jake Holmes, and Mini Graff – were commissioned to create works in response to the Memorial’s collection of wartime posters. These works went on display alongside a selection of original posters from the Memorial’s collection at Mornington Peninsula Regional Art Gallery in the exhibition Propaganda.

In 2012 a bequest by Vietnam veteran and immigration consultant John Milton Gillespie was left for the Australian War Memorial to buy works of art. While the subject or nature of the work to be acquired was not specified, it was considered appropriate that the work should relate to the experiences of Vietnamese–Australians. The Memorial commissioned artist Dr Dacchi Dang to create a five-panel lacquer painting responding to Vietnamese-Australians’ experience of the Vietnam War which was completed in 2017, with a multimedia piece to follow in 2018.

In 2016 singer/songwriter John Schumann and his life-long friend and collaborator the late Hugh McDonald performed I was only 19 to Vietnam veterans in the Hall of Memory on Vietnam Veterans Day on the 50th anniversary of the battle of Long Tan. Artist David Jolly was later commissioned to create paintings that depicted this historic gathering of veterans of the Vietnam War.

Military Heraldry and Technology

Memorial curators facilitated a visit by Private Andrew Upston to our Mitchell storage facility. Private Upston was the driver of Bushmaster “Battered Sav” when it was destroyed by an improvised explosive device strike in Afghanistan in 2010. The vehicle was struck on Private Upston’s last operation during the second last day of his tour. This visit was the first time Private Upston had seen “Battered Sav” since he returned to Australia, and he greatly appreciated being able to view the vehicle and share his experiences in the company of his family.

Memorial curators visited Australian Defence Forces in the Middle East in October and November 2017, spending time with Royal Australian Air Force personnel at Al Minhad and Al Dhafra airbases, and interviewing and collecting information regarding future acquisitions with Special Forces personnel in Iraq.

Research Centre

Improving public access to the Research Centre’s collections has been the primary focus of activity for the Research Centre over 2017–18. Continuing digitisation and online publication of the archival collection is a fundamental means of enabling remote access to material and preserving

records for future generations. Online access, social media, digital technologies, deep indexing, and linking have been used as part of the digitisation process to enhance the discoverability of digitised records and provide enhanced search and navigation. Stories relating to material have been developed to mark occasions and anniversaries, help improve context and usability of the records, and to communicate the collection to new audiences.

The Memorial has been proactive in building a case for copyright reform to facilitate broader public use and expand its ability to digitise more of the Memorial’s collections. The introduction of the Copyright Amendment (Disability Access and Other Measures) Bill 2017 is the result of substantial work from the Research Centre. The introduction of the bill has been important in modernising the preservation of material held in the archive. The bill, which comes into effect in January 2019, consolidates and simplifies aspects of the Copyright Act regarding the digitisation of unpublished private and official records, and enables broader use of online materials by the general public.

The centenary of the final year of the First World War has driven high public demand for access to archival records marking 1918, Amistice, and the aftermath of the First World War. This demand has focused the digitisation program on describing and digitising letters and diaries with stories related to the major battles of 1918 and the aftermath of war through the Anzac Connections program. Highlights of this program include collections related to the battle of Hamel, an extensive collection of letters from soldiers to their families collected by the Sydney Morning Herald during the war, and material related to Henry Miller Lanser, whose collection reflects his service throughout the war including a rare recording of a letter on disc while in Egypt in 1915.

Work commenced on digitally preserving the 2nd Australian Imperial Force and Citizen Military Forces unit war diaries 1939–45. The collection is extensive – containing over 2.5 million pages – and will require considerable cataloguing prior to digitisation. This series is of immense importance to anyone researching the Australian experience of the Second World War. Veterans, family historians, academics and military historians alike will be able to access the collection in its entirety free of charge from their homes or mobile devices.

Highlights of new digitised collections released to the web include collections related to Z Special Unit during the Second World War, supporting the Memorial’s ARC Research project and the exhibition A matter of trust: Dayaks and Z Special Unit Operatives in Borneo 1945.

The recording music project is a centenary digitisation project to record 100 pieces of First World War music. Included in the selections are songs mentioned in letters and diaries within the Memorial’s collection and broader stories of the period. Amongst the songs that have been recorded are Ev’ry little while, which featured in the revue The Bing boys are here in London. Australian soldiers on leave are known to have seen this show in London and the song became popular with Australian Imperial Force concert parties. Concert programs reveal that the song was performed by Hector Arthur Roberts with the Anzac Coves at Jubilee Hall, Weymouth on 21 February 1918, and by Private Charles Thomas Holt, a member of the Smart Set Concert Party, at the Theatre des Arts, Rouen on 24 and 25 June 1918. The music will be released online together with the digitised sheet music. The Memorial’s musical artist in residence, Chris Latham, was appointed to record the music with the financial support of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the Anzac Centenary Arts and Culture Fund, and a private philanthropist.

The Research Centre is transitioning its copy service to a preservation standard and developing capability to deliver online images to the public. By developing the Memorial’s DAMS MediaBin system and engaging in additional cataloguing and upgrading equipment and processes, the project has implemented a faster, higher standard scanning process seen the online publication of release of over 12,000 pages of previously copied files. A price and product review is underway as part of the project.

A variety of other projects are underway in the Research Centre to improve discoverability and accessibility of collection items. Collection guides for original war-related menus and creative works, such as song lyric sheets, have been completed, and a new version of the guide to the First World War concert and theatre programs collection has been published online. Itemised documentation is underway of the First World War greeting cards collection, and a large collection of defence manuals has been processed. The collection of papers written by Z Special Unit historian, Allan Wood, is now indexed and is soon to be available online. A roll for Malaysian Emergency, Malay Peninsula and Indonesian Confrontation is underway, with volunteers indexing General Service Medal eligibility records which will form the key source for this roll.

Management and preservation of official records this year included cataloguing the Official history of Australian peacekeeping, humanitarian and post-Cold War operations, and rehousing C.E.W Bean’s operational records and Dr Peter Edwards’s Vietnam official histories. These collections were targeted due to their size, age, and popularity with clients of the Reading Room.

The final instalment of a major exhibition series A home on a southern hill, marking the 75th anniversary of the opening of the Australian War Memorial, was launched in April 2018. The exhibition series took its name from a poem written by AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL ANNUAL REPORT 2017–2018 35 Will Dyson to accompany his 1928 cartoon, Calling them home, which depicts a ghostly bugler calling the spirits of Australia’s war dead to the yet-to-be-built Memorial. From its commencement in late 2016, the four-part exhibition series told the story of how the Memorial was brought into being as well as exploring its history and continuing relevance. Three of the series were presented during the 2017–18 financial year. To heal the nation considered the way in which C.E.W. Bean’s experiences shaped his vision for the Memorial and reflected on the nature of commemoration. The Memorial in landscape focused on the siting and landscaping of the Memorial. The concluding exhibition, Telling their stories, explored the changing ways in which the Australian War Memorial has told the stories of Australian servicemen and servicewomen. To highlight the opportunities that technological change has brought for storytelling and reaching distant audiences, Telling their stories was accompanied by a series of vodcasts featuring Memorial curators talking about a story or project that has been important to them. These vodcasts were released during the course of the exhibition and made available through the Memorial’s website and Youtube channel.

A walk in the light green is a digital exhibition, illustrated with items from the National Collection, tells the story behind the song I was only 19 by John Schumann, and marks the 35th anniversary of the release of the song.

An End of Kokoda campaign display featuring the diary of Major General Kenneth Eather opened in the Orientation Gallery on 2 November 2017. The diary has been digitised and published on the Memorial’s website.

Building works expanding the Memorial’s photo and film vaults at the Campbell site and Treloar D has been completed with collection storage fitout continuing. Once completed, the new areas will allow for improved archival separation and enhanced collection storage environments.

Preservation and restoration

OV-10A Bronco restoration project

The project to restore an OV-10A Bronco aircraft will provide a display-ready artefact of air support capabilities in the Vietnam War.

The Bronco is an American turboprop light attack and observation aircraft. It was developed for forward air control (FAC) duties under a joint contract for the United States Air Force (USAF) and the United States Marine Corps. North American Rockwell built 157 OV-10A Bronco aircraft for the USAF, entering service in 1968 with an initial batch being sent to Vietnam late in the year. Thirty-six Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) pilots flew as FACs with the USAF in South Vietnam.

The Memorial’s Bronco arrived at the Mitchell warehouse in 2007 and has been stored disassembled. It had extensive corrosion, faded paint, and a damaged canopy. A new wing and other parts have been sourced from the United States, and work is now underway to restore the aircraft. Corrosion has been stabilised and work has commenced to reassemble and repaint the Bronco to Vietnam-era configuration. Extensive consultation continues with a group of RAAF FAC veterans who have provided invaluable information on the aircraft.

Memorial Conservation teams completed over 1,000 hours of treatment and mount preparation for 660 objects displayed in the exhibition From the shadows: Australia’s Special Forces.

Work is underway to prepare 530 objects for the next exhibition, After the war, expected to involve over 1,200 hours of conservation treatment time.

Kulatangku angakanyini manta munu Tjukurpa (Country and Culture will be protected by spears)

This artwork was acquired for the National Collection in partnership with the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Art Collective. Due to its size the artwork was painted on the ground on unstretched canvas. It was then then rolled to be transported to the Memorial’s Mitchell warehouse.

A second canvas was acquired by the Memorial which is not currently on display. The canvases were unrolled on the floor of the warehouse and had custom made stretchers fitted by the paintings conservation team. The process took over 50 hours to complete and the paintings are the largest to have been stretched onsite at the Memorial. Kulatangku angakanyini manta munu Tjukurpa (Country and Culture will be protected by spears) is now displayed in the Orientation Gallery.

Acquisitions

Professor Ian Howard creates artworks by placing canvases against his subjects and rubbing them with wax and crayon to create a life-sized record. Professor Howard was commissioned to create a scale record of Armidale Class Patrol Boat HMAS Albany and an Indonesian fishing vessel.

The Memorial acquired three significant original drawings by Norman Lindsay related to the First World War.

A series of bronze sculptures by Judith Leman, created in response to the experiences of the Light Horse in the First World War, were acquired in December.

Three collages have been acquired by leading Australian artist Denise Green. These works combine photographs taken by her father during the Second World War with her drawings. They are the result of long reflections on trauma, driven by her father’s post-traumatic stress disorder and her own experience witnessing the 9/11 attacks in New York.

The Memorial also acquired Gary Shead’s painting Light Horse at Gallipoli, which is the result of Shead’s personal interest in the Gallipoli Campaign. Over several decades Shead immersed himself in studying the official history of the campaign and numerous other war documents, and spoke with First World War veterans to understand their experiences. This work was generously donated by the artist through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gift’s Program.

Ben Quilty also donated through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gift’s Program: Captain Kate Porter: after Afghanistan from his important After Afghanistan series was created after his official war artist deployment to Afghanistan in 2011.

Throughout the year, the Memorial continued its work in growing the National Collection and gathering artefacts and historically important records to tell the story of Australia’s experience in war. The Operational Records Working Group is the principal liaison point between the Department of Defence, the National Archives of Australia, and the Memorial in managing the transfer of relevant official records to the National Collection. The group has focused on unit war diaries and seeking information on the nature, content, and extent of the records that will be an addition to the Memorial’s existing collections.

Rare Sudan collection 1885

Lance Sergeant Robert Small’s diary is a highly descriptive account covering his service in the Sudan, consisting mainly of guard duty and work on the railway line between Suakin and Khartoum. Interleaved in Small’s diary is a delicate needle work sampler with his initials in the lower left hand corner and a letter relating to Small’s subsequent service in the Boer War.

A letter never received

Richard Turner was captured by the Germans during the Greek campaign in June 1941, but later escaped. Turner remained an escaped prisoner of war in Greece until the summer of 1943, when he joined the Greek resistance. Following defeat of the Axis alliance in October 1944, Turner prepared to return home. In November 1944, Turner’s older brother Horace wrote him a letter, imploring him to come home: “Now we are all waiting for you to come home you have done your share and we are all extra proud of you … Bessie [Turner’s wife] is dying to see you, she has waited and waited, and is lovely, so I am asking you to come home post haste”. Turner never received this letter; he was killed by Greek communist insurgents on 17 December 1944 on his way to Athens airport to be repatriated to Australia.

Round the world, 1914–1918!

Major Jack Hindhaugh of the Light Horse and Cyclist Corps began his war service with the first convoy to go overseas and did not leave the Western Front until the Australian Imperial Force’s last day of battle. In addition to five detailed diaries, the collection includes a remarkable visual record of Hindhaugh’s war service, comprising nearly 1,000 postcards, more than 100 photographs, and ephemera ranging from concert programs to pressed flowers. The collection is beautifully displayed in a large album, titled Round the world, 1914–1918!

SOS

An SOS sign used during the postwar flu pandemic to request attention from a doctor, nurse, or helper was acquired for the National Collection. These were issued from early 1919 onwards, and were based on a similar strategy in New Zealand.

A naval career

Commodore Ivan Raoul Jones AO joined the Royal Australian Navy on 1 January 1938 at the age of 13 and trained at HMAS Cerberus. He later trained in England with the Royal Navy during the Second World War. In the 1950s he took part in the Operation Buffalo nuclear tests in 1956 at Maralinga. In the 1960s he was involved in building and training for the Charles F Adams Class Destroyer HMAS Hobart (II) in the United States of America. He served on the Hobart during her first tour of Vietnam and in 1979 was awarded an Officer of the Order of Australia for service as DirectorGeneral of Fleet Maintenance. These records, mainly official, cover a range of service in the RAN, including records on engineering, nuclear testing at Maralinga, and some ships plans.

Royal Papuan Constabulary

The records of Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Normoyle OBE, Royal Papuan Constabulary (RPC) include a range of Second World War material concerning his service with the RPC and the Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit. Materials include postwar documents that give a vivid picture of New Guinea and Rabaul as administered by Australia prior to independence including the visit by the band of the RPC to Australia as part of the third war loan in 1945; a handwritten report regarding the condition of postwar Rabaul; and a report on the Queen’s 1954 visit, which included the opening of Australian Parliament.

Map of allied offensive 8 August 1918

A map entitled France, includes annotations and coloured references to the positions of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Divisions, and the 8th and 15th Brigades of the Australian Corps. It also shows the location of the 2nd Canadian Division. Annotations are dated 8 August 1918, which was the first day of the battle of Amiens, the opening phase of the allied offensive. Coloured lines indicate the day’s field objectives, including the phrase “jumping off trench”.

On the morning of 4 December 2017, RAN S-70B Seahawk ‘872’ completed its final journey over the Australian War Memorial before landing at EPIC Park in Mitchell. After being demilitarised, the helicopter was transported to the Treloar Technology Centre facility.

The Memorial receives RAN S-70B Seahawk ‘872’ which arrived safely at EPIC Park on the morning of 4 December 2017.

Victory Test 1945

A cartoon featuring well-known Australian cricketer and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) pilot Keith Miller during a Victory Test in England shortly after the Second World War closed in Europe was acquired for the National Collection. It was drawn by Jim Brown, Miller’s navigator. An annotation on the reverse reads: “A cartoon I did of Dusty after his first test match at Lords the boys all kicked him about the buildup the radio announcer gave him”. The Victory Tests were a series of cricket matches, played in England between 19 May and 22 August 1945, between the English national team and an Australian side consisting of a combination of Australian Imperial Force soldiers and the RAAF XI. Though known as Victory Tests, the matches were not officially recognised as test matches by cricket’s Boards of Control.

Large technology objects

A Royal Australian Navy S-70B Seahawk helicopter was handed over to the Memorial at EPIC Park on 4 December 2017. After being demilitarised, the helicopter was towed to the Mitchell storage facility. The aircraft served on HMAS Sydney (IV), which was tasked in the Northern Red Sea in 1993, as part of Operation Damask. On 24 April 2004, operating off HMAS Stuart as part of Operation Catalyst, it was involved in the rescue of wounded crewmen from the USS Firebolt for which the then Leading Seaman Aircrewman Benjamin Sime received the Medal for Gallantry. Between 15 and 25 January 2003 the helicopter carried out daily runs down to Canberra for the 2003 bushfire emergency in the ACT. The aircraft finished its service operating out of Naval Air Station Nowra (HMAS Albatross) as part of 816 Squadron.

A Royal Australian Navy Aérospatiale AS350B Squirrel was donated by the Australian Defence Force in August 2017. This aircraft was delivered to the Navy on 24 March 1984. This aircraft’s Royal Australian Navy service history included operations on HMAS Success during the First Gulf War 1990; on HMAS Darwin in 1991; and on HMAS Anzac off East Timor in 1999–2000.

A number of firearms, including three 5.56 mm Heckler & Koch HK416 Carbines, the type used in small numbers by Australian Special Forces, were also received, together with M203 PI 40mm grenade launcher attachments, which were used operationally on both the F88 Austeyr variants and the M4 carbine by Australian forces.

Medal groups

The medal group of Major General Sir William Throsby Bridges KCB CMG was purchased from the Bridges family after a loan period, ensuring its long-term display in the First World War galleries.

The medal group of Sister Ellen Purcell, Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) was acquired at auction. It includes a rare South Persia clasp to the General Service Medal, one of only five awarded to the AANS. Sister Purcell served at Bushire on the Persian Gulf, the only hospital near the Mesopotamia front staffed by Australian nurses.

Photographs

The Memorial acquired 23 photographs by highly acclaimed New Zealand photographer Laurence Aberhardt. These gelatine silver photographic prints, hand made by the artist, are from a broader series exploring memorials across Australia and New Zealand between 1980 and 2013. The images are a visual study of memorials, each created to mark mourning and loss.

Six works by British photographer Harry Borden have been added to the National Collection. The portraits of survivors of the Holocaust who have made Australia their home after the Second World War are accompanied by hand written notes from each sitter with reflections on their postwar life.

A portrait of Australia’s official Second World War cinematographer and photographer Damien Parer by his close friend Max Dupain was acquired. Parer is one of Australia’s most well-known war correspondents. The acquisition also includes Parer’s darkroom chemical cookbook and portraits of Parer in Guam with the US Marine Corps by Robert Simpson.

Filmmaker Patrick Lindsay donated the uncut material he used to create his documentary Kokoda: the spirit lives, including interviews with many of the surviving Kokoda veterans, to the National Collection.

The Memorial acquired 2,416 vintage working prints, originally held by the Sydney Morning Herald Archive, depicting veterans marching on Anzac Day in Sydney from the 1950s through to the 1990s; moratoriums to protest Australian involvement in the Vietnam War; the career of Sir Roden Cutler VC AK KCMG KCVO CBE, Governor of New South Wales 1966–1981; and news images of the Australian War Memorial.

Featured oral histories

• Sergeant Alistair Scott was interviewed about his experiences in 3RAR, in particular the time the section he commanded came into a contact with Indonesian militia in East Timor in 1999. Sergeant Scott also discussed his instructing role in raising the first female engagement team in Afghanistan
• Talissa Papamau, former corporal and medic, Afghanistan veteran, and mental health awareness advocate, was interviewed about her experiences during and after deployment
• Fred Campbell OAM, former warrant officer and air crewman in the Royal Australian Navy, was interviewed about his deployments to the Persian Gulf and assisting in the rescue of United States servicemen following a terrorist attack at sea
• Edgar Pickles DFC, Bomber Command veteran, was interviewed about his experiences as a Second World War aircrew member
• Fire Support Base Balmoral veterans Brian Cleaver and John Bryant were jointly interviewed. Brian provided additional context on photographs within the collection taken immediately after the battle, enhancing the caption information
• David Villanti, former army medic and Rwanda veteran, accompanied by his companion dog, Harper, shared aspects of his military service between 1978 and 2002, and the impacts on his personal life and circumstances including his move into professional acting.

Acquisitions Centralisation Project

The project to centralise acquisitions for the National Collection has now been completed. The centralised processing of donations, purchases, disposals, and transfers has resulted in significant efficiency gains for the Memorial:

• All acquisitions are now documented to a minimum standard on the Memorial’s collection management system, MICA
• Donors now have a central point of contact for all collection donation business
• Donors have Deed of Gift documentation within three months of their material arriving at the Memorial
• Donors can now access an automated donation form on the Memorial’s website
• A backlog of approximately 100,000 uncontrolled items was documented during the course of the project.

The project managed the transition to the new system and embedded new procedures and documentation that will continue as a sustainable model of acquisitions for the Memorial.

PFS deployments:

Two Memorial curators were deployed to the Middle-East where they amassed a considerable amount of content for the National Collection, capturing some 2,500 images, 76 oral history interviews, and 2,000 hours of raw video footage. The material covered Operation Okra, with 3RAR and Task Group 5 Taji encapsulating the international effort to train and build the capacity of the regular Iraq Security Forces, including a record HMAS Newcastle’s efforts to secure a stable maritime environment in the Middle East.

Performance information

■ Performance target 
The number of new items acquired, in accordance with the Collection Development Plan

> Result

A total of 19,456 individual items were acquired in accordance with the Collection Development Plan.

■ Performance target 
The number of items disposed of in accordance with the Collection Development Plan

> Result

1,456 items were deaccessioned and disposed of in accordance with the Collection Development Plan.

■ Performance target 
Grow the number of items for which documentation has been enhanced or corrected

> Result

435,924 object records in MICA were enhanced or corrected in 2017–18.

■ Performance target 
At least 80 per cent of the collection is in storage that meets conservation standards for environmental conditions

• Photographs, Film and Sound – 95.08 per cent
• Art – 99.8 per cent
• Military Heraldry and Technology – 85.39 per cent
• Research Centre collections – 98 per cent.

■ Performance target 
Grow the number of collection items that can be accessed through the Memorial’s website

438,351 MICA object records are now available on the website, an increase of 11,421 from the last reporting period.

■ Performance target 
Grow the number collection purchases

2,166 items were purchased for the National Collection in 2017–18 including 235 items that were commissioned by the Memorial.

The National Collection is extensive and continues to grow. This Cross for Polish Forces in the West with “TOBRUK” clasp was awarded to Warrant Officer Class 2 Selwyn Buchanan Norden, who enlisted in the Second AIF on 13 June 1940.

Output 1.4 – Exhibitions

Overview

A program of small displays, temporary and special exhibitions continued during 2017–18, alongside the development and implementation of a national touring exhibition program. Permanent exhibitions and displays have also continued to be developed and enhanced.

Following the return of A7V “Mephisto” to Queensland Museum in June 2017, the First World War Mark IV Tank, “Grit”, was installed in Anzac Hall as part of a new permanent display. The display opened to the public in August 2017 and tells the story of the evolution and development of the tank during the First World War. It is displayed with a sponson removed to show the tank’s internal workings.

A new permanent display related to the battle of Milne Bay was launched on 25 August 2017 to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the battle. Centred on the captured Japanese Ha Go tank, the display includes historic film; paintings by William Dargie and Alan Moore; Australian and captured Japanese weapons; uniform items of Australian and Japanese soldiers; and medals belonging to General Clowes, who was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire following his success at Milne Bay.

In August 2017 the Memorial launched an updated version of the main audio-visual display within the Afghanistan: the Australian story exhibition. The revitalised display, developed in collaboration with Australian journalist and author Chris Masters, includes interviews focusing on the work of Australian Special Forces, and an updated storyline expanding on the stories and experience of soldiers and their families.

The Australian Light Armoured Vehicle (ASLAV-25) was installed into its new permanent home in the grounds in October 2017, on the western side of Anzac Hall, adjacent to the Bushmaster and Centurion tank. Conservation work was complete on the LAV-25 to further resemble the ASLAVs used in East Timor in 1999.

Commissioned by the Memorial in 2016, a new painting by artists from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands in South Australia was launched in the Orientation Gallery in mid-November 2017. Kulatangku angakanyini manta munu Tjukurpa (Country and Culture will be protected by spears), created by 19 artists over a four-day period, will remain on public display indefinitely.

Located at the heart of the Memorial’s Main Building, the Hall of Valour highlights the status of the Victoria Cross and those Australians who have received it, together with a small representation of other special awards, most notably the George Cross. The George Cross display in the Hall of Valour was updated before Anzac Day 2018. The new display features a total of ten George Cross medal groups and a small selection of objects, including three new medal groups that were recently donated to the Memorial. The revised display includes a biopanel and story for each of the ten George Cross medal groups held in the Memorial’s collection:

• Lieutenant Hugh Syme GC GM and bar
• Lieutenant George Gosse GC
• Chief Petty Officer Jonathon Rogers GC DSM
• Captain Lionel Colin Matthews GC MC
• Private Horace William Madden GC
• Private Benjamin Gower Hardy GC
• Private Ralph Jones GC
• Sir Gordon Taylor GC MC
• Jack Chalmers GC
• Lieutenant Arthur Bagot GC DSC.

The centenary project to display as many of the Victoria Crosses awarded as possible has continued throughout 2017–18. The Memorial has secured on loan 11 Victoria Cross medal groups for display in the Hall of Valour during the centenary, and currently displays 82 of the 100 Victoria Crosses awarded to Australians (85 including the three British VC medal groups).

The Long Tan Cross has been added to the Conflicts 1945 to Today gallery in time for the Anniversary of the Vietnam Veterans Day on 18 August 2018, and the 52nd anniversary of the battle of Long Tan. The new display will tell the history of the Long Tan Cross and commemorate the battle of Long Tan and all Vietnam veterans. The temporary display of the Long Tan Cross was launched in the Captain Reg Saunders Gallery on 6 December 2017. Work continues on scoping a new permanent display in Anzac Hall to tell the story of the Royal Australian Navy since 1990. As well as including the Seahawk and Squirrel helicopters, HMAS Sydney and SMS Emden guns will be relocated from Anzac Hall and displayed externally alongside the First World War Centenary large technology object display enabling visitors an extended opportunity to understand the naval story and its contribution to conflicts from the First World War to the present day.

Maintaining a high standard in the permanent galleries remained a key priority during 2017–18 along with the delivery of an ongoing program of small displays, changeovers, and maintenance of audio-visual displays and hardware and 10,000 square metres of galleries.

Top image: Commemorating the battle of Beersheba, sculptures by Judith Leman.

Above: Hearts and minds: wartime propaganda exhibition in the Anzac Hall Mezzanine Gallery

Below left: Exhibition curators Dr Karl James and Danielle Cassar at the opening of From the shadows: Australia’s Special Forces.

Below: Milne Bay exhibition in the Second World War galleries.

Temporary exhibitions

Special Exhibitions Gallery (SEG)

For Country, for Nation 
For Country, for Nation recognised the valuable and selfless military service of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The exhibition demonstrated a commitment to community voice and storytelling, supported by individuals, artists, families, communities and key Elders and Knowledge Holders. For Country, for Nation comprised over 200 objects, artworks, and photographs drawn from the Memorial’s collection. A significant aspect of the exhibition was the acquisition and commissioning of Indigenous artists to tell their stories of family and community connections to the defence of Australia, as well as commissioning of two largescale multimedia experiences at human scale which created a compelling connection between visual storytelling and visitors. An estimated 327,696 people visited the exhibition while it was on display in the Special Exhibitions Gallery (23 September 2016 – 13 September 2017). For Country, for Nation is touring nationally.

From the shadows: Australia’s Special Forces 
Developed in partnership with Special Operations Command,From the shadows: Australia’s Special Forces has been well attended by visitors and stakeholders since opening to the public on 18 October 2017. The exhibition includes over 700 objects from the Memorial’s collection and loan items sourced from the collections of Special Operations Command (SOCOMD) and private individuals. The assistance provided by SOCOMD, including access to key stakeholders and their stories and objects, enabled the Memorial to deliver an engaging, dynamic exhibition that appeals to serving personnel and general visitors.

Anzac Hall Mezzanine Gallery
During 2017–18 the Memorial maintained its program of six-monthly exhibition changeovers on the mezzanine of Anzac Hall.

The deceiving eye
The deceiving eye was displayed on the Anzac Hall mezzanine from 22 March to 29 October 2017. The exhibition featured previously unseen camouflage photographs by Australian artist Frank Hinder, documenting his experiences in developing camouflage suitable for the Australian environment. The exhibition also focused on the recently donated work Cure for pain by artist eX de Medici, which explores Australians military history and demonstrates the evolution of combat helmet design and camouflage over the last century. A small selection of objects including a Yowie suit was also displayed.

Hearts and minds: wartime propaganda 
The Memorial holds a collection of more than 10,000 wartime posters, from government–issued campaigns to handmade posters protesting the war in Vietnam. Hearts and minds: wartime propaganda opened on the mezzanine in Anzac Hall on 3 November 2017. The exhibition showcased the Memorial’s world-class poster collection of home-front propaganda from Australia, the United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Germany, Vietnam, and France. A selection of unusual and engaging objects drawn from across the National Collection further explored wartime propaganda. Also included in the display was film, photographs, private records, leaflets, fliers, games and medallions. The exhibition closed on 8 April 2018.

A matter of trust: Dayaks and Z Special Unit Operatives in Borneo 1945 
A new temporary display, A matter of trust: Dayaks and Z Special Unit Operatives in Borneo 1945, was officially launched on 12 April 2018 and remains open to the public until 16 September 2018. The exhibition forms part of the Australian War Memorial’s Australian Research Council research partnership with the Australian National University (ANU). Curated by Robyn Van Dyk, Head of the Memorial Research Centre in collaboration with Professor Christine Helliwell, Professor of Anthropology, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, the exhibition includes objects from the Memorial’s collection as well as a number of items of loan, and tells the story of the men of Z Special Unit and the Dayaks of Borneo.

Touring exhibitions

During 2017–18 the Memorial’s touring program included Remember me: the lost diggers of Vignacourt, and For Country, for Nation. In addition, the Memorial also supported the development and tour of the third and final exhibition of the Australians on the Western Front series, Advancing to Victory, 1918, for the RSL & Services Clubs Association.

Remember me: the lost diggers of Vignacourt 
During 2017–18 Remember me: the lost diggers of Vignacourt toured to four venues – Hamilton, Victoria; Warwick, Queensland; Murray Bridge, South Australia; and Bundaberg, Queensland. The Memorial continues to be praised for the work of bringing to light the names of unidentified soldiers in the Thuillier Vignacourt portraits. The exhibition’s tour concludes on 11 November 2018 following its display at a further two venues – Cowra, NSW; and Hervey Bay, Queensland.

For Country, for Nation 
The national tour of For Country, for Nation was launched at Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery on 6 April 2018. Over the next three years the exhibition will be displayed at 12 venues, and tour all states and territories. The Commonwealth’s Vision of Australia program, and private financial support has provided important funding to support the tour.

Australians on the Western Front: 1916-1918 exhibition series 
Advancing to Victory, 1918, the final exhibition in the Australians on the Western Front series, a joint initiative between the Memorial and the RSL & Services Clubs Association NSW, commenced touring to regional and metropolitan locations in NSW in February 2018. The tour will conclude at the end of this year.

■ Performance target 

The total attendance at Memorial exhibitions and touring exhibitions.

> Result

■ Performance target 

Qualitative or quantitative evidence about increases in visitors’ understanding, causing attitudinal change.

This year visitors were asked how the Memorial has contributed to or shaped their views on Australian military history:

• A third of visitors felt appreciative of those who served Australia and/or thought they were heroic (36 per cent)
• A third of visitors found it informative and educational (36 per cent)
• 25 per cent covered a mix of views.

“The Memorial is amazing. It clearly demonstrates the courage, comradeship, of war but also the grief, destruction and with the benefit of hindsight the futility of war. It emphasises the need to solve problems by means other than war.”

“Given me a more thorough appreciation and perspective on the sacrifice, courage and sense of duty made by our servicemen and women and their families so that Australia can continue to be a tolerant and free democracy.”

“It is important to put faces, sound, name etc to war and its effects to ensure we understand the gravity of war and preciousness of freedom.”

The For Country, for Nation special exhibition concluded at the Memorial on the 13 September 2017. An estimated 328, 293 visitors saw this exhibition during the 12 months it was open to the public.

• 98 per cent of visitors to this exhibition appreciated the opportunity to see this exhibition at the Memorial
• 88 per cent agreed that the exhibition gave them a better understanding of the Australian Indigenous experience of war; 40 per cent strongly agreed
• 83 per cent agreed that it gave realistic insight into the impacts of war on Australian servicemen and servicewomen
• 96 per cent rated the quality of the exhibition as very good or good (57 percent very good)
• Nearly 8 per cent of visitors to this exhibition identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander compared to the typical Memorial general visit representation of 1 per cent.

When asked about the most memorable aspect of the exhibition 20 per cent of visitors noted an increased understanding of the Indigenous experience. This was followed by 16 per cent who thought the need for recognition and the pride they felt for the Indigenous soldiers was most memorable. Just over half of visitors (52 percent) cited personal stories, artworks, film, and objects. The remainder (12 per cent) cited design and topic guided tours, or stated that it was all good.

“Reinforced how Indigenous accepted in Defence but not society.”

“Seeing black and white Australians fighting together for the one cause.”

“The bravery of these men and women, even though they were treated so badly after the war and were not recognised as citizens of Australia.”

Just over half (56 per cent) had a strong emotional response to the content of the exhibition. Of these, 32 per cent felt pride and recognition for the Indigenous servicemen and women, and 16 per cent felt angry, sad and/or ashamed at their treatment.

“Grateful our mostly Indigenous school group had something like this to connect with.”

“It made me feel proud and respected.”

“It made me feel uncomfortable but in a positive way. The paradox of not being good enough to vote but good enough to die.”

“Sad. Ashamed, in awe of the people who went through it.”

“Feeling of being thankful. Respect for their actions and commitment.”

“War is a terrible thing and the unfair treatment of those of your home who are willing to fight for it is terrible. It is disappointing and I wish we would learn from it.”

“Gave me a greater appreciation of the Indigenous perspective of community and involvement in conflict”.

Preliminary findings from the From the shadows exhibition exit survey show that visitors think Memorial’s intention with this exhibition was to:

• inform on the role of Special Forces within Defence, their skills, training and capabilities (32 percent)
• convey the personal qualities of those who serve or served (17 per cent)
• show the importance and recognition deserved (17 per cent)
• inform, provide insight, and bring to light (14 per cent)
• examine the combination of national service and personal sacrifice (8 per cent)
• provide a non-political, historical presentation (6 per cent)
• thought it was a good message or promoted the subject (5 per cent); 1 per cent did not know.

“Humanise the experience behind the complexity of the Commands work.”

“Multi-layered force, adaptable and innovative.”

“That men who the public can never know are pushed and trained to extremes for Australia’s interests and security.”

“That they do more than just combat missions. They are sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, mothers, fathers etc. They seem to downplay their job.”

“Their bravery, courage, sacrifice, and what the job actually entails.”

■ Performance target 

Permanent exhibitions developed and maintained to the highest standards.

> Result

• 99 per cent very satisfied or satisfied with the Hall of Valour (83 per cent very satisfied)
• 99 per cent very satisfied or satisfied with Aircraft Hall (84 per cent very satisfied)
• 99 per cent very satisfied or satisfied with Anzac Hall (83 per cent very satisfied)
• 99 per cent very satisfied or satisfied with the First World War galleries (85 per cent very satisfied).

Output 1.5 – Interpretive services

■ Performance target 

The total attendance figure at public programs

> Result

In 2017–18 609 public programs were delivered in the galleries to 21,396 visitors, representing an 11 per cent increase on the number of programs delivered compared to the previous year.

■ Performance target 

Qualitative and quantitative evidence about increases in participants’ understanding

> Result

• 98 per cent very satisfied or satisfied with talks and presentations (80 per cent very satisfied, a 12 per cent increase on previous year)
• 97 per cent very satisfied or satisfied with family programs and activities (80 per cent very satisfied, a 20 per cent increase on previous year)
• • 97 per cent very satisfied or satisfied with hands on history (77 per cent very satisfied, a 20 per cent increase on previous year)
• 99 per cent very satisfied or satisfied with theatre performances (80 per cent very satisfied, a 10 per cent increase on previous year).

At the end of this financial year the Memorial launched the battle of Hamel virtual reality experience. An exit survey is being conducted and the preliminary findings are:

• 55 per cent thought it far exceeded or exceeded their expectations. 31 per cent thought it equalled their expectations
• 84 per cent thought it was extremely or very effective in conveying sensitivity or empathy in the story telling
• 88 per cent thought they learned more about the subject. 51 per cent described it as much more.

Participants in the VR experience were asked to rate how the Memorial was meeting its role in commemoration, museum, and archive with 98 per cent rating it extremely or very good.

Feedback from the initial surveys shows that visitors gained valuable insights into Monash from the experience:

“How Monash used a combination of tactics.”

“Played a vital and bold role in its success.”

“He was a brilliant tactician, and held a clever vision of warfare.”

“A true leader who planned the battle meticulously.”

“Very strategic and thorough.”

“He demonstrated his abilities as a battle senior commander.”

“Instrumental of innovation of how teams work together.”

“Inspirational and innovative leader and strategist.”

Memorial public programs and tours are developed to present historical and social information in an informative and engaging manner. In 2017–18, 26 tours were facilitated to over 1,600 visitors. The following anecdotal feedback was received from participants in both tours and public programs:

“I would like to thank you for organising a wonderful tour at AWM. The group appreciated the tours and grew greater respect for AWM and the history. We appreciate all your assistance.”

April, 2018

“We have just returned from a morning at the Memorial, spending time doing the kids activities for the school holidays. I just wanted to send a quick note to say thank you for putting on such a brilliant program for kids to enjoy. We did story time which is so excellent, the story tellers were perfect and the stories interesting for the kids, followed by the craft activities which they loved as well. We have also previously in the holidays done the kids tour which our kids found really interesting and the tour guide was a real story teller! Even our youngest who is four was fascinated. I have told many friends about story time and all have found it excellent. It is so important for our kids to hear about our history and this is a perfect environment for them. Thank you so much for the time and effort of all involved to make this a fantastic experience – for the mums too!

“I would also like to commend the staff at the AWM, they truly are an asset to the Memorial, we are locals who visit quite often and have always without a doubt found them to be so welcoming, friendly, approachable and helpful (plus patient with the younger visitors!). Certainly appreciate the smiling faces every time we visit, so thanks to them all”.

Erica, 22 January 2018

“Art work was very engaging. We visited twice – spending lots of time learning so much”.

(Make and create, July 2017)

■ Performance target 
Qualitative and quantitative evidence of affective or attitudinal change

> Result

In a survey of 68 visiting groups, conducted between July and September 2017, 95.6 per cent rated the program they attended as four or five out of five. Most noted the interesting content and engaging presenters as reasons for their rating. From this survey, the following feedback was received about the various programs:

“I have passed this building often, the first time I have been in there. Many hidden treasures.” (Behind the scenes tour, September 2017)

“Diverse talks are excellent.” (Gallery talk, July 2017)

“Very informative and delivered with passion.” (Gallery talk, August 2017)

“Loved the content and presenters engaged the children (and adults!)” (Hands-on history, July 2017)

“Fantastic school holiday program for kids.” (Make and create, July 2017)

“Children really related to stories.” (Family tours, July 2017)

“Wonderful to have content aimed at young kids.” (Family tours, July 2017)

■ Performance target 
A range of public programs and events for visitors to the Memorial

> Result

The involvement of staff from across the Memorial ensured that the programs were diverse, engaging, and suitable for a variety of audiences. They included collection-based talks; curator-led tours; film screenings; behind-the-scenes art, research centre, and military heraldry and technology tours; and professional museum theatre performances exploring the role of women in wartime.

There was also a popular range of programs catering for young visitors, including family tours, story time, make and create, and hands-on history, an interactive activity based on the principles of kinaesthetic learning.

■ Performance target 
A series of quality, engaging, curriculum-related education programs for on-site education groups

> Result

Facilitated learning programs at the Australian War Memorial are engaging educational activities for school students, aged from preschool to Year 12. Programs are developed according to the Australian national education curriculum for humanities and social sciences, and civics and citizenship, and are designed to assist students to remember, interpret, and understand the Australian experience of war and its enduring impact on Australian society.

As part of the Anzac Legacy program, students participate in the centenary Commemorative Cross project. Students write personal messages on small wooden crosses, which are sent overseas and placed on the graves of Australians who died in war and were buried on foreign soil.

In 2017–18, 145,634 students and their teachers visited the Memorial; 119,374 or 90 per cent participated in one or more facilitated programs. Schools consistently provide positive feedback about their visits to the Memorial:

“My class, including thirteen eager students aged 10 and 11 years devoured the stories and accounts that were shared by our wonderful tour guide, Taylor. We have all spoken about how Taylor helped make the history ‘come alive’ by sharing her knowledge about the legacy of Anzacs with us. We especially enjoyed the retelling of the events of Alfred Shout, and the jam tin bombs the resourceful Anzacs made. His cricketing background intrigued both boys and girls in our group. Since returning to school we have been searching for some images of Lt Alfred Shout and are very keen to share them with our fellow classmates.

“Again, please pass on our thanks to Taylor as her knowledge and love of history really made a massive impact on all of us.”

Caningeraba State School, QLD, August 2017

“On behalf of Year 6 Carey Baptist Grammar School, we would like to thank you for taking us around the Australian War Memorial and showing us precious artefacts from all the wars the Australians have fought in. We learned about our ancestors and how brave they were in the wars and what they did to protect this country. We believe that all of the Year 6’s had a fantastic time. Thank you for the tour!”

Year 6, Carey Baptist College, WA, November 2017

“Thank you so much for giving us such an amazing tour around the War Memorial. The stories you told about the soldiers were very touching!”

Year 6, Walford Anglican School for Girls, October 2017

“Thank you so much for letting us in on those heartbreaking stories about those soldiers who died in the war. It was really cool to see Ziggy’s great uncle’s flag that he flew when the Japanese surrendered … When we watched the little movie when the air force was fighting, it felt great watching it and realising that all of that was for us and the next generation … thank you.”

Woodleigh School, Vic, May 2018

■ Performance target 
Memorial Boxes for schools in all Australian states and territories to borrow during the year

> Result

The Memorial Box program remains a highly requested and well regarded outreach learning resource. The 89 themed boxes administered by the Education team and state agents cover conflicts from the First World War to today. They contain case studies, as well as hands-on items including uniforms, medals, badges, publications, and objects. To extend the outreach of the program, related case studies and classroom activities are available for most boxes on the Memorial’s website.

In 2017–18, 343 schools and community groups borrowed a Memorial Box, with approximately 46,305 users. Secondary schools make up 41.5 per cent of all borrowers, with primary schools at 48.8 per cent, and community groups – such as public libraries, aged care facilities, and after school care groups – making up the remainder.

The Memorial Box redevelopment project continued in 2017–18, with the collation and refurbishment of the Second World War boxes. At the beginning of 2018, 32 new, ergonomically improved Australia in the Second World War boxes became available for loan around Australia. Content, which was previously sent out in print or hard copy, was redeveloped and enhanced, and is now accessible on the Memorial’s website.

A survey of Memorial Box borrowers indicated a high satisfaction rate with an average rating of 9.04 out of ten. The following feedback was received from borrowers:

“Great resource! Very engaging. Items were passed around and discussed. Students used their deductive skills to work out what the purpose of the items were. Good for teaching empathy and understanding.”

Queanbeyan High School, NSW, 2018

“We used the box for our Year 3 Humanities and Social Sciences commemoration and celebrations unit. Awesome resource, brought history to life! Thank you!”

Peregian Beach College, Qld, 2018

“We have loved having the box and the students have really enjoyed the hands-on approach to history that we don’t often get in a regional town.”

St Columba Anglican School, NSW, 2018

“Students were very excited to touch and explore the contents of each box.”

Southport Special School, QLD, 2017

“My school students love these boxes.”

Katanning Primary School, WA, 2017

“Thank you, the students were extremely engaged with the artefacts, which resulted in quality learning.”

Milperra Public School, NSW, 2017

■ Performance target 
A range of quality, engaging, curriculum-related online school education resources for teachers and students

> Result

The Memorial’s Education webpages remained popular, with more than 725,400 page views (including bookings for onsite school visits) throughout 2017–18. The most visited online resources were Research a soldier and Understanding Gallipoli with 33,800 and 28,500 page views respectively. Our education resource for young learners, A very special day, has also been popular, with over 11,800 page views. The Classroom showcase continues to be used for the display of creative work by young Australians.

A new online learning resource was developed this year to engage secondary students in discussion and reflection on the aftermath and impact of the First World War. Art in the aftermath is a cross-curriculum resource, which incorporates the skills and knowledge and understanding capabilities from a number of learning areas, including humanities and social sciences; civics and citizenship; English; and the arts.

Other interpretive activities

This year saw the trial of a virtual excursions program, providing live and interactive distance learning experiences for schools using video conferencing technology. Between March and June 2018 four virtual excursions were facilitated to over 40 students. One excursion was with a Year 6 class from Kaleen Primary School and three with multi-age groups from Canberra Hospital School.

The sixth title in the Century of Service publications series, Comradeship: stories of friendship and recreation in wartime, was awarded as a notable book in the information category of the Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards in August 2017.

Six professional development sessions were delivered to 142 school teachers and 20 tour operators during the year. These programs equip teachers to better use the Memorial’s collection and content in the classroom, and promote the learning opportunities available onsite and online.

In the lead up to the 2017 Christmas period, a new Hands on history trolley program was developed and introduced. The program was informative and educational, as well as being readily delivered to families and younger visitors to the Memorial on weekends and public holidays. This program has proven very successful since its introduction. Recent changes to the program have increased participant satisfaction in the very satisfied category by 20 percent to 77 percent in 2017–18.

In the lead up to Anzac day the Memorial hosted the annual Legacy Youth visit of junior Legatees to the Memorial, this year facilitating 13 students on gallery tours, and at the Dawn and National Ceremonies on Anzac Day.

In May 2018, the Memorial hosted a successful one day return performance season of Troubie Productions’ Dusted off, and Fightin’ the Kaiser performed in the BAE Systems Theatre by Brett Hunt. 500 local secondary students and teachers attended three shows.

Soldiers in Residence

The Soldiers in Residence program continued this year with six members of the Australian Army spending three weeks at the Memorial. This experience provides participants with the opportunity to learn about all aspects of the Memorial’s operation and to share their own stories. After their visit, the soldiers spoke highly of the experience:

“The staff at the AWM and all its departments are to be commended on their professionalism, the amount of work they provide and the love they show in the history of the ADF was amazing to see. The program gave us great opportunity to understand all the hard work that goes on back of house. I loved the kids’ education side of things and … I believe [working on the floor is] a great way to interact with the public and tell our story of overseas service.”

David Nicholson, 2017

“The AWM Soldiers in Residence program was an invaluable opportunity to understand the variety of departments and activities required to the running of one of Australia’s premier national institutions. The dedication and passion of staff to a man is commendable creating an enjoyable place to work. The experience provided individuals with a key outlet to deliver their story to both the AWM and the public, enhancing esprit de corps and individual confidence.”

Stuart Jones, 2017

Legacy Youth representatives from around Australia took part in a wreathlaying ceremony on 23 April 2018.

Output 1.6 – Promotion and community services

Overview

The Memorial promotes its mission and activities though best practice communications and marketing. This includes a drive to seek innovative approaches to delivering the Memorial’s message through traditional and digital channels. The Memorial utilises a strategic approach to communications and marketing, with integrated campaign activity and innovative stakeholder engagement processes.

During this reporting period, the Memorial entered the final stages of commemorating the centenary of the First World War and began planning for the delivery of the Armistice program in October and November 2018. Aligned with this major milestone, the Memorial has begun to review its brand strategy and related communications to help ensure ongoing relevance beyond the centenary period.

The Memorial also focused on delivering a range of messages relating to the Australian experience of war and warlike operations through an improved online presence and an expanding social media audience.

This online activity, delivered alongside traditional public relations and marketing, has helped to solidify the Memorial’s place in Australian society.

■ Performance target 
Number of people to make their first visit to the Memorial

> Result

Of those who responded to the General Visitor Survey, 32 per cent stated that it was their first time at the Memorial. It is estimated that 280,320 people visited the Memorial for the first time during the reporting period

■ Performance target 
High quality service to media to encourage suitable coverage in all forms of media.

> Result

The Memorial continues to garner enviable media coverage while telling the stories of those who have worn the uniform of Australia’s defence forces. High quality content relating to the activities and anniversaries associated with the centenary of the First World War was produced. Care was taken to also feature anniversaries and activities relating to other significant conflicts in Australian history, particularly when these relate to modern conflicts, with living veterans and their families.

The Memorial continues to seek ways to share meaningful stories with the media, and works closely with outlets across the country to ensure a substantial presence across all types of media, including online, radio, television, and print.

Throughout the financial year the Memorial delivered 32 media releases.

Highlights for this year relate to First World War anniversaries, including the Third Battle of Ypres and its connection to the Menin Gate lions, major acquisitions to the National Collection such as the Sea Hawke helicopter, and the exhibition From the shadows: Australia’s Special Forces.

The Memorial worked closely with a number of documentary film makers. Through the provision of collection material and advice, as well as access to Memorial talent, a number of high quality productions have been created, including a film marking the 90th anniversary of the Menin Gate and the temporary relocation of the Menin Gate lions to Belgium.

During this reporting period, the Memorial engaged a specialist writer to prepare and share new articles relating to public programs and activity. This new resource has created a steady stream of high quality news articles for the Memorial’s various communication channels. These articles have been received positively within the media community and have provided the basis for many high quality media items. The articles focus on interviews with veterans, anniversaries, and activities, and expand on the Memorial’s approach to sharing the stories of those who have served in the Australian defence forces.

Remembrance Day and Anzac Day

The Memorial received extensive media attention in the lead-up to Remembrance Day 2017. An analysis of coverage produced during 10–13 November 2017 found 425 news items, reaching a cumulative audience of 17,179,740.

For Anzac Day 2018, media coverage more than doubled from the previous year. During the period of 24–26 April, the Memorial assisted with the generation of 1,552 news items across radio, print, television, and online, reaching a maximum cumulative audience of 50,867,041 people.

■ Performance target 
High quality marketing and promotional activities.

> Result

A number of integrated marketing and advertising campaigns were implemented throughout the year in support of exhibitions, and to promote commemorations, anniversaries, educational programs, tours, talks, and launch events. Marketing and advertising was also instrumental to the promotion of the new Napier Waller Art Prize.

Marketing and advertising activity supported two major commemorative days during the reporting period: Remembrance Day 2017 and Anzac Day 2018.

The Memorial also undertook marketing and advertising activity relating to the From the shadows: Australia’s Special Forces exhibition, and temporary exhibitions such as Hearts and minds: wartime propaganda and A matter of trust: Dayaks and Z Special Unit operatives in Borneo 1945.

The Memorial’s brand strategy roll-out continued throughout the financial year, with a targeted campaign supporting the positioning statement “For we are young and free” delivered to an audience within a three-hour drive of the ACT.

Data from research by the State Tourism Office – VisitCanberra – found that the ACT was predominately a short stay destination visited by those within driving distance, and this knowledge was used to inform the ongoing delivery of this brand awareness campaign.

■ Performance target 
Number of media items including television, radio, online and print media.

> Result

A total of 18,606 media items were recorded during the year, 99.99 per cent of which were positive. This represents a 34.9 per cent increase in the total number of media items on last financial year.

Other promotional and community services activities

Friends of the Memorial
The Friends of the Memorial membership program offers a range of benefits and member-only events. Membership is available to individuals and families, students, clubs, and organisations as well as members of the defence forces. The program has 1,480 members

The Friends of the Memorial program ran a variety of events during the year. A popular event was a Victoria Cross panel discussion with senior Memorial historians. Other events included curator-led talks on the Hearts and Minds: wartime propaganda temporary exhibition.

Friends attended Remembrance Day and Anzac Day ceremonies, with over 620 Friends of the Memorial attending the National Ceremony on Anzac Day in 2018.

Memorial branding: Centenary of the First World War 
The centenary brand continues to be widely used in support of many Memorial and non-commercial community initiatives across Australia. Specifically designed for the centenary period and featuring the Memorial’s logo, the brand adorns much of the Memorial’s marketing and media presence, enhancing the commemoration of significant First World War anniversaries throughout the remaining year of the centenary.

Roll of Honour soundscapes 
The Memorial continues to focus on the Roll of Honour Soundscape project through the “Remember me” smartphone application. Designed to engage directly with primary school-aged children, this program records students speaking the names and ages of Australians who died during the First World War. These recordings are played in the First World War section of the cloisters in the Commemorative Area of the Memorial. This reporting period saw a high level of activity in the Canberra region, with school visits to the Memorial as well as recording sessions at schools.

Commemorative Crosses
The Memorial’s Commemorative Crosses project provides primary school-aged children with an avenue to mark their respect for Australians who died on active service.

Students are provided with a blank wooden cross, on which they write their thoughts about those Australians who lost their lives in war and on operations. The inscribed crosses are collected and reviewed prior to distribution to embassies, private individuals, and organisations for use in commemorative activities. In total, 150,000 crosses have been created since the beginning of the centenary period.

During this reporting period, a total of 5,718 inscribed crosses were sent to the embassies of Belgium, China, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Greece, Iran, Israel, Korea, Lebanon, Mauritius, Myanmar/Burma, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, and United States of America.

■ Performance target 
An engaging website and social media presence with accurate information

> Result

The Memorial’s website and social media accounts are essential tools for the delivery of core communications objectives for the Australian War Memorial. Maintaining a high standard of accuracy and relevance of information shared online is a central part of the Memorial’s Digital Engagement Strategy.

The Memorial has continued to make improvements to its new website, which was delivered in 2017, to improve user experience and engagement. Key achievements include:

• streamlining the online donation process: reducing a ten-step process to four steps to create a better user experience for those donating money to the Memorial online
• updates to online search functionality: website search functions now feature quick filter options allowing users to easily choose a category to focus their search by conflict, item type, etc.
• displaying more rich media content: there are now more images, videos, and interactive content on the Memorial’s website including live streamed content, large photo sliders, and embedded video.

The Memorial has implemented a strategic approach to digital content in order to create and distribute valuable, relevant and consistent content across its social media channels. The approach is designed to attract, engage, and retain online audiences to encourage learning and reflection. The Memorial shares an average of 250 posts on social media each month to highlight collection items, commemorate significant events or anniversaries, and educate audiences about Australia’s military history. Each day the Last Post Ceremony is live-streamed on YouTube and Facebook Live to engage Australians in commemoration regardless of their physical location. There were more than 1.1 million views of Last Post Ceremony live stream videos during 2017–18. The Facebook audience for these daily live stream posts was 4.7 million.

■ Performance target 
Number of visits to the website

> Result

There were more than 4,052,000 sessions on the Memorial website during 2017–18. This decrease of 28 per cent on the previous year, can be attributed to the changeover to the new website. Both websites were simultaneously available to the public until 31 October 2017 to allow users to adjust to changes, which has led to a splitting of results. Remembrance Day and Anzac Day traffic remained steady as a result of increased efforts to drive traffic to the website through social media channels and an integrated content marketing strategy.

Visitors take part in the Battle of Hamel virtual reality experience in the BAE Systems Theatre.

The average website user session duration remained steady at around four minutes. There was a significant improvement in the bounce rate (exiting a webpage without interacting with it) which decreased by 74 percent. This is an excellent result for the Memorial’s website redesign project, which aimed to improve search results, navigation, and prevent unnecessary visits to webpages.

Mobile access to the website decreased, accounting for 30 per cent of total users (a decrease on last year’s total of 36 per cent). However, tablet access increased slightly to 15 per cent (up from 14 per cent in the previous period).

■ Performance target 
Number of social media interactions

> Result

The Memorial continues to grow its social media following and achieve strong engagement on social media posts.

The Memorial has two Flickr accounts, one dedicated to images and items from the National Collection, the other featuring images related to the Memorial and its official events. The Australian War Memorial Collection account has received 5.8 million views and the Australian War Memorial account 11.8 million views since they were established in 2008.

Facebook continues to be the most popular social networking platform for the Memorial. There are now more than 106,700 followers of the Australian War Memorial Facebook page, an increase of more than 7,000 from last year. Changes to the Facebook algorithm have noticeably impacted upon the reach and number of impressions received. The reach of Facebook posts ranges from 1–2 million people per month, a decrease on the 1–3 million people per month during 2016–17. However, a concerted effort by the Memorial to drive social media activity through the publishing of quality content, attention to audience interests, and alignment with strategic objectives, has resulted in a higher level of audience engagement of 7.5 per cent in 2017–18. This result is more than three times the level of engagement achieved by the Memorial during 2016–17, and more than twice the top industry benchmarks for social media engagement.

Output 1.7 – Research and information dissemination

Overview

A wide range of research and dissemination activities was undertaken during the year, including publication of military history books and articles, media broadcasts, individual research projects, family history workshops, website provision of digitised official and private records, and the provision of military history information and research assistance through the Research Centre enquiry service and the Military History Section.

The centenary of the First World War has continued to generate unprecedented interest in the Memorial, its collections, commemorative activities, and stories of the Australian experience of war. This has continued into this year as the Memorial commemorates major military events of 1918. The Memorial has assisted enquiries in record numbers, from people using the collections to trace their families’ military history through to those performing academic research, writing books, or producing documentary films and news media.

Memorial staff disseminated military history in various ways during the year:

• delivered research papers and public talks on aspects of Australian military history at conferences and seminars, and in association with Memorial exhibitions and other public programs
• provided military history advice for a wide range of corporate needs, including major commemorative functions, official government programs, media requirements, and in-house training
• contributed to the development of Memorial permanent and touring exhibitions
• published scholarly and popular books and articles on a wide range of Australian military history subjects.

Wartime magazine
Production of the Memorial’s popular military history magazine, Wartime, continued during 2017–18, as the magazine celebrated its 20th year of publication. Four issues (numbers 79–82) were published, featuring highquality, popular, and engaging articles. A high proportion of articles in Wartime were written by Memorial historians and other Memorial staff, while a number of articles were commissioned from eminent historians in Australia, Britain, and the United States. The magazine continued the successful practice of themed issues, featuring collections of articles on war in the Mediterranean (issue 79); Passchendaele (issue 80), this issue also featuring a celebration of 20 years of the publication of Wartime; Special Forces, coinciding with the Memorial’s From the shadows: Australia’s Special Forces exhibition (issue 81); and 1918 (issue 82).

Military history publications

• The civilisation of Port Phillip: settler ideology, violence, and rhetorical possession, was published in February 2018
• A revised and updated edition of Anzacs on the Western Front: the Australian War Memorial Battlefield Guide, originally published in 2012, was published in 2018.

Independent history of the medical legacies of Vietnam War

An independent history of the medical legacies of the Vietnam War was commissioned by the Memorial Council and is being led by Dr Peter Yule, a research fellow at the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies at the University of Melbourne. Dr Yule is documenting and examining existing medical studies and research, and undertaking new oral history interviews to enable the authoring of a broad history on the medical legacies of the Vietnam War.

During 2017–18 excellent progress has been made by Dr Yule and his assistant in researching a variety of records, including those from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA), the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia, and the Evatt Royal Commission, as well as a large volume of secondary sources. Consultant epidemiologist, Dr Michael Fett, has completed summarising the scientific literature for the project, while more interviews were conducted with Vietnam veterans and key government and DVA officials. To date, 13 chapters of the book have been drafted.

Official history of East Timor, Iraq, and Afghanistan

In March 2018, Cabinet approved an extension for the project from the five years originally funded to six-and-a-half years. As such, all six volumes of the series are now due to be submitted for clearance by the end of 2022. Good progress has been made in the reporting period as incremental advances are made with the flow of records from the Department of Defence. This includes recent arrangements facilitated by the Governance and Reform Division to access records held by Headquarters, Joint Operations Command (HQJOC).

In general terms, research for the six volumes of the series can be divided into three parts: secondary source work, which is largely complete; an interviewing/oral history program, which is progressing satisfactorily for all volumes; and research conducted from official files/records. This type of research requires access to documents generated by a range of stakeholder departments and agencies.

Work is nearing completion with the records of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and is largely complete with records of the Australian Federal Police, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the National Archives of Australia. Work with DFAT records held by the department is continuing. No significant issues exist with any of these departments. All agencies of the Australian Intelligence Community (AIC) have begun the process of providing the project with relevant records or appropriate summaries of their operational activities.

Due to the AIC-imposed requirement to review every nonintelligence-agency-owned Defence document before it is passed to the project, it remains difficult for Defence to meet project-driven targets for the provision of records. Nonetheless, considerable improvements are evident. From a low point of around 300 documents per week in August 2017, the Defence weekly average is now in the vicinity of 900 documents per week.

A draft of volume one of the Official History series, concerning Australian operations in response to the East Timor crisis 1999–2000, will be completed and submitted for departmental/agency clearance this calendar year – well in advance of its sister volumes, and the overall project plan.

Official history of Australian peacekeeping, humanitarian and post–Cold War operations

The Memorial continues to deliver the six-volume Official history of Australian peacekeeping, humanitarian and post–Cold War operations, assisted by funding from the Department of Defence.

In addition to the four volumes published previously, a further two volumes are being finalised for publication later in 2018:

• Volume IV The limits of peacekeeping: Australian missions in Africa and the Americas, 1993–2006
• Volume I The long search for peace: observer missions and beyond, 1947–2006.

The Simpson Prize

In collaboration with the History Teachers’ Association of Australia and the Department of Education and Training, the Memorial continues to support the annual Simpson Prize, a national essay-writing competition for secondary students. The Memorial’s Education team researches, develops, and hosts online the Simpson Prize question, and provides relevant source material from the Memorial’s collection to assist students with their research and writing. Winners are chosen from each state and territory by representatives of the History Teachers’ Association. In April 2018, as part of their prize, they undertook a tour of the First World War battlefields of the Western Front in Belgium and France, led by a senior Memorial historian. The group attended the centenary Anzac Day ceremony at the Australian National Memorial and visited the Victoria School in VillersBretonneux, France. Personal accounts by students from the 2018 Simpson Prize battlefield tour were published on the Memorial’s website.

Bryan Gandevia Prize for Military History

A generous bequest in 2009 by the family and friends of the late Professor Bryan Gandevia enabled the establishment of a prize to commemorate Professor Gandevia’s contribution to the development of Australian military and medical history, and the historical research and publication activities of the Australian War Memorial. The Bryan Gandevia Prize of $5,000 is one of the most generous awards for postgraduate studies in Australian history. It is awarded biennially to an outstanding honours, masters, or doctoral thesis on a significant subject within Australian military history, militarymedical history, or military-social history.

The Bryan Gandevia Prize for theses submitted between 1 July 2016 and 30 June 2018 will be judged internally by a panel of senior historians of the Australian War Memorial and externally by a distinguished specialist in Australian military, social, and political history.

The annual Summer Scholars program

Scholars are selected through a competitive, merit-based selection process that is open to university students at a late stage of their history degrees, customarily honours graduates. They are assigned individual research projects and are supervised and professionally guided by Memorial historians.

Three scholars successfully completed research projects related to the Memorial’s historical research, collections, exhibitions, and publications:

• Danielle Broadhurst (Deakin University) – Recovery in the trenches: the Australian Corps and the Flanders winter, November 1917 to March 1918
• Ellen Cresswell (University of Sydney) – The experiment: technological testing at the battle of Hamel, 4 July 1918
• Jessica Urwin (Australian National University) – A fleeting opportunity to strike: the experience of Australians serving in RAF Coastal Command in the Second World War

The scholars delivered public presentations on their findings at the conclusion of the program. Their research reports are published on the Memorial’s website.

■ Performance target 
Number of talks, lectures, speeches, and conference papers delivered by Memorial staff

> Result

Full details of the talks, lectures, conference papers, etc. delivered by Memorial staff can be found at Appendix 4.

■ Performance target 
The number of visitors to the Research Centre’s Reading Room

> Result

The Memorial’s Research Centre continued to attract large numbers of visitors with 37,945 people visiting the Reading Room during the reporting period, a reduction of approximately 18 percent on the previous period. During the reporting period 11,830 items were retrieved for and accessed by Reading Room clients

■ Performance target 
Total number of items retrieved for and accessed by Reading Room clients

> Result

A total of 11,830 items were retrieved for and accessed by Reading Room clients in the reporting period, a drop of approximately 25 percent on 2016–17.

While the number of visits to the Research Centre and items requested has declined in 2017–18, the number of pages copied increased by 25,000 to 55,312. This may reflect researchers undertaking their research remotely, purchasing copies of records and utilising the digitised records available online. The lower figures may also reflect the conclusion of First World War centenary, which marked a high point of research and preparation for commemorative publications and events taking place earlier in the centenary period.

■ Performance target 
Sales figures from Wartime and other publications produced by the Memorial.

> Result

* The figure for 2017–18 is markedly lower than 2016–17 as there were no new mass-market publications during the reporting period.

■ Performance target 
The number of page views accessing the Memorial’s online research facilities.

> Result

Facilitating broad access to collections through the provision of digitised content is a high priority for the Memorial. Data clean-up has continued in 2017–18, creating cleaner and more accurate search results. The Memorial’s online encyclopaedia continues to be a popular source of support for independent research by the public, as well as assisting staff address frequently asked questions. Encyclopaedia pages received over 1,065,900 views during 2017–18. The single most viewed page was the Gallipoli page, with a total of 57,176 views. The other most heavily used pages were the prisoner of war, Indigenous, and Anzac biscuit recipe pages, with 92,492 page views combined.

■ Performance target 
The number of research enquiries answered by Memorial staff.

> Result

During 2017–18, Research Centre staff answered 10,867 enquiries made online, by telephone email, or through the mail. Email and online enquiries are the most popular form of contact with figures more than doubling those received by telephone and letter.

During the same reporting period, Military History section staff answered, 2,800 research enquiries made online, by telephone, and vial mail from the public and the media, and through the offices of the minister, prime minister, and other government agencies.

Output 1.8 – Visitor services

Visitors to the Memorial and its outreach programs are provided with a standard of service that enhances their experience and encourages them to return and promote others to visit.

Overview

The 2017–18 reporting period saw 1.088 million people visit the Australian War Memorial’s Campbell site. The commitment of the front-of-house team saw the ongoing provision and delivery of world-class service excellence to a diverse audience.

Visitors continued to enjoy an excellent experience, evidenced by the recent TripAdvisor data which saw the Memorial’s continued ranking in the top three of the top ten landmarks within Australia. Approximately 90 per cent of TripAdvisor respondents rated their visit to the Memorial as excellent and 8 per cent as very good. This was re-enforced by 90 per cent of surveyed visitors to the Memorial also stating that their visit had met or exceeded their expectation, with 85 percent stating that the Memorial had improved since their last visit.

A sample of feedback from our visitors follows:

Staff are extremely helpful and whether it be sight-seeing or research, every request is met in an outstanding manner

Jim O, May 2018

Staff are amazing here and they embrace the importance of this place in what they do and you’d be hard pressed not to notice this.

Campbell C, 4 January 2018

Every aspect is engaging and captivating and the staff are truly interested and passionate about the work of the AWM

Danielle H, 17 December 2017

This is one of the most wonderful facilities with the most wonderful staff and volunteers I have ever visited

Susan J, 11 July 2017

■ Performance target 
Front of house staff trained to deliver high-level customer service and voluntary guides trained to an introductory level of military history

> Result

• 97 per cent very satisfied or satisfied with staff assistance (81 per cent very satisfied)
• 97 per cent very satisfied or satisfied with guided tours (82 per cent very satisfied).

Ongoing front-of-house training has been delivered throughout the course of the financial year. Regular training in first aid and emergency response practices, military history, collection and exhibition updates, and events and ceremonies, ensures staff are able to provide a high-quality and responsive experience to those visiting the Memorial.

The 2018 voluntary guide training package has again been delivered in partnership with the Registered Training Organisation, GLAM Education. The training aligns with the nationally recognised Deliver Public Programs skill set, taken from the Library, Information and Cultural Services training package. It also sees a number of experts from across a number of Memorial sections present to the trainees over the course of the training. This tertiary level training affords our newest voluntary guides with the skills and ability to structure and deliver not only informative tours to Memorial visitors, but tours which are engaging and professional.

■ Performance target 
High quality and suitable public facilities such as restrooms, café, and way-finding signs.

> Result

• 87 per cent very satisfied or satisfied with Poppys café (62 per cent very satisfied)
• 87 per cent very satisfied or satisfied with the Landing Place (56 per cent very satisfied)
• 92 per cent very satisfied or satisfied with wayfinding signage (57 per cent very satisfied)
• 87 per cent very satisfied or satisfied with restrooms (56 per cent very satisfied).

The Memorial’s grounds and facilities are maintained by a team of dedicated professionals whose skill sets include horticulturists and arborists; carpenters and cabinetmakers; electricians and plumbers; groundskeepers; cleaners; project managers; and contracted specialists such as fire and lift technicians. The iconic, heritage-listed building and its surrounds presents unique challenges and opportunities to ensure the Memorial’s facilities are easily accessible and maintained to the highest standard.

After a competitive tender process, in March 2018, the Trippas White Group commenced as the Memorial’s contracted catering provider. Trippas White Group manages a diverse portfolio of iconic restaurant, café and event spaces across Australia.

■ Performance target 
At least 90 per cent of surveyed visitors state that the Memorial has met or exceeded their expectations.

> Result

99 per cent of surveyed respondents stated that the memorial had met or exceeded their expectations:

• 60 per cent of surveyed respondents stated that the Memorial had exceeded their expectations
• 39 per cent of surveyed respondents stated that the Memorial had met their expectations.
• People who had visited in the recent past were more likely to state that the Memorial had met their expectations.

■ Performance target 
At least 90 per cent of surveyed visitors state that the Memorial has maintained or improved its standard of service since their last visit.

> Result

• 99 per cent of visitors thought the Memorial had improved or maintained its standard of service since their last visit.

■ Performance target 
Opportunities for visitor feedback such as service charter, visitors’ book, and evaluation services.

> Result

In addition to the visitors’ book and café feedback cards, the Memorial invited general visitors to contribute their views in the following audience research surveys:

• General visitor exit survey
• Cafés exit survey
• For Country, for Nation exit survey
• From the shadows exit survey.

Output 1.9 – Corporate governance

The Council of the Australian War Memorial provides a strategic framework of policy and direction that guides the achievement of the Memorial’s outcome.

In accordance with its planned schedule, Council and the Finance, Audit, and Compliance Committee each met four times during the year. The Remuneration Committee and the Roll of Honour Committee each met once.

The Chair of Council and the Director of the Memorial provided a briefing to the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs after each meeting. The Memorial’s senior management team met with senior representatives of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to discuss matters relevant to both parties.

Through the process of Council and committee meetings, detailed papers and recommendations were presented by the Memorial’s management. The major considerations and decisions undertaken by Council related to:

• a program of events for the end of the centenary of the First World War
• progress in relation to the Official history of Australian peacekeeping, humanitarian and post–Cold War operations, the Official history of East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Independent history of the medical legacies of the Vietnam War
• further development of a Memorial Master Plan, including implementation of long-term storage solutions for the National Collection
• oversight of the Memorial’s Strategic Priorities 2018–2022
• criteria for inclusion on the Roll of Honour
• the Memorial’s Organisational Review.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) continued as the Memorial’s internal auditor. Members of the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) and PwC attended each of the Finance, Audit, and Compliance Committee meetings. A program of audits was approved by Council for the 2017–18 financial year and the outcomes of reviews undertaken were presented at each meeting.

Output 1.10 – Executive strategic management

Executive leadership

The Memorial’s executive leadership and management framework includes a Corporate Management Group (CMG), consisting of the Director and three assistant directors; and a Senior Management Group (SMG) comprised of all section heads and members of the CMG.

The SMG meets weekly and is a forum for the exchange of information and discussion of corporate issues. Feedback from CMG and SMG meetings is provided to all staff through weekly section meetings.

During this past year, there were a number of changes to SMG. Two important outside appointments were made when Ms Helen Petrovski joined the Memorial as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Head of Finance and Mr John Rodgers was appointed as Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Head of Information Technology. There were a number of internal appointments at senior level through the year, with Ms Melinda Coen taking up the role of Head of Collection Services, and Ms Suzanne Myers being appointed as the Head of Exhibitions, both having acted in those positions for some time. With the departure of Mr Ryan Johnston the role of acting Head of Art has been filled by Dr Anthea Gunn and Ms Webster was subsequently appointed as Head of Art.

The CMG meets weekly and considers a wide range of matters brought forward by its members or via papers from section heads. Quarterly reports are presented to monitor the Memorial’s performance against a range of criteria. The CFO presents a set of financial statements on a regular basis and provides direct advice to senior management.

Ms Leanne Patterson, who had been acting Assistant Director Corporate Services (ADCS) since January 2016 was appointed to the role permanently in July 2017 following the long service leave and retirement of the substantive ADCS, Ms Rhonda Adler.

The Assistant Director of National Collections (ADNC), Mr Tim Sullivan resigned in November 2017 after four years of service to the Memorial. Major General Brian Dawson AM CSC (Retd), formerly head of Collections Services, was appointed to the role of ADNC after a formal recruitment process.

The Priority Projects Steering Group (PPSG) continues to have strategic oversight of a range of corporate priorities and programs, monitoring resource management, and project delivery against the key indicators of scope, budget schedule, quality, and risk.

In addition to PPSG meetings and overall CMG oversight, a number of control groups meet on a monthly basis to monitor the performance of major projects. The focus of these control groups is to ensure projects are delivered according to their objectives, timeframes, and budgets.

The Information Management Steering Group (IMSG) meets monthly and is key to determining the strategic direction of information management, information and communications technology (ICT), and web initiatives. This area of business continues to grow and underpins many of the Memorial’s corporate objectives. The prioritisation of available resources is a major focus of IMSG. During 2017–18 the Memorial commenced the three-year implementation of its IT Modernisation Project using monies from the Public Service Modernisation Fund.

The Assistant Director, National Collection, chairs the Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Working Group which has produced the Memorial’s Reflect RAP. The Reflect RAP is designed to identify and implement initiatives to help provide services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders, visitors, and users of our services. It provides a framework for further development of information resources and services, employment strategies, and engagement with the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures, and military service.

A wide range of statistical information is collated and presented on a quarterly basis to assess trends across business activities.

The Memorial continued its efforts to secure corporate sponsorship and support through grants from government and non-government partners. Other individual supporters continue to provide financial support for the Memorial’s projects and public programs. A full report of revenue generation is at section 1.12 ‘Revenue Generation’ commencing on page 70.

Strategic management

The Memorial’s strategic planning framework encourages participation by all staff, promoting the concept of one team working to achieve common goals and recognising the importance of communication and ownership of decisions.

In February 2018, recognising that the end of the Centenary of Anzac period will have wide ranging effects on its operations, the Memorial undertook to re-examine its strategic priorities as part of its annual corporate planning process. The revised Corporate Plan 2018–22 now incorporates five strategic priorities, each supported by key enabling strategies to achieve those goals over the medium term. The Corporate Plan 2018–22 is closely aligned with the Memorial’s Portfolio Budget Statement commitments and progress is reported to Council quarterly.

The Memorial also continued to plan for the long term through efforts to develop the Memorial Redevelopment Project Initial and Detailed Business Cases. These are an important part of the Memorial’s planning for managing collection, visitation and commemoration beyond the Corporate Plan 2018–22.

Annual business plans and accompanying budgets are developed to support Council directions and corporate plan priorities. Once developed, annual business plans, closely aligned to the Corporate Plan, influence day-today operations. Achievements are monitored and formally reported quarterly to CMG and Council, with exceptions reported as required.

Risk management and business continuity

Fraud risk

The Commonwealth Fraud Control Framework outlines the Australian Government’s requirements for fraud control, including that government entities put in place a comprehensive fraud control program that covers prevention, detection, investigation, and reporting strategies. In January 2017 the Memorial undertook its triennial re-assessment of its fraud control framework. The resulting report and plan identified:

• no risks above moderate
• seven moderate risks
• seven low risks
• five very low risks.

Risks rated moderate to very low are managed within existing resources and are monitored and reported as part of the Memorial’s existing quarterly risk management framework. The identified risks are reviewed quarterly to ensure the appropriateness of the assessment and their mitigation strategies, and to identify any new or emerging risks.

The triennial risk assessments inform the allocation of the Memorial’s risk management resources and efforts.

Business risk

In October 2016 the Memorial undertook its triennial Business Risk Assessment. Senior management, with the assistance of PricewaterhouseCoopers, undertook a comprehensive analysis of the threats to the Memorial’s ability to meet its objectives and identified appropriate controls and mitigation strategies.

Management of the Memorial’s key business risks have been incorporated into corporate and annual business planning processes and are formally reviewed quarterly, including consideration of new and emerging risks and the effectiveness of mitigation strategies. Progress against the proposed actions to address the high and significant risks are monitored by senior management and reported quarterly to Council.

Risk benchmarking

Each year the Memorial participates in Comcover’s annual risk management benchmarking survey, which provides a basis to measure our performance against similar government agencies and identifies areas for possible improvement.

Significant work over the last 18 months to strengthen the Memorial’s risk management framework has proven worthwhile, not only to ensure the robustness of our risk management capability and governance, but also in improving our standing among our cultural institution peers. Our improved risk management framework has reduced our overall vulnerability and is reflected in reduced Comcover insurance premiums and improved risk maturity ranking. Comcover ranks each agency’s risk management maturity as being fundamental, developed, systematic, integrated, advanced, or optimal. Over the last two years, the Memorial has graduated from integrated to advanced, placing us well ahead of like institutions whose average maturity across all elements is in the lower end of integrated.

In keeping with the recommendations contained in the Comcover survey report, the Memorial will, in the coming period, focus its efforts on embedding risk management practices and enhanced education opportunities for staff.

Business continuity

In February 2018, members of the Memorial’s Senior Management Group, with the assistance of PricewaterhouseCoopers facilitators, undertook business continuity scenario testing.

The exercise confirmed the strengths of the Memorial’s current business continuity arrangements, and offered suggestions to enhance to overall response regime. Overall, PwC noted that the Memorial’s business continuity framework was robust and sufficiently flexible for most circumstances.

Evaluation and visitor research

The Memorial continued its standard audience research relating to general visitor benchmarking, cafe catering customer service, special exhibitions, and audience profiling.

The survey projects that have been used to inform this Annual Report are:

Greater attention has also been directed towards defining how the Memorial contributes to the way visitors understand Australian military history. In order to understand what factors could be influencing visitation levels there has been increasing interest in understanding how visitors make the decision to visit the Memorial and plan their travel.

This year the Memorial commenced preparations to upgrade all survey processes in the 2018–19 financial year to enable faster, up-to-the-minute results reporting in alignment with the exciting range of ways that the public can now engage with the Memorial. The priority focus for this will be include a website-integrated survey, and touchscreen surveys with digital data entry.

Volume VI of the Official History of Australian Peacekeeping, Humanitarian and Post–Cold War Operations, In their time of need: Australia’s overseas emergency relief operations, 1918–2006, written by Dr Steven Bullard, was released in August 2017.

Output 1.11 – Resource management

Management of the Memorial’s buildings and grounds, and its financial, human, and general service resources to the best advantage of external outputs.

Buildings and services

Buildings

Energy management continues to be a priority for the Memorial. Technical initiatives have maintained efficient energy consumption on the site, and the refinement of the strategy for building climate control continues, with an emphasis on managing temperature and humidity parameters to meet the needs of collection material and energy efficiency.

The next stage of the Mitchell site development has progressed to accommodate the Memorial’s future growth and acquisitions. The construction of the first stage large technology object storage building is underway, with completion scheduled for late 2018. Planning for the logistics of moving the large technology objects into the new facility is also in progress. The new facility will include broadened environmental parameters, extreme levels of sealing and insulation, and a solar array on the roof to supplement electricity supply.

Various accommodation projects have been undertaken including the installation of a new security control room which was completed in March. The new design includes improved security screen visibility, system functionality, and office ergonomics. The movement of the mailroom function from Buildings and Services to IT provided an opportunity to relocate and upgrade the IT storage areas and computer testing work spaces, leading to improved security and functionality. The refurbishment of the Collection Services acquisitions store was also completed, with new furniture and storage equipment to improve the donations process.

Several other projects were completed, including:

• a new large cold store in the basement of the Administration Building for the climate-controlled storage of photographs, film, and sound collection
• upgrades to air conditioning controllers were rolled out to various buildings across the Campbell Site
• chillers and cooling towers for the Administration Building were replaced in late 2017
• roof works to buildings to eliminate leaks
• a competitive procurement process to upgrade the Main Building fire indicator panel was concluded, with upgrade works scheduled next financial year.

Grounds

Grounds maintenance contracts are managed to ensure outstanding grounds presentation at all times. Detailed grounds maintenance and horticulture contracts are managed separately to ensure professional services are delivered to specialised standards.

A specialist horticulturalist is contracted for formal garden maintenance of the Commemorative Area, Eastern Precinct, and memorials and sculptures throughout the Western Precinct, ensuring that these locations are presented to a high standard.

A regular maintenance regime for the Lone Pine tree (Pinus halepensis) continues to assist in its longevity. A replacement pine, grown from a seed taken from the original Lone Pine tree, was planted by Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on Anzac Day 2014. It is anticipated that this tree will have grown to a suitable size when the original Lone Pine reaches senescence. The new tree is in a healthy state, assisted by the fence and bird netting that is expanded as the tree grows.

A full Campbell site tree audit has been finalised detailing tree GPS location, condition, and any recommendations to assist longevity and future planning for all site trees.

The installation of the General Sir John Monash Commemorative Sculpture was completed in June for dedication on 4 July 2018. Additional works included a pedestrian path to improve visitor flow around the sculpture directing visitors from the road for increased safety.

The latest Campbell Site Development Plan was completed by Johnson Pilton Walker in 2017 with suggested improvements to visitor flow throughout the site, additional memorial locations within the grounds, further building development opportunities in line with the AWM Redevelopment project, and increased site safety and security.

Security (including emergency planning)

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation was engaged to complete a full physical security risk review to ensure a strengthened focus on Memorial physical security arrangements. The report and recommendations is expected in July 2018.

A range of measures have been introduced to increase the security and safety of staff and visitors, using infrastructure sympathetic to the site, such as additional bollards and security access gates.

The upgrade of electronic security infrastructure continues, including additional closed circuit television cameras throughout the Memorial buildings, galleries and grounds, and site lighting enhancements. Additional motion sensors have been installed to further protect collection items within the galleries.

Ongoing liaison with the Australian Federal Police (AFP) occurs for all high-profile visits and events. There is a particularly positive relationship with AFP (ACT Policing) for liaison, coordination, and the AFP’s role in the Memorial’s high-profile events and ceremonies such as Anzac Day and Remembrance Day.

The Emergency Planning Committee met four times during 2017–18. Planning and conducting emergency evacuation drills for all Memorial buildings have continued, with improvements identified and implemented.

Workshop services

The Memorial’s Workshop supports a wide range of Memorial activities. Work this year included trades support for the From the shadows: Australia’s Special Forces exhibit in the Special Exhibitions Gallery. The Memorial’s Workshop also manufactured seven showcases for the travelling For Country, for Nation exhibit and provided trades support for the Hearts and minds and A matter of trust exhibits. The Memorial’s Workshop provides technical trades-based support and advice to all sections of the Memorial. The Workshop is also responsible for a wide range of building works, preparations for ceremonies, gallery maintenance, furniture construction, the installation of commemorative plaques and signage, and general building and grounds maintenance works.

Information Technology

Corporate systems

The Information Technology (IT) section supports a broad range of information and communication technology-based systems underpinning operations such as administration, collection management, public access, gallery information and experience, retail, and online services. There is an excellent record of systems availability, achieved through dedicated attention to systems monitoring and timely, well-planned upgrades.

Significant application and database changes were implemented for the Memorial website redevelopment project, including a re-architecture of media storage to improve accessibility and maintenance, and a significant increase in data to improve search functionality.

Continued support was provided for a number of initiatives associated with the centenary of the First World War, particularly in relation to the Last Post Ceremony, the Roll of Honour name projections, and Roll of Honour soundscapes.

The year saw the establishment of the IT Modernisation Project which will upgrade and restructure outdated ICT systems. The objectives are to improve IT cost effectiveness, operational flexibility, and management efficiency through a simplified and sustainable technology platform. The project will run over three years and will provide a modern computing environment supporting up-to-date business applications. As a first step, new infrastructure has been installed to provide a scalable and secure platform to host the first group of updated applications. The IT support organisation has also been re-aligned to a more responsive service management structure with clearer lines of accountability and improved processes for management of work requests.

The SharePoint-based electronic documents management system continues to support corporate information management and recordkeeping requirements. The system was further enhanced with additional workflows to transform paper-based approvals to digital processes to achieve organisational efficiencies and meet the implementation targets identified in the government’s Digital Continuity 2020 Plan.

The section continues the upgrade and development of solutions to support management of the National Collection. These solutions support information management and enhance preservation, conservation and curatorial tasks, which enables the Memorial to make the collection and information accessible to the public.

IT infrastructure

The Information Technology section develops and maintains an in-house IT platform which supports its systems. In addition to meeting the workload generated by the implementation or upgrade of system application projects, the infrastructure team also achieved the following:

• Installation of high performance servers and storage and upgrade of infrastructure software to facilitate replacement of Finance and HR Corporate systems, and upgrades of existing mail and electronic document and records management systems in accordance with Modernisation programme of works
• Installation of high performance edge switching network components to allow installation of high definition closed-circuit security cameras and allow scalable network capacity for high bandwidth applications
• Full workstation and laptop operating system (SOE) upgrade and refresh to meet Cyber Security Work programme patching requirements and ensure compliance with the Australian Signals Directorate’s “Essential 8” cyber risk mitigation strategies
• Installation of additional hardware and reconfiguration of components to improve broadcast quality and provide a redundant path for video streaming of the daily Last Post Ceremony.

Records management and mail services

Records management is progressing the sentencing of paper files from 1991 and 1992, and has transferred more than 2,100 files to the Research Centre for public access.

Mail services has been integrated into the Information Technology section and mailroom duties now include records management, retrieval and rehousing of physical paper files, and the scanning of incoming mail. A review of mail management has resulted in the implementation of electronic processes to streamline courier management, file retrievals, and parcel management.

Mailroom and loading dock security is an ongoing focus, particularly in relation to potential security threats arising from incoming mail and deliveries. Development and review of mailroom policies and procedures ensures best practice mail tracking and receipt, while addressing security requirements.

Strategic planning and governance

The Information Management Steering Group (IMSG) continues its oversight of information management, and IT strategy and policy, and also functions as the Steering Committee for the IT Modernisation Project.

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) has represented the Memorial at meetings of the whole-of-government CIO forum and the Commonwealth Managers Forum on IT.

Finance

Financial planning and monitoring

The Memorial has developed a revised internal budget development and management framework which ensures it remains financially sustainable with an effective allocation of resources to corporate priorities. The revised budget framework aligns with business planning, the external budgeting process managed by the Department of Finance, and the Australian National Audit Office better practice guide on developing and managing internal budgets.

Many new projects and activities related to the centenary of the First World War were funded from an internal reserve along with corporate sponsorship and donations. Additional funding was received from the government to develop initial business cases for the proposed Memorial redevelopment. Funding was also allocated from the Public Service Modernisation Fund for organisational review and modernisation of our IT infrastructure and applications.

Funding strategies were developed and approved by government in response to the recommendations of the 2016 Functional and Efficiency Review. The proposals included a response to the impact of the efficiency dividend on base funding; the rise in non-discretionary costs due to the increase in visitor numbers and security threats; and the ability to improve staff capability and retain specialist skill sets. An additional funding proposal was developed for the digitisation of objects in the National Collection that are at risk of loss through technological obsolescence.

As part of the IT modernisation program, an analysis and selection process was undertaken across finance and human resources. The current solution is ageing, costly to support, and constrains the ability to respond to changing business and government driven requirements. The selected applications will be more cost efficient, flexible and will be consistent with other similar sized government agencies, allowing the Memorial to benefit from economies of scale.

Regular financial reporting to senior management, Council, and the Department of Finance throughout the year included Memorial-wide financial results, budget review and analysis, capital management planning, and commercial operations.

Financial policy

The Chief Finance Officer (CFO) has taken steps to implement reforms in line with the Public Management Reform Agenda (PMRA), including engaging with risk and the minimisation of low value processes, and strengthening of the accountability framework. Reforms include a revision of the Financial Delegations and Director’s Instructions, a revision to the valuation methodology for heritage and cultural assets, and a recommended change in policy for the depreciation of heritage and cultural assets.

Existing commercial activities were reviewed against the Australian Government Charging Framework to ensure an adequate pricing strategy has been applied, and to identify any potential charging activities not currently undertaken.

Human Resources

Strategic people management/workforce planning

The Memorial’s key strategic workforce priorities are:

• Building leadership and management capability
• Alignment of people and our business through a positive performance culture
• Attracting and retaining the right people
• Promoting employee health and wellbeing
• Encouraging innovation and agility.

Implementation of the Memorial’s three-year operational workforce plan commenced in January 2018. The operational workforce planning process has enabled the Memorial to identify, plan and develop solutions for immediate, shortand medium-term risks and issues impacting the Memorial’s workforce. This plan is now the key reference point for staffing decisions, ensuring action taken aligns with the Memorial’s overall business strategy.

Workforce development

The Memorial continues to invest in fostering a learning culture to build and broaden the capability and capacity of its staff to meet ongoing service delivery requirements.

The Memorial’s learning and development needs continue to be supported by investment in Learnhub, an online portal providing access to training opportunities including essential modules relating to Australian Public Service employment (APS Values, Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Employment Principles) for new starters and refreshers for existing APS staff.

The 2017–18 annual learning and development plan was developed to assist staff to deliver on the Memorial’s mission statement. It supports:

• attendance at domestic and international conferences, seminars and symposia, to enhance research in the delivery of material and publications on past and current conflicts
• progressing tertiary qualifications with access to a studies assistance program
• offering a range of learning opportunities to support the increasing advancements in digital content.

Quarterly induction sessions attended by the Director introduce new starters to employment at the Memorial and core components essential to working in the APS.

In addition the Memorial delivered development opportunities related to:

• Leadership development – a senior leadership program attended by all Executive Level 2 staff
• Change awareness – an all staff keynote address
• Lifeline’s Accidental Counsellor training – attended by staff who regularly deal with confronting war material or support visitors experiencing emotional distress
• Domestic and family violence awareness – attended by staff identified as first responders
• Cross Institutional Mentoring – the Memorial joined the National Library of Australia’s Cross Institutional Mentoring program enabling staff to self-elect as a mentor or mentee.

This financial year the Memorial extended its offering of development opportunities by offering places to other small APS agencies on a fee recovery basis. The added distribution of costs maximised the training investment and provided additional networking opportunities for all.

People management and services

Following an open approach to market the Memorial entered into a new three-year contract for the provision of labour hire services to supplement its front of house workforce operating seven days per week, 364 days per year.

A detailed assessment of the Memorial’s payroll system, and the potential automation of aspects of the Memorial’s recruitment, annual performance appraisal, and work health and safety incident reporting processes has been undertaken to identify workflow efficiencies and cost savings.

The Memorial’s diversity and inclusion framework has been substantially revised with a range of measures proposed for introduction over the next three years.

Staffing overview

Following is an overview of the metrics of the staff at the Memorial, as at 30 June 2018.

The staff of the Memorial are appointed or employed under the Public Service Act 1999.

Ongoing and non-ongoing staff by gender (excludes Statutory Officer)

Senior executives staff by gender

Staff by classification and gender

Representation of equal employment opportunity groups

Notes:

ATSI = Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 
BO = Born overseas 
BO+ENFL = Born overseas and did not speak English as a first language 
PWD = People with a disability

Memorial staff perform wreath orderly duties at the Remembrance Day National Ceremony 2017.

Output 1.12 – Revenue generation

Generation of revenue in support of the Memorial’s mission and purpose.

Memorial Shop

Memorial Shop revenue was $1,897,952 in 2017–18 against a target of $1,978,391. Net profit was $492,798, compared to last year’s $482,180, before notional overhead costs.

Wage to sales, a key metric of retail performance, finished at 26 per cent, compared to 27 per cent in the previous year. Cost of goods finished flat on last year. Combined transactional activity for the shop and Orientation Gallery totalled 109,195, with the shop’s average sale decreasing $2.86 to $17.76, an indication of the sale of lower-priced items and high school group visitation. Net operating profit percentage finished at 25 per cent, compared to 24 per cent in the previous year. This was achieved by benchmarking the shop’s operations to external retailers, training staff in retail metrics, and changing supply chain to more economical suppliers.

The majority of sales were merchandise developed by the Memorial and items produced under license with other suppliers, including the Royal Australian Mint and Australia Post. The centenary range included:

• limited edition “Coming Home” digger bear

• circulating and non-circulating coins commemorating key events in Australian military history

• apparel and souvenir products featuring the centenary logo

The Memorial expanded on its core range of products around the military services, medallions, and educational items for school groups.

The Memorial launched a number of publications, including In their time of need: Australia’s overseas emergency relief operations 1918-2006 by Steven Bullard; Gimme shelter by Paul Field and Fire at sea HMAS Westralia 1998 by Kathryn Spurling. Memorial souvenir publications sold through the Orientation Gallery and Memorial Shop included an updated Australian War Memorial guide book, and the introduction of a Chinese translation for international visitors and the second edition of Anzacs on the Western Front: the Australian War Memorial battlefield guide by Peter Pedersen.

e-Business

The Memorial’s e-business revenue for 2017–18 was $959,610 (including the value of waivers and stock received free of charge) against a target of $919,513. Revenue is generated from:

• costs associated with reproductions from the National Collection

• user fees associated with commercial use of the material

• the value of fees waived for use of materials for educational, private, or commemorative purposes

• Memorial Shop products sold online.

BEQUESTS AND PARTNERSHIPS

The Memorial, like most cultural institutions, supplements its government budget allocation with partnership and fundraising programs. These programs aim to assist the Memorial to engage in new and innovative approaches to telling the stories of those who have served our nation.

During this reporting period, the Memorial garnered support to deliver a number of new and existing activities, publications, and exhibitions. Of particular note, the Memorial was able to begin delivering two significant digital projects – the Battle of Hamel virtual reality experience, and the 360 degree photographic capture of some of the Memorial’s large collection objects – thanks to partnerships with two key corporations.

The Memorial continued to deliver the Giving Campaign, with donations from a number of generous individuals going towards projects in art and education.

During the reporting period, the Memorial generated $2,428,552 in partnerships, major donations, and bequests.

The Australian War Memorial gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the following organisations, families and individuals, who, over the years, have assisted in the delivery of a significant level of project activity:

ActewAGL 
ADI Limited 
Australia Remembers - ACT Committee 
Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd 
Australian Capital Territory Government 
Australian Submarine Corporation Pty Ltd 
The Australian Women’s Weekly 
Aviation Art 
BAE Systems Australia 
Sir James Balderstone AC 
The Balgownie War Memorial Fund 
Bearcage Productions 
Dame Beryl Beaurepaire AC DBE and the 
Late Mr Ian Beaurepaire CMG 
BHP Billiton 
Estate of the late James Frederick Blythe 
Boeing Australia 
Broken Hill Proprietary Company Ltd 
Wesley and Sari Browne 
Burmah Castrol 
Casinos Australia International 
Estate of the late Ella Maud Clarke 
Estate of the late Kingsley Juan Clark 
Coles Myer Ltd 
Commonwealth Bank of Australia 
Commonwealth Government of Australia 
CSR Limited 
Estate of the late Stanley Condon 
De Lambert Largesse Foundation 
Sir William Durrant and Lady Durrant AM 
Drummond Foundation 
Estate of the late Mr Bruce R. Ellis 
Emu Bottom Homestead 
Mr T V Fairfax 
Google Ireland Limited 
Gordon Darling Foundation 
Dr Ron Houghton DFC and Mrs Nanette Houghton 
Howard Smith Ltd 
Incapacitated Servicemen and Women’s Association 
of Queensland 
Ms Margaret Jack 
Estate of the late Ruth Margaret Jenkins 
Estate of the late Mr Edgar Henry King 
Kingold Group 
Lambert Vineyards 
Mrs Ruth and Mr Steve Lambert 
The Laminex Group 
Leidos Australia 
Lennon Family Charitable Fund 
Lockheed Martin Australia Pty Ltd 
Macquarie Bank Foundation 
Estate of the late Mrs Beryl Martin 
McCusker Charitable Foundation 
Estate of the late Mrs Elsie Ada McGrath 
Estate of the late Mr William McHatton 
Mr Dugald Mactaggart 
Estate of the late Mr J S Millner AM 
The Sidney Myer Fund 
National Australia Bank Ltd 
National Roads and Motorists’ Association 
State Government of New South Wales 
News Limited 
Newcrest Mining Ltd 
Northrop Grumman Corporation 
Government of Northern Territory 
OPSM 
Oracle Corporation 
Origin Energy 
Pacific Dunlop 
Mr Kerry Packer AC 
Estate of the late Mr Richard Pratt AC 
The Pratt Foundation 
PricewaterhouseCoopers 
Polaris Australia 
Qantas 
State Government of Queensland 
Lady C Ramsay 
Raytheon Australia Pty Ltd 
The Bruce and Joy Reid Foundation 
John T Reid Charitable Trusts 
Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation 
Foster’s Brewing Group Ltd 
General Dynamics Land Systems Australia 
Renison Goldfields Consolidated Ltd 
Returned & Services League of Australia 
(Victorian Branch) Inc. 
RSL and Services Clubs Association Limited 
RSL Queensland 
Mr Michael and Mrs Katherine Ribot de Bressac 
Rio Tinto Ltd 
Mr Richard Rolfe OAM & Ms Debbie Rolfe AM 
Rosebank Engineering Pty Ltd 
Mrs Margaret Ross AM 
SEDCOM Communications Pty Ltd 
Seven Network Limited 
Shaw Vineyard Estate 
Shell Company of Australia 
Howard Smith Ltd 
Mr John and Mrs Betty Skipworth 
Mr Dick Smith AO and Mrs Pip Smith AO 
Mr Ezekiel Solomon 
State Government of South Australia 
Spicers Paper 
Mr Kerry Stokes AC 
Mr Robert Strauss MBE 
State Government of Tasmania 
Tattersall’s 
Telstra 
Tenix Pty Ltd 
Teys Bros (Holdings) Pty Ltd 
Thales Australia 
Mr Doug and Ms Erica Thompson 
Thyne Reid Foundation 
TransACT 
Mr Harry O Triguboff AO 
State Government of Victoria 
Virgin Australia 
Sir Bruce and Lady Watson 
State Government of Western Australia 
Wesfarmers Limited 
WESFI Limited 
Weta Digital 
Mr John Wicking AM 
Wingnut Films

Output 1.13 – Team management

Sections and teams are managed and administered to achieve Memorial outputs and foster equity, teamwork, and open communication.

This is a common output that recognises the importance of promoting teamwork to achieve corporate priorities.

Throughout 2017–18 the Memorial’s Reward and Recognition program acknowledged numerous individuals and teams for outstanding effort and achievement across all areas of the organisation. The program ensures all staff have an opportunity to nominate work colleagues and teams when a significant contribution and/or service has been observed. The awards included certificates of commendation, gift vouchers, and in-kind awards such as group morning teas and lunches. Staff barbeques co-hosted by the senior executive team and the Memorial’s Social Club were popular events.

Regular senior management and section meetings are essential in fostering effective communication across the Memorial. All-staff meetings are held periodically providing important updates from senior management on key strategic issues and major project developments. Specialist committees such as Workplace Relations, Work Health and Safety, Exhibition Planning, Emergency Planning and Evacuation, and Environment and Energy are also important forums for addressing cross-branch matters. The Memorial’s staff newsletter, Corporate chatter, remains a popular bi-monthly source of work and social information.

In early 2018 the Memorial selected a new provider for its Employee Assistance Program (EAP). This program provides free counselling and support to staff, volunteers and their immediate families. Similar to previous years, the EAP was accessed by a small number of staff with the majority seeking support for non-work related matters.

Work Health and Safety

The Memorial is committed to safeguarding the health and safety of its employees, workers, and visitors by providing and maintaining a safe working environment and eliminating all preventable work-related injuries through systematic risk management. The Memorial is also committed to supporting and promoting the holistic wellbeing of its employees.

The Memorial’s work health and safety (WHS) function is managed through Human Resources, with assistance from a WHS Manager and WHS Advisor who provide advice to the WHS committee, manage the WHS framework documentation, assist with hazard and incident investigations and case management, and provide relevant training as required.

The 2018–19 indicative workers compensation premium shows positive performance improvement with a predicted 65 per cent reduction in cost compared with 2017–18. This premium reduction has been driven by factors reflecting the efforts made by the Memorial in its management of risk, including early intervention programs, reduced claim numbers and costs, and the improved overall performance of the Comcare scheme.

Initiatives and programs

Specific WHS initiatives and programs conducted in 2017–18 include:

• continued review and growth of online information resources to help staff understand their responsibilities under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act), including revision of the WHS Policy and arrangements, first aid policy and procedure, and newly developed procedures for powder response, sun protection, health monitoring, asbestos response and disposal, and radiation safety

• review of confined and restricted spaces across Campbell and Mitchell sites, and finalisation of confined space registers, procedures, permit processes, and training for staff

• a musculo-skeletal injury risk reduction program including individual workstation and work area/laboratory risk assessments leading to improved work layout and enhanced ergonomics

• promotion of the Memorial’s new Employment Assistance Program

• staff training to support visitor- and collection-related emotion and distress

• a briefing to senior management to explain premium results and enhance understanding of factors driving performance and trends

• a flu vaccination program for staff and volunteers with an 85 per cent increase in participation compared with last year

• 45 staff participated in the Memorial’s biennial eye testing program in 2017–18. This is a reduction of 52 percent reduction in uptake of this program compared to 2015–16.

• implementation of staff training workshops related to domestic violence, disaster recovery weapons handling, radiation awareness, asbestos first responder, volunteer induction and defibrillator awareness

The Work Health and Safety Committee meets four times per year and assists the Memorial in developing, implementing, and reviewing measures designed to protect the health and safety of workers and visitors. The committee is made up of worker and management representatives, and provides a key consultation mechanism in accordance with relevant legislation.

First aid officers are located throughout the Memorial buildings to ensure immediate assistance is available when required. Emergency response support includes cardiac defibrillators being available at both the Campbell and Mitchell sites.

The Memorial has a zero tolerance approach to bullying and harassment, and has a number of contacts available should an employee or manager require advice regarding an instance of bullying or harassment. Contacts include trained HR professionals, harassment contact officers across all business areas, and the Employee Assistance Program. The Memorial addresses formal and informal allegations of bullying or harassment promptly and sensitively.

Outcome measures

The Memorial maintains a positive reporting culture. During 2017, 284 incidents were reported relating to visitors, staff, contractors, and hazards (Table C1). Visitor incidents are the area of highest frequency and continue to be less than one percent of the total visitor numbers. Visitor incidents are showing a downward trend. During the reporting period, no incidents meeting the notifiable incident provisions of the WHS Act were reported to Comcover. There were no notices issued to the Memorial under Part 10 of the WHS Act.

LEGISLATIVE COMPLIANCE

Enabling legislation

The Australian War Memorial is established as a corporation by the Australian War Memorial Act 1980 (the Act). The Memorial’s functions and powers, its ministerial oversight, and the role and functions of its Council, Chair, and Director are outlined in the Act.

Functions and powers of the Memorial

The functions and powers of the Memorial are detailed in sections 5 and 6, respectively, of the Act and provide the framework around which the Memorial undertakes its core functions of commemoration, education, and research. As the custodian of Australia’s military history, the Memorial works to maintain a place for solemn reflection; develop, maintain and exhibit a collection of historically significant material; provide an authoritative reference facility; and conduct, disseminate, and assist with research into Australia’s military history.

Responsible minister

The Minister for Veterans’ Affairs has portfolio responsibility for the Memorial. During the reporting period three ministers had responsibility for the portfolio: the Honourable Dan Tehan MP was the minister responsible for the Memorial until 20 December 2017; the Hon Michael McCormack MP was the Minister responsible for the Memorial from 20 December 2017 to 5 March 2018; and the Hon Darren Chester MP has been the Minister responsible for the Memorial since 5 March 2018.

During the reporting period, Minister Tehan held the following concurrent portfolio responsibilities:

• Minister for Veterans' Affairs

• Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of Anzac

• Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Cyber Security

• Minister for Defence Personnel.

Minister McCormack held the following concurrent portfolio responsibilities:

• Minister for Veterans’ Affairs

• Minister for Defence Personnel

• Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of Anzac

• Deputy Leader of the House

• Federal Member for Riverina.

The current minister, Darren Chester, has the following portfolio responsibilities:

• Minister for Veterans’ Affairs

• Minister for Defence Personnel

• Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of Anzac.

Effects of Ministerial Directions

Under section 22 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013, Council must ensure that the Memorial complies with the Government Policy Order to the extent that the Order applies to the authority. There are no General Policy Orders currently in effect.

Internal and external audits

Internal audit

The Memorial’s internal audit services are outsourced to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). In May 2017, Council were presented with the Strategic Internal Audit Plan 2017–2020 (SIAP). Broken into three yearly planning cycles, the SIAP’s overall objective was to assist the Finance, Audit, and Compliance Committee (FACC) increase the awareness of internal audit and corporate governance across the organisation, and provide the basis for the Memorial’s annual internal audit program in 2017–18, 2018–19, and 2019–20 by focusing internal audit on the main risk areas of the Memorial and the allocation of resources available to the internal audit program.

The primary objectives of the Memorial’s internal audit programs are to:

• Generally improve and/or ensure compliance with systems of control

• Increase management’s focus on compliance

• Assist management in the improvement of strategies and processes.

The body of work approved and completed for the 2017–18 internal audit program was as follows:

• Review of cyber security framework and processes

• Review of physical security framework and processes

• Follow-up of previous internal audit recommendations

• Review of cyber security programme of works.

No significant control weaknesses or audit concerns were identified. All recommended actions have been addressed or incorporated into the 2018–19 business plan.

External audit

The audit of the 2017–18 financial statements was undertaken by Ernst & Young on behalf of the ANAO and resulted in a favourable report and unqualified audit opinion. The ANAO audit opinion for the Memorial’s 2017–18 financial statements is at page 82.

Management of National Cultural Collections

During the reporting period, the Memorial was selected by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) to participate in a performance audit of its collection management policies and practices. The ANAO found that the Memorial is in a strong financial position, reflecting sound planning, monitoring, and management strategies. Use of Collection Development Acquisition Budget (CDAB) funding allocations was deemed compliant, and the Memorial’s risk management and governance frameworks were found to be effective. Security, storage, and use of the collection management system were also found to be well planned and effective.

The report concluded that collection management practices at the Memorial are effective and noted recent work to centralise acquisition processes. The ANAO made several recommendations for review and update of documents and continued procedural improvement – most of which are either already being implemented or have been included in the Memorial’s 2018–19 business planning cycle – all are achievable and reportable.

Indemnities and insurance premiums

The property insurance premium for 2017–18 was $315,904 (excluding GST), a decrease of 5.9 per cent on the 2016–17 premium. The policy provided comprehensive cover for the National Collection and property, and general liability (including professional indemnity). The policy also provides motor vehicle coverage for those vehicles not covered by government fleet insurance, and insurance for overseas travellers. Council members are provided with indemnity insurance through directors’ and officers’ liability cover.

Legal Actions

There were no legal actions taken against the Memorial during 2017–18.

Ombudsman

No issues were referred to the Commonwealth Ombudsman during 2017–18.

Freedom of Information

In compliance with the Information Publication Scheme, which was established under Part 2 of the Freedom of Information Act 1982, the Memorial publishes a range of information on its website, accessible at: www.awm.gov. au/about/organisation/corporate/information-publicationscheme

Social justice and equity

The Memorial is committed to the principles of social justice and equity, and aims to provide a high level of public access to its physical grounds, ceremonies, and public programs. The Memorial includes equity questions in its regular survey to ensure it is informed of ways it can improve in meeting the needs of diverse national and international audiences.

Results for 2017–18 are drawn from the General Visitor Survey:

• About 3 per cent of the Memorial’s general visitors have a disability

• Among the visitors who rated facilities and services for people with disabilities, the following proportion have a rating of satisfied or very satisfied

• 89 per cent of those surveyed are either very satisfied or satisfied with disabled parking (73 per cent very satisfied, an 18 per cent increase on previous year)
• 94 per cent very satisfied or satisfied with access into the main building (69 per very satisfied)
• 96 per cent very satisfied or satisfied with access within galleries and between floors (70 per cent very satisfied)
• 89 per cent very satisfied or satisfied with disabled restrooms (70 per cent very satisfied)
• 88 per cent very satisfied or satisfied with free wheelchairs and walkers (72 per cent very satisfied, a 12 per cent increase on previous year)

• The percentage of Australian visitors identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders (3 per cent of the Australian population) was just under 2 per cent.

Indigenous Australians were just as satisfied (91 per cent satisfaction rating) by their visit as non-Indigenous Australians (96 per cent satisfaction rating)

• 31 per cent of Australian visitors were born overseas, now slightly lower in proportion than the Australian population which has increased since 2012 (33 per cent). Satisfaction levels were equal overall with those born overseas as satisfied (96 per cent) as those born in Australia (96 per cent)

• 17 per cent of Australian visitors speak a language other than English at home. Compared to the Australian population (21 per cent)

• Those Australians who spoke solely English at home were more likely to be very satisfied (83 per cent) with their visit than those who spoke another language at home (68 per cent).

Energy consumption and environmental management

The Energy and Environment Committee (EEC) oversees and monitors the Memorial's energy use and the resultant impact upon the environment. The EEC meets quarterly and reports to the Senior Management Group, providing focus and continuous improvement in managing water consumption, energy efficiency, waste disposal (including chemicals), and the appropriate control of asbestos and radioactive materials.

Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act 1999, Section 516A Statement

In accordance with section 516A of the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (the EPBC Act), Australian government agencies are required to include in their annual reports information detailing environmental performance contributions to ecologically sustainable development. This remains a key objective for the Memorial and is applied to the development of plans for the enhancement and maintenance of the Memorial's buildings and operations. The Memorial does not administer any legislation or have any appropriation directly related to the principles of environmental sustainability and development.

Energy consumption

Monitoring of energy consumed by the Memorial is conducted monthly by the Building and Services section and reported quarterly to the Energy and Environment Committee.

Consumption of electricity and gas is monitored closely and remains close to trend. Building management system controllers were upgraded to various buildings during February and March giving the ability for continual refinement of the control strategy for building climate control. There is an emphasis on managing temperature and humidity parameters to efficiently achieve material conservation and energy efficiency.

The Administration Building’s cooling towers and chillers were upgraded in 2017 which has seen a significant reduction in electricity consumption for the building.

Wherever possible the Memorial upgrades lighting to more energy efficient LED technology when lamps require replacement.

Construction has commenced on a new storage facility to house large technology objects and all attempts have been made to reduce energy usage, including broadening environmental parameters, complete sealing of the building, and the installation of a solar electricity array on the roof.

Water management

Water consumption is monitored closely and any anomalies are promptly investigated and addressed.

The Memorial is committed to continual lifecycle improvement for irrigation infrastructure, utilising the latest technology to control and monitor consumption. An upgraded irrigation control system with improved leak detection and rain shut-off sensors was installed in the Campbell precinct in late 2017. The Memorial proactively manages the watering of gardens and grounds by scheduling irrigation according to seasonal changes and rainfall.

Other water saving measures have been implemented for new building infrastructure: upgrading to more efficient air-conditioning equipment, including commissioning of Administration Building chillers and cooling towers, and a further roll out of more efficient humidifiers (scheduled for upgrade next year) in various buildings. Such measures reduce water consumption and contribute to environmental sustainability.

Waste management

Waste management is reported to address and target waste awareness. The Memorial uses dedicated waste streams, comingled recycling, cardboard, classified, and general waste to reduce landfill. Follow-me-printing on all printers AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL ANNUAL REPORT 2017–2018 79 continues to be an important strategy for reducing paper consumption.

The Memorial is investigating the feasibility of recycling materials used in conservation processes, such as nitrile gloves and metal. All attempts are made to recycle appropriate material, and many tonnes of metal have been recycled over the last 12 months.

Recycling of small cell batteries is ongoing at the Campbell and Mitchell sites, further extending the Memorial's commitment to environmental responsibility.

Wherever possible, the Memorial is committed to recycling waste. Non-general waste such as chemicals, paints, and solvents, are managed and disposed of appropriately by licensed service providers.

Heritage management

The Memorial's Heritage Management Plan guides management of its heritage precinct. The Memorial has commissioned and industry expert to review this plan and associated documentation in accordance with the EPBC Act. The review is scheduled for completion in late 2018.

Heritage specialists provide advice regarding proposed building works in heritage-sensitive areas as required.

Bird-deterrent installations around the Main Building and extended grounds continue to be assessed and refined, including hidden netting in the Hall of Memory to protect from roosting pigeons.

Maintenance of the Memorial building fabric is ongoing, including minor repairs to stonework and the implementation of a regular sandstone cleaning regime.

Other general heritage conservation activities include regular conservation and cleaning of key sculptural elements. Before Anzac Day, a major clean of sculptures and plinths was undertaken, including the Parade Ground steps.

In order to assist with its longevity, regular maintenance of the Lone Pine tree (Pinus halepensis) continues. The new Lone Pine tree, planted by Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on Anzac Day 2014, remains in a healthy state, assisted by fencing and bird netting which was upgraded and expanded due to the increased size of the tree. It is anticipated that this tree will have developed significantly when the original tree reaches senescence.

Advertising and market research expenditure

In accordance with section 311A of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, the following is a summary of amounts paid by the Memorial to advertising agencies, market research organisations, and media advertising organisations. As required, particulars of payments of less than $13,200 have not been included. The Memorial did not pay for the services of any polling or direct mail organisations.

The following table shows all monies paid for general advertising in the 2017–18 financial year.

Bomber Command veteran Mr Edgar Pickles DFC visits “G for George” in Anzac Hall. 
The Memorial hosted the launch of Honouring Women United by Defence Service on International Women’s Day. Guests were photographed alongside Ben Quilty’s The longest war series of artworks.

ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

APPENDICES

Appendix 1 – Council profile

Vice Admiral Tim Barrett AO CSC RAN joined Council in July 2014 when he assumed command of the Royal Australian Navy. His career with the Royal Australian Navy began in 1976 as a seaman officer and he later specialised in aviation. A dual-qualified officer, Vice Admiral Barrett served in Her Majesty’s Australian (HMA) Ships Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane, HMS Orkney as a seaman officer, and then as flight commander in HMA Ships Stalwart, Adelaide, and Canberra. His staff appointments include Deputy Director Air Warfare Development, Director Naval Officers' Posting, and Director General of Defence Force Recruiting. Vice Admiral Barrett has served as commanding officer 817 Squadron, commanding officer HMAS Albatross, commander Australian Navy Aviation Group, commander Border Protection Command, and commander Australian Fleet. Vice Admiral Barrett was awarded a Conspicuous Service Cross in 2006 for outstanding performance as commanding officer HMAS Albatross and chief of staff Navy Aviation Force Element Group Headquarters. Vice Admiral Barrett was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia in 2009 and promoted to Officer of the Order of Australia in 2014 for his leadership of Border Protection Command and the Australian Fleet. Vice Admiral Barrett holds a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and History, and a Masters of Defence Studies from the University of New South Wales, and has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. He recently published The Navy and the nation: Australia’s maritime power in the 21st century, in which he outlines the extensive opportunities for the navy and Australia as steps are taken to implement the planned investment in naval capability outlined in the Defence White Paper 2016 and the National Shipbuilding Plan over the coming decades.

Wing Commander Sharon Bown (Retd) was appointed to Council in June 2016 for a three-year term. Wing Commander Bown served as a nursing officer in the Royal Australian Air Force for 16 years, discharging from service in 2015. Wing Commander Bown deployed to Timor–Leste in 2000 and 2004; Afghanistan in 2008 as Officer-in-Charge of the Australian Medical Task Force in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan; and on various aeromedical evacuation tasks, including Papua New Guinea in 2001, Solomon Islands in 2003, and Bali following the terrorist bombings in 2005. Having cared for Australian Defence Force personnel and their families in Australia and overseas, Wing Commander Bown is a passionate advocate within the field of military and veterans’ health, and demonstrates a unique insight into the welfare and healthcare needs of those adversely affected by their service. Wing Commander Bown has recently completed her Bachelor of Psychological Science, pursuant to her interest in exploring the effects of service. Wing Commander Bown is the author of One woman’s war and peace: a nurse’s journey in the Royal Australian Air Force, a service ambassador for Soldier On, and a member of the Board of the Veterans’ Film Festival.

Lieutenant General Angus Campbell AO DSC was appointed to Council in May 2015. He joined the Australian Army in 1981, graduating from the Royal Military College Duntroon in 1984. He was assigned to the Royal Australian Infantry Corps and initially served as a platoon commander in the 3rd Battalion (Parachute), the Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR). He then served in troop and squadron command appointments within the Special Air Service Regiment. In 2001 he was appointed the Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (2RAR). While in command, the battalion group deployed to East Timor as a component of the United Nations Transitional Administration East Timor. Lieutenant General Campbell has also served in a range of staff appointments, including as Aide-de-Camp to the Chief of Army, as a strategic policy officer in Army Headquarters, an instructor at the Australian Command and Staff College, and as Chief of Staff to the Chief of the Defence Force. In late 2005, he joined the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet as a First Assistant Secretary to head the Office of National Security. He was subsequently promoted to deputy secretary and appointed to the position of deputy national security adviser. In these roles Lieutenant General Campbell was responsible for the preparation of advice to the prime minister on national security matters and coordinating the development of whole-of-government national security policy. Upon his return to the Australian Defence Force in early 2010 Lieutenant General Campbell was appointed to the rank of major general and led the Military Strategic Commitments staff in Defence Headquarters until January 2011, when he assumed command of Australian forces deployed in the Middle East Area of Operations. Lieutenant General Campbell subsequently served as Deputy Chief of Army from February 2012 to September 2013, when he was promoted to his current rank to command the Joint Agency Task Force responsible for the implementation of Operation Sovereign Borders. Lieutenant General Campbell was appointed Chief of the Australian Army on 16 May 2015. He holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from the University of New South Wales, a Master of Philosophy in International Relations from Cambridge University, and is a graduate of the Australian Army Command and Staff College. Lieutenant General Campbell was made an Officer in the Military Division of the Order of Australia in June 2017 for distinguished service as Head Military Strategic Commitments, Deputy Chief of Army, and Chief of Army.

Mr Les Carlyon AC was reappointed to Council in June 2017 for a three-year term. He has previously served three-year terms on Council from June 2014, May 2006, and April 2009. Mr Carlyon has been editor of the Age, editor-in-chief of the Herald and Weekly Times group, and visiting lecturer in journalism at RMIT. He has received the Walkley Award (1971 and 2004) and the Graham Perkin Journalist of the Year Award (1993). Mr Carlyon is the author of Gallipoli, a bestseller in Australia, New Zealand, and Britain, and winner of the Queensland Premier’s History Prize. His The Great War, published in 2006, was the joint winner of the Prime Minister’s Prize for Australian History and was voted book of the year at the Australian Publishers’ Book Industry Awards. Mr Carlyon holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Melbourne.

Brigadier Alison Creagh CSC (Retd) was appointed to Council in March 2015 for a three-year term. Brigadier Creagh is a Non-Executive Director of the Hospital Research Foundation and the Road Home-the Repat Foundation, Vice Chair of the Board of Governors for the Road Home, Vice Chair of the Australian Peacekeeping Memorial Project, and member of the Australian Capital Territory’s Defence Industry Advisory Board. Brigadier Creagh is an Adjunct Lecturer and research academic at the Australian Centre for Cyber Security at the University of New South Wales, Canberra. Brigadier Creagh retired from the Australian Regular Army in March 2015 after a 30-year career and continues to serve in the Army Reserve. She joined the Army in 1985 and graduated from the Officer Cadet School, Portsea, to the Royal Australian Corps of Signals. Brigadier Creagh served on operations in Cambodia in 1993 as Quartermaster of the Force Communications Unit as part of the United Nations Transitional Authority Cambodia; in East Timor in 1999–2000 where she was Second-in-Command of the 1st Joint Support Unit and then commanded 145th Signal Squadron as part of the International Force East Timor; in Iraq in 2006 and Afghanistan in 2008–09 as the Chief of Personnel (CJ1) in Headquarters International Security Assistance Force. Brigadier Creagh commanded the Defence Force School of Signals. Her senior military appointments included Director-General Public Affairs, Director-General Strategic Communication, and Director-General ADF Theatre Project (The Long Way Home). Brigadier Creagh was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in 1994 for her work in Cambodia, the NATO Meritorious Service Medal in 2008 for her work in Afghanistan, received a Chief of Defence Force Commendation in 2014, and the Meritorious Unit Citation as a member of the Force Communications Unit in Cambodia. Brigadier Creagh holds a Master of Management Studies, a Master of Defence Studies, a Graduate Diploma in Strategic Studies, a Graduate Diploma in Communications and Information Systems Management, and was awarded a scholarship to attend the Women’s Leadership Forum, Harvard Business School, in 2014.

Air Marshal Leo Davies AO CSC joined the Royal Australian Air Force as a cadet navigator in 1979 and graduated to fly P-3B and P-3C Orion aircraft with Number 11 Squadron at Edinburgh in South Australia. Air Marshal Davies completed pilot training in 1987 and after completing F-111 conversion course was posted to Number 1 Squadron at RAAF Base Amberley in 1988. In 1990, Air Marshal Davies was posted to Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, to fly F-111D aircraft on exchange with the United States Air Force. On return to Australia in 1993, Air Marshal Davies was posted to Number 1 Squadron as the Operations Flight Commander, followed by a year as Operations Officer at Headquarters Number 82 Wing during 1996. After a posting in 1997–98 as the Executive Officer at Number 1 Squadron, Air Marshal Davies completed RAAF Command and Staff Course. In 2000, he commenced two years in Capability Systems within Defence Headquarters. In 2002 and 2003, Air Marshal Davies’ long association with Number 1 Squadron was rekindled when he returned as Commanding Officer and achieved 2,000 hours flying the F-111. He was the Staff Officer to the Chief of Air Force during 2004, before taking up the post of Officer Commanding Number 82 Wing at RAAF Base Amberley, where he was awarded a Conspicuous Service Cross for outstanding achievement. Air Marshal Davies worked as Director Combat Capability within Air Force Headquarters in 2006 and 2007, during which time he was deployed to the Middle East to work in the Combined Air Operations Centre. Between 2008 and 2010, Air Marshal Davies was the Director General Capability Planning within Air Force Headquarters. He was then posted to Washington as the air attaché, where he was awarded the United Stated Legion of Merit – Officer. Air Marshal Davies returned from Washington in January 2012 to take up his appointment as Deputy Chief of Air Force. Air Marshal Davies was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2014 for distinguished service to the Australian Defence Force in senior command and staff appointments. He was promoted to air marshal and appointed Chief of Air Force on 4 July 2015.

Rear Admiral Ken Doolan AO RAN (Retd) was appointed to Council on 11 November 2009, and reappointed for a further term on 11 November 2012. Admiral Doolan was elected Chairman of Council on 6 March 2012, serving in that position until 11 November 2015. On 26 November 2015 he was appointed for another three-year term as a member of Council. Admiral Doolan joined the Royal Australian Navy as a 13-year-old cadet midshipman in January 1953 and completed full-time service in December 1993 with the rank of rear admiral. Admiral Doolan served in the destroyer HMAS Vampire during Confrontation with Indonesia in 1966, and in the guided-missile destroyer HMAS Perth during the Vietnam War. He was the first Commanding Officer of the Amphibious Heavy Lift Ship HMAS Tobruk and later commanded the guided-missile destroyer HMAS Brisbane. During the Gulf Crisis and Gulf War of 1990–91 Admiral Doolan was Maritime Commander, Australia, and was appointed Operational Commander of all Australian combatant forces deployed to that conflict (Operation Damask). Admiral Doolan was appointed an Officer in the Military Division of the Order of Australia in January 1991. Since ceasing full-time naval service Admiral Doolan has held several remunerated and honorary positions, including membership of the Defence Force Remuneration Tribunal, National Secretary of the Order of Australia Association, National President of the Australian Institute of Navigation, Chairman of the Forces Entertainment Board, member of the board of the Hoc Mai Foundation, member of the National Commission for the Centenary of Anzac, and member of the Defence Reserve Support Council. Admiral Doolan has written several books and in 2006 established a publishing company. After serving for many years as a member of the National Defence Committee of the Returned and Services League of Australia (RSL) he was elected RSL National President in September 2009, a position he held until June 2016. On 11 November 2016, he was inducted as a Fellow of the Australian War Memorial.

Ms Margaret Jackson AC was appointed to Council for a three-year term from 27 June 2017. Ms Jackson is Chairman of Ansett Aviation Training Limited and Prince’s Charities Australia and is also a Director of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Barefoot to Boots, and a member of Monash University’s Industry Council of Advisors. Ms Jackson has served as Chairman of Spotless, Qantas, FlexiGroup Ltd, and the Victorian Transport Accident Commission, and a Director of the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited, the Australian and New Zealand Banking Corporation, Pacific Dunlop Limited, John Fairfax Holdings Limited, Billabong International Ltd, Telecom Australia, and West Gippsland Healthcare Group, and President of Australian Volunteers International. She is a former partner of KPMG Advisory and BDO Nelson. Ms Jackson was awarded Companion of the Order of Australia in the General Division (AC) in June 2003 for service to business in leading Australian corporations and to the community in the area of support for medical research, the arts and education. She was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001 for service to Australian society in business. Ms Jackson holds an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from Monash University. She is the former Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Salvation Army Southern Territory, the Playbox Theatre Company, and Methodist Ladies’ College.

Corporal Daniel Keighran VC was appointed to Council in June 2016 for a three-year term. Corporal Keighran enlisted in the Australian Army at the age of 17 and served his country as part of the 6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR), discharging from full-time service in 2011. Corporal Keighran deployed to Rifle Company Butterworth, Malaysia, in 2001 and 2004; Timor–Leste (East Timor) in 2003–04; Iraq in 2006; and Afghanistan in 2007 and 2010. Corporal Keighran is the only Victoria Cross recipient from the Royal Australian Regiment, with his citation reading: “For the most conspicuous acts of gallantry and extreme devotion to duty in action in circumstances of great peril at Derapet, Uruzgan province, Afghanistan, as part of the Mentoring Task Force One on Operation Slipper.” Since completing full-time service, Corporal Keighran has held various private sector roles including his current role as a brand ambassador to Australian Defence Apparel (ADA), working on military and tactical apparel and load carriage with the Research, Development and Innovations Team. Corporal Keighran continues to serve his country as an active reservist with the Australian Army and donates his time as an ambassador to Mates4Mates.

Mr James McMahon DSC, DSM was appointed to Council in October 2015. Mr McMahon is currently the Chief Operating Officer at Australian Capital Equity. Prior to this he was the Commissioner for the Department of Corrective Services in Western Australia and Chief Operating Officer at Azure Capital, a corporate advisory firm. Mr McMahon’s private industry and public sector experience followed a 22-year career in the Australian Defence Force, including a period as Commanding Officer of the Special Air Service Regiment (SAS), along with capability development and force structure roles. As an SAS Squadron Commander, Mr McMahon’s squadron was awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation for exemplary performance. As the SAS Commanding Officer, Mr McMahon’s unit was awarded the Meritorious Unit Citation and the Unit Citation for Gallantry. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) and the Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) for command in Timor–Leste, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Mr McMahon’s board memberships include the West Coast Eagles Football Club 2007–15, where he also served as deputy chairman, the SAS Resources Trust Board since 2008, and the Australian War Memorial Board. Mr McMahon has recently been appointed to the St John of God Health Care Board and the Investment Advisory Group Committee for RSL WA. He has been an ambassador for the Fathering Project since June 2016.

Mr McMahon’s education qualifications include a Masters in Management and a Masters in Business Administration.

Major General Greg Melick AO RFD FANZCN SC was reappointed to Council for a second three-year term on 19 April 2018. Major General Melick is a Hobart-based senior counsel who has been a member of the ADF Reserves since 1966. Major General Melick commanded at all levels from section to brigade before becoming Australia’s most senior reserve officer in 2007, and then the ADF’s Head of the Centenary of Anzac Planning Team in 2011. Units in which Major General Melick has served include the 2nd Battalion, Royal New South Wales Regiment, and One Commando Company. He has commanded the 12th/40th Battalion, Royal Tasmanian Regiment, and 8 Brigade. Major General Melick is the Colonel Commandant of 1st Commando Regiment. He has been a Principal Crown Counsel in the Tasmanian Crown Law Office, and a Statutory Member of the National Crime Authority and the NSW Casino Control Authority. He was appointed a part-time Deputy President of the AAT in September 2014 and part-time Chief Commissioner of the Tasmanian Integrity Commission in 2015. Major General Melick has conducted several investigations including one into the Beaconsfield mine collapse, and is Cricket Australia’s anticorruption special investigator. He is a member and former chairman of the board of St John Ambulance (Tasmania).

Colonel Susan Neuhaus CSC (Retd) was appointed to Council for a three-year term from 27 April 2018. Colonel Neuhaus works as a consultant surgeon in private practice and holds an appointment as Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Adelaide. Colonel Neuhaus has also completed a career spanning 20 years in both the Regular Army and Army Reserve. She is a graduate of Australian Command and Staff College (Res). Her operational experience includes deployments to Cambodia, Bougainville, and Afghanistan. She served as Commanding Officer of the 3rd Health Support Battalion in 2007–08. Colonel Neuhaus was promoted to colonel in 2008 and was awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2009. Colonel Neuhaus also holds the adjunct position of Associate Professor Conflict Medicine at the University of Adelaide Centre for Traumatic Stress Studies. In this role, Colonel Neuhaus leads a developing national research collaborative investigating the gender specific effects of military service and deployment. She is widely published in areas of operational health care and has provided veteran advocacy and representation at multiple levels including as former Chair of the Repat Foundation – the Road Home, member of the South Australian Veterans Health Advisory Council, and as Co-Chair of the South Australian Ministerial Advisory Panel, Veteran PTSD Centre of Excellence (now established as the Jamie Larcombe Centre). Colonel Neuhaus is the author of Not for glory: a century of service by medical women to the Australian Army and its allies. Colonel Neuhaus is President and Board Chairman of Minda Inc.; a Federal Councillor of the Australian Medical Association, including Chair of its Health Financing and Economics Committee, and member of its Defence Health Working Group; a nonexecutive Director of Cancer Council South Australia; a member of the Leidos Clinical Advisory Council; a member of the Court of Examiners of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons; and a member of the Employment Services Expert Advisory Panel.

Photographer: Maggie Elliot.

Mr Kerry Stokes AC was elected as Chairman of the Australian War Memorial on 10 November 2015 with his term commencing on 12 November 2015. He was reappointed to Council in June 2017 for a further three-year term commencing in August 2017. Mr Stokes has previously been appointed to Council in August 2007, April 2011, and August 2014. On 11 November 2015, he was inducted as a Fellow of the Australian War Memorial. Mr Stokes is Chairman of Seven West Media, a company which brings together a market-leading presence in broadcast television through the Seven Network, magazines and newspaper publishing through Pacific Magazines and West Australian Newspapers, and online through Yahoo!7 and other expanding communications platforms. Mr Stokes is Chairman of Seven Group Holdings, a leading Australian diversified operating and investment group with market leading businesses and investments in industrial services and media. SGH has a major shareholding in Seven West Media.

Through his private holdings, Australian Capital Equity, Mr Stokes has broad business interests and investments in a range of major business sectors: property, construction, mining, resources, and oil and gas exploration. Mr Stokes is a recipient of Australia’s highest honour, the Companion in the General Division in the Order of Australia (AC) in 2008, having earlier been awarded the Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1995. He holds a Centenary Medal for Corporate Governance, and presented the Boyer Lectures in 1994 and the Andrew Olle Lecture in 2001. Mr Stokes holds an honorary life membership of the Returned and Services League of Australia, and received an RSL Commendation Award for outstanding service rendered to the ex-service community. He is a recipient of the Rotary Paul Harris Fellow Award and is a former Chairman of the National Gallery of Australia.

Mrs Josephine Stone AM was reappointed to Council for a second three-year term on 2 March 2018. Mrs Stone is a graduate of Melbourne Law School and has worked in a number of legal institutions, both public and private, in Victoria and the Northern Territory of Australia. Her previous professional involvements include being a statutory member of the Regional Telecommunications Independent Review Committee (CWTH), Professional Standards Manager at the Northern Territory Law Society, Assignments Director at the Northern Territory Legal Aid Commission, and solicitor with the Australian Government Solicitor and with private firms in Melbourne, Alice Springs, and Darwin. Mrs Stone is a director of a private family company. Her community engagements include Zonta Alice Springs, Darwin Private Hospital Advisory Board, NT Women’s Advisory Board, and Chairman of the Red Cross (Katherine) Flood Appeal, together with a number of roles in school parents and friends committees and boards in Darwin and Brisbane. Her personal interests have included instigating the 100-year history of St Mary’s Primary School in Darwin and the political advancement of women, which has involved appearances at international conferences as moderator and speaker. Mrs Stone was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2006 for services to the law and the community.

Appendix 2 – Senior staff profiles

Ms Anne Bennie was appointed Assistant Director, Branch Head, Public Programs in January 2015. She joined the Memorial in 2003 as e-Business Manager and in 2004 was appointed Head, Retail and Online Sales, pursuing licensing and partnership opportunities with a number of commercial entities. Ms Bennie commenced planning and delivery of the Memorial’s program of First World War centenary projects in 2013 and has continued to manage the projects within the branch. Ms Bennie’s career prior to the Memorial was in market research, where she held numerous analytical roles within Nielsen Market Research, followed by senior account management roles in advertising agencies working with large consumer brands. Diverging into web projects, she delivered strategic direction across a number of websites and e-commerce initiatives with a strong focus on web integration, usability, and business outcomes. Ms Bennie has completed the Cultural Management Development Program and holds a Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Management.

Mr Mark Campbell was appointed Head of Retail and Online Sales in November 2014. He has over 22 years’ experience in retail, specifically in product development, buying, and retail operations. Mr Campbell was responsible for running multi-million retail operations consisting of 20 shops across numerous locations, and for developing the full retail operation for Wet’n’Wild theme park in Sydney. Mr Campbell has won a number of Worldwide Industry Awards for product development.

Ms Melinda Coen was appointed Head of Collection Services in 2018. She is a collection management specialist with over 18 years’ experience in the field and leads the Registration, Conservation and Collection Management System teams across the Campbell and Mitchell sites. Prior to this role, Ms Coen was the Registrar at the Memorial, responsible for collection management and operations. Ms Coen has previously held senior positions in registration and collection management with many leading cultural institutions including the Arts Centre Melbourne, the Australian National Maritime Museum, Art Exhibitions Australia, and the National Museum of Australia. In these roles she managed the storage, documentation, display, loan, and movement of many nationally and internationally significant collections.

Major General Brian Dawson AM, CSC (Retd) was promoted to Assistant Director National Collection (ADNC) in December 2017, to lead the team responsible for the acquisition, conservation, and knowledge-building of the National Collection. Prior to his promotion, Major General Dawson was the Memorial’s Head of Collection Services, leading the team responsible for registration and conservation functions within National Collections Branch. He was the Memorial’s Executive Manager for the Spirit of Anzac Centenary Exhibition travelling exhibition from December 2013 to June 2017. In April 2013 he retired from the Australian Regular Army at the rank of major general, having completed 40 years’ service. Senior appointments held during his time in the army included Australia’s first military representative to NATO and the European Union (2010–13); Director General of Defence Public Affairs (2008–10); Deputy Commander of the Australian Joint Task Force in Iraq based in Baghdad (2007–08); Commandant of the Australian Defence Force Academy (2006–07); and Chief of Staff Land Headquarters (2002–05). He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2000 for his work in Defence logistics and awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross (CSC) for service in Somalia in 1995.

Ms Amanda Dennett was appointed as the Head of Digital Experience in October 2017. She has 13 years’ experience in digital strategy, rich media production and media issues management for government. Previously, Ms Dennett was Director of Digital Media at the Australian Government Department of Human Services, where she implemented social media customer service for the public to access health and welfare information and services. She was awarded the Australia Day Achievement Medallion in 2009, and again in 2016, for customer service and social media advocacy. Ms Dennett has a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) and a Graduate Certificate Professional Writing (Editing) from the University of Canberra. She is currently completing a Master of Research at Swinburne University of Technology, investigating how public sector agencies are using social media to engage with citizens. Ms Dennett has a keen interest in modern history, and worked as an information assistant at the Australian War Memorial during her undergraduate studies.

Mr Ashley Ekins has worked as a military historian at the Memorial since 1990 and has been Head of the Military History Section since 2007. A graduate of the University of Adelaide, Mr Ekins specialises in the history of the First World War and the Vietnam War. He has published widely, presented his research at international conferences, and led the Memorial’s battlefield tours to Gallipoli. His publications on the First World War include 1918 year of victory: the end of the Great War and the shaping of history (2010, shortlisted for the Templer Medal); War wounds: medicine and the trauma of conflict (with Elizabeth Stewart, 2011); Gallipoli: a ridge too far (2013, second revised edition 2015); and he compiled and wrote the introduction to a special third edition of The Anzac Book, the classic anthology of soldiers’ writings and art from Gallipoli (2010). In his other major research area, the Vietnam War, Mr Ekins researched and wrote two volumes of the Official history of Australia’s involvement in Southeast Asian conflicts 1948–1975: Volume VIII, On the offensive: the Australian Army in the Vietnam War, 1967-1968, with the late Dr Ian McNeill (2003); and Volume IX, Fighting to the finish: the Australian Army and the Vietnam War, 1968–1975 (2012).

Mr David Fitzgerald joined the Memorial in 2006 as Manager, Buildings in the Corporate Services Branch, became acting Head of Buildings and Services in January 2013, and was promoted to this position in February 2015. Mr Fitzgerald came to the Memorial from private enterprise and has substantial facilities management experience. He has trade certificates for electrical and refrigeration services, and has completed various facilities and business management courses. Mr Fitzgerald was previously employed as building manager on Canberra Total Asset Management contracts, including the Foreign Affairs and Immigration buildings. David completed the Cultural Management Development Program in 2008.

Mr Nick Fletcher began working at the Memorial in 1995, and was appointed Head of Military Heraldry and Technology in 2009. In March 2011, he was temporarily transferred to the Exhibitions Section as Concept Leader for the redevelopment of the First World War galleries, a task which was completed with the official opening of the new galleries in February 2015. Mr Fletcher has a Bachelor of Arts (Graphic Design) and completed the Cultural Management Development Program in 2006. He became the first Memorial staff member to visit Afghanistan as an official curator in 2009, making further visits in 2011 and 2015. Mr Fletcher has been a regular leader of Australian War Memorial battlefield tours to Gallipoli and the Western Front.

Dr Anthea Gunn completed a PhD in art history for her thesis Imitation Realism and Australian Art in 2010 at the ANU. She worked as a social history curator at the National Museum of Australia (2008-13) and has been Curator of Art at the Australian War Memorial since 2014, where she is currently acting Head of Art. She has published in the Journal of Australian Studies and the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art, amongst others. Dr Gunn has curated contemporary commissions and exhibitions, and was lead curator of the online showcase of the First World War art collection, Art of nation: Australia’s official art and photography of the First World War.

Ms Frances Henderson has been Head of Human Resources since August 2015. She joined the Memorial in May 2013 as the Manager of Performance and Employee Relations. Ms Henderson has held senior human resource roles within the public and private sectors, including ten years with the United States Department of State providing regional human resource expertise throughout the South Pacific region. Ms Henderson has a business degree from Monash University and is a Certified Professional of the Australian Human Resources Institute.

Ms Sarah Hitchcock joined the Memorial’s Education and Visitor Services Section in August 2008 after 12 years with Australian Capital Tourism, her final year as general manager. From 2010 to 2012, Ms Hitchcock returned to the ACT Government and held the position of Director of the Centenary of Canberra. Working with Creative Director Robyn Archer AO, Ms Hitchcock led the formation and establishment of the Centenary of Canberra team, governance arrangements, and prepared the program of events and activities scheduled for the centenary. Ms Hitchcock rejoined the Memorial in September 2012 as Head of the Commemoration and Visitor Engagement Section where she has managed the development and implementation of the Memorial’s commemorative program and overseen programming and services provided to visitors and school groups. Ms Hitchcock is studying psychology. Ms Hitchcock’s board membership experience includes the Board of Management of the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve and Birragai Centre, and the ACT Tourism Industry Council.

Mr Ryan Johnston was appointed Head of Art in October 2012. He and his curatorial staff oversee one of the most significant collections of Australian art, consisting of more than 37,000 artworks ranging from the 19th century to the present day. In this role he also manages Australia’s official war art scheme, through which artists are deployed to war zones and peacekeeping missions around the world. Prior to joining the Memorial, Mr Johnston was Acting Director of the Shepparton Art Museum, leading a major redevelopment of the museum and its subsequent relaunch. He has also worked as a Lecturer in the School of Creative Arts at the University of Melbourne. Mr Johnston’s research has been published in a range of academic journals, books, and exhibition catalogues, and recognised with several awards, including a Yale University fellowship. Mr Johnston resigned in February 2018 to take up the position of Director, Buxton Contemporary at the University of Melbourne.

Ms Suzanne Myers has worked at the Australian War Memorial for over 20 years and has held various positions in the Exhibitions section since 2004. As a senior member of the Exhibitions team for the past 12 years, Ms Myers has played a key role in the development and implementation of the strategic direction of the exhibitions program and played a major role in the development of large, permanent, exhibition projects including the redevelopment of the First World War galleries, Conflicts 1945 to Today galleries, including the Discovery Zone and C.E.W. Bean Building, and the Hall of Valour redevelopment. Ms Myers also led and managed the development, production, and installation of Afghanistan: the Australian story, and the redevelopment of the Middle East gallery.

Ms Myers was appointed acting Head of Exhibitions in January 2017 and is responsible for the development and management of the Memorial’s galleries and exhibitions program, including the planning, implementation, and maintenance of 13,000m2 of permanent exhibitions and galleries, temporary and special exhibitions and displays, and a national touring program.

Dr Brendan Nelson AO commenced as Director of the Australian War Memorial on 17 December 2012. Prior to this, he was the Australian Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, the European Union, and NATO (2009–12). Apart from overseeing a major transformation in Australia’s relationships with the European Union and NATO, Dr Nelson forged deep links with the communities of Flanders, where almost 13,000 Australians lost their lives during the First World War.

Dr Nelson studied at Flinders University, South Australia, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery. He worked as a medical practitioner in Hobart from 1985 to 1995. In 1993 he was elected unopposed as National President of the Australian Medical Association (AMA).

In 1996 Dr Nelson was elected to the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. After the 2001 election, he was promoted from his role as Parliamentary Secretary for Defence to Cabinet in the senior portfolio of Minister for Education, Science and Training, driving major reforms to universities and a focus on school standards and reporting.

In 2006 he became Minister for Defence when troops were deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, East Timor, and Solomon Islands. He oversaw major new investments in defence, including the decision to purchase 24 FA-18F Super Hornets, three air warfare destroyers, two Landing Helicopter Docks (LHDs), two additional battalions for the Australian Army, and a multi-billion dollar recruitment and retention package. In November 2007 Dr Nelson was elected leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, serving as Leader of the Opposition until September 2008. The following year he retired from federal politics before taking up his ambassadorial appointment.

Ms Leanne Patterson was appointed Assistant Director, Branch Head Corporate Services in July 2017. She joined the Memorial in 1999 as Manager, Financial Reporting and Analysis, and held the position of Chief Finance Officer (CFO) from 2007 to 2017. Throughout her career, Ms Patterson has successfully influenced the outcome of governmentwide financial and legislative reforms as they relate to the Memorial, through regular participation in formal working groups, parliamentary inquiries, and other consultative processes. Ms Patterson is a Fellow of CPA Australia and has a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) from James Cook University. She is an active member of the ACT CPA Public Sector and Management Accountants Committee, and completed the Cultural Management Development Program in 2003.

Ms Helen Petrovski was appointed the Chief Finance Officer in September 2017. She joined the Memorial from Airservices Australia, the government-owned provider of air traffic management services, where she held several positions, including roles as divisional finance manager and overseeing financial oversight of a $1 billion capital investment program.

Mrs Petrovski has had a 20-year career in Commonwealth and state run government organisations, as well as experience within the private sector. In that time she has delivered many business improvement projects, with a focus on providing quality information to decision makers and streamlining existing processes.

Mrs Petrovski is a Fellow of CPA Australia and has a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) from the University of Adelaide and a Graduate Diploma in Corporate Governance from Chartered Secretaries Australia.

Mr John Rodgers is an ICT professional with over 30 years’ experience working in senior ICT roles. He commenced as Chief Information Officer at the Australian War Memorial in August 2017. Prior to this Mr Rodgers held roles involving large, complex technology projects, including working as Project Director for the IT Service Management Transformation Project, Director of Infrastructure Architecture and Director End User Services with the Department of Defence. Mr Rodgers successfully led the IT Transformation Project for the Australian Customs Service, driving several whole-of-government initiatives. He has a strong focus on driving quality outcomes in customer service, project management, and leading teams delivering IT modernisation.

With qualifications in Engineering and Information Technology and a hands-on approach to his role, Mr Rodgers has worked across numerous government and private sector agencies, including the Department of Defence, Australian Customs Service, Department of Employment and Education, ATSIC, Austrade, AFMA, the Australian Fisheries Service, and NEC.

Mr Tim Sullivan was appointed Assistant Director Branch Head National Collection in May 2013. He graduated from the University of Sydney where he studied history, English literature, and education. Mr Sullivan has qualifications in earth sciences and a Masters in Management with a focus on museum development from the University of Technology, Sydney. His career has encompassed technical and managerial roles in the Geological Survey of NSW, the NSW Department of Mineral Resources, the Australian Museum, and the Sovereign Hill Museums Association, Ballarat. In 1999–2000, Mr Sullivan was a Visiting Fellow with the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian in Washington DC. He has served on the Museums Board of Victoria and is a member of the National Cultural Heritage Committee. Mr Sullivan has served on a diverse range of committees promoting regional research and development, heritage management, commemorative projects, and museum development. He has contributed to national and international forums on museum practice and development, and has written widely on the role of museums in promoting learning and regional heritage strategies.

Ms Robyn van Dyk is Head of the Australian War Memorial’s Research Centre. Her work involves leading the Research Centre team to develop, manage, preserve, and provide access to the Memorial’s archival and published collections. Ms van Dyk has curated a variety of exhibitions, including co-curating the MAGNA award-winning Anzac voices (2014) and a joint exhibition with Australian Geospatial-Intelligence Organisation, Gallipoli to Afghanistan and the future: 100 years of mapping (2015) and A matter of trust: Dayaks and Z Special Unit Operatives in Borneo 1945 (2018). She is the concept leader for Anzac connections, the Memorial’s major centenary web project to enhance availability and access to digital content. Ms van Dyk has produced museum-related publications and delivered papers at national conferences. In October 2012, she travelled to Afghanistan as the Memorial’s official curator, and spent several weeks observing conditions and collecting records and objects. Ms van Dyk has recently partnered with the Australian National University in an ARCfunded project researching Australians in Borneo during the Second World War.

Mr Chris Wagner was appointed Head of Communications and Marketing at the Australian War Memorial in May 2016.

He and his team are responsible for media, public relations, marketing, publications, the Friends of the Memorial, and the broader sponsorship program of the Memorial. Mr Wagner has over 15 years’ experience in the communication sector, working in ministerial offices, government departments, and for a number of not-for-profit and corporate organisations.

A former journalist, Mr Wagner has a background in matters of mental health, suicide, criminal and civil justice, national security emergency management, and grassroots community liaison. He has a First Class Honours Degree in journalism and is a White Ribbon Ambassador.

Ms Laura Webster has worked in the Art section of the Australian War Memorial since 2006, has been Senior Curator of Art since 2015, and is currently acting Head of Art. Her major projects have included the Anzac centenary print portfolio (2016), the contemporary diorama commissions in the redeveloped First World War galleries by artists Arlo Mountford and Alexander Mckenzie (2015), Ben Quilty: after Afghanistan (2013), Perspectives: Jon Cattapan and eX de Medici (2010) and Sidney Nolan: the Gallipoli series (2009). At the Memorial she has been part of the transformation of the art commissioning program and regularly commissions contemporary works of art and publishes on the collection. Ms Webster is a graduate of the Australian National University and was previously a curatorial intern in Decorative Arts and Design at the National Gallery of Australia before working on the Kenneth Tyler Print Project at the gallery.

Appendix 3 – Selected VIP visits, events, and ceremonies (excluding Last Post ceremonies)

VIP visits

12 July 2017 – General Tanchaiyan Srisuwan, Chief of Joint Staff, Royal Thai Armed Forces
18 July 2017 – His Excellency Mr Cheick Niang, Ambassador, Republic of Senegal
19 July 2017 – Mr Kenji Wakamiya, State Minister of Defense, Japan
21 July 2017 – Rear Admiral Mike Brown USN (Retd), United States of America
24 July 2017 – His Excellency Ambassador Ahmet Üzümcü, Director General, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Turkey
27 July 2017 – Admiral Scott Swift, US Pacific Fleet Commander, United States of America
30 July 2017 – Admiral Mike Rogers, Department of Defense, United States of America
02 August 2017 – Admiral Mike Rogers, Department of Defense, United States of America
08 August 2017 – Major General TNI Sudirman, Assistant for Operations to Chief of Army Staff, Indonesia
09 August 2017 – Mr Gordon Ramsay MLA, representing the ACT Chief Minister
10 August 2017 – The Honourable Amanda Rishworth MP, Shadow Minister for Veterans’ Affairs
14 August 2017 – The Honourable Manasseh Sogavare, Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands and Madam Emmy Sogavare
15 August 2017 – Her Excellency Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic´, President of the Republic of Croatia
15 August 2017 – Colonel Jone Kalouniwai, Chief of Staff, Republic of Fiji Military Forces
17 August 2017 – Air Vice Marshal Sreekumar Prabhakaran VM, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff, India
17 August 2017 – Ms Kathy Warden, Corporate Vice President, Northrop Grumman
21 August 2017 – Lieutenant General Erich Pfeffer, Commander Joint Forces Operations, Germany
24 August 2017 – Mr Walter Douglas, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy and for Regional and Security Policy in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the US Department of State.
27 August 2017 – Professor Donald Winter, former Secretary of the United States Navy and current Chairman of the Australian Government’s Naval Shipbuilding Advisory Board
05 September 2017 – Mr Urban Ahlin, Speaker of the Swedish Parliament
06 September 2017 – Air Vice Marshal Timothy Charles Innes CSC, Commander Joint Task Force Group 633, United Arab Emirates
08 September 2017 – Major General TNI Surawahadi, Commander Indonesian Army Infantry Weapons Centre (Danpussenif)
11 September 2017 – Zionist Federation of Australia Plenary Conference
11 September 2017 – General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Army, Pakistan
11 September 2017 – Major General Nick Welch, Assistant Chief of General Staff, British Army
12 September 2017 – Mr Teo Chee Hean, Deputy Prime Minister Singapore and spouse Mrs Chew Poh Yim
12 September 2017 – Senator Olivier Cadic, France
14 September 2017 – Rear Admiral Ryo Sakai and Rear Admiral Tomohiko Madono, Japan
19 September 2017 – Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa, Chief of Air Staff, India
03 October 2017 – General Jarmo Lindberg, Commander of the Finnish Defence Forces
04 October 2017 – Ms Chang Hwee Nee, CEO, National Heritage Board, Singapore
04 October 2017 – Major General Christopher Ballard, Commanding General , Intelligence and Security Command, USA
07 October 2017 – Admiral Julio Leiva, Commander in Chief of the Chilean Navy
09 October 2017 – Admiral Henry Chiles Jr (Retd), Former Commander, US Strategic Command
10 October 2017 – Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Education (Higher Education and Skills) and Second Minister for Defence in the Government of the Republic of Singapore
12 October 2017 – Mr Ahmad Nadzri bin Mohd Hassan, Undersecretary Policy and Strategic Planning, Ministry of Defence, Malaysia
13 October 2017 – His Excellency Mahamadou Issoufou, President of Niger
16 October 2017 – His Excellency Michael Higgins, President of Ireland and Mrs Sabine Higgins
16 October 2017 – His Excellency Dato’ Sri Mohd Johari bin Baharum, Deputy Minister of Defence, Malaysia
17 October 2017 – Lieutenant General Michael Hood, Commander of the Royal Canada Air Force
17 October 2017 – Mr Cameron Woods, CEO, Shire of Exmouth, Western Australia
18 October 2017 – Commanding Officer of 1 Commando Regiment
18 October 2017 – Mr Manuel Gonzalez-Sanz, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Costa Rica
21 October 2017 – Senator Derryn Hinch, Senator for Victoria
23 October 2017 – Mr Keizo Takewaka, Consul General of Japan
24 October 2017 – Mr Andrew Hastie MP, Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security and members of the Defence Government Committee
28 October 2017 – Mr Dendev Terbishdagva, Member of Parliament and Chair of Economic Standing Committee, Mongolia
02 November 2017 – Mr Hervé Morin, President of the Normandy region and former French Defence Minister
02 November 2017 – Senator the Honourable Marise Payne, Minister for Defence
03 November 2017 – His Excellency Pier Francesco Zazo, Ambassador of Italy to Australia
07 November 2017 – Vice Admiral Louis-Michel Guillaume, Commander of Underwater and Strategic Ocean Forces, France
12 November 2017 – Mr Robert Cardillo, Director of National-Geospatial Agency, USA
14 November 2017 – Mr Patrick Calvar, Former Director-General of Internal Security, France
20 November 2017 – Brigadier General Rashed Al Shamsi, Deputy Commander, UAE Air Force and Air Defense (UAE AFAD)
21 November 2017 – General Stanley A. McChrystal (Retd) USA
21 November 2017 – Major General Afridi, Army Pakistan
22 November 2017 – Sir Roger Carr, Chairman of BAE Systems
28 November 2017 – His Excellency Mr Wahidullah Waissi, Ambassador of Afghanistan to Australia and New Zealand
05 December 2017 – Mr Joseph Zimet, Director General of the First World War Centenary Partnership Program, France
03 January 2018 – Prince Moulay Idriss Alaoui of Morocco
24 January 2018 – His Excellency Mark Sofer, Ambassador of Israel to Australia
31 January 2018 – Mr Jonathan Scholl, President, Health Group for Leidos, USA
03 February 2018 – Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart William Peach GBE KCB ADC DL, Chief of the Defence Staff, United Kingdom
05 February 2018 – Lieutenant General Wynnyk, Chief of Army, Canada
05 February 2018 – Vice Admiral Denis Béraud, Deputy Chief of Navy, France
06 February 2018 – General Marc Compernol, Chief of Defence Force, Belgium
07 February 2018 – General Bjorn Bisserup, Chief of Defence Force, Denmark
08 February 2018 – Admiral Haakon Bruun-Hanssen, Chief of Defence Force, Norway
08 February 2018 – Governor An Hee-jung, Governor of South Chungcheong, Republic of Korea
12 February 2018 – The Right Honourable Gavin Williamson CBE MP, Secretary of State for Defence, United Kingdom
14 February 2018 – His Excellency Mr Akbar Al Baker, Chief Executive, Qatar Airways Group
15 February 2018 – His Excellency Mr Fook Seng Kwok, High Commissioner of Singapore to Australia
16 February 2018 – His Excellency Orhan Tavli, Governor of Canakkale, Turkey
20 February 2018 – Mr Maurice Gourdault-Montagne, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, France
20 February 2018 – Mr Richard H Edwards, Executive Vice President, Lockheed Martin International
21 February 2018 – His Royal Highness Tuanku Muhriz ibni Almarhum Tuanku Munawir, Ruler of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia
22 February 2018 – General Mark Milley, Chief of Staff for the US Army, USA
27 February 2018 – Major General Matt Hall, Director of the Defence Intelligence Organisation, Australia; Vice Admiral Umio Otsuka, Director General of the Defence Intelligence Headquarters, Japan; Lieutenant General Robert P. Ashley, Director of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), USA; Major General Jeffrey Kruse, USPACOM Director of Intelligence, USA
06 March 2018 – Lieutenant General Rolando Bautista, Commanding General, Philippine Army
07 March 2018 – Admiral Harry Harris, Commander United State Pacific Command, USA
09 March 2018 – Mr Brian Baldrate, Vice President General Counsel Raytheon International Inc. and Washington Operations, USA
09 March 2018 – Mr Lee Baeksoon, Ambassador of the Republic of South Korea
09 March 2018 – Her Excellency Madame Mounia Boucett, Secretary of State for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
International Cooperation, Kingdom of Morocco
19 March 2018 – Air Marshal Leo Davies AO CSC, Chief of Air Force
21 March 2018 – Lieutenant General Jan Broeks, NATO Director General International Military Staff
22 March 2018 – Air Chief Marshal Stephen Hillier KCB CBE DFC ADC MA, Chief of Air Staff, United Kingdom
26 March 2018 – MK Sharren Haskel and MK Yoel Hasson, Members of Knesset, Israel
27 March 2018 – Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister of Communications and Information, Singapore
28 March 2018 – Mr Brian Hartzer, CEO Westpac
31 March 2018 – His Excellency Mr Abel Guterres, Ambassador of Timor-Leste to Australia
05 April 2018 – Admiral Michael Rodgers, USA
06 April 2018 – His Excellency Michal Kolodziejski, Ambassador of Poland
12 April 2018 – His Excellency Mr Pedro Zwahlen, Ambassador of Switzerland to Australia; Her Excellency Mrs Yasmine Chatila Zwahlen, Ambassador to Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Special Envoy of Switzerland for the Pacific Region and delegation of Parliamentarians from Switzerland
13 April 2018 – Minister Guy Barnett MP, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Tasmania
17 April 2018 – General Jean-Pierre Bosser, Chief of Staff of the French Army
18 April 2018 – Mr Teodoro Cirilo Torralba III, Assistant Secretary Assessments and International Affairs, Department of Defence, Philippines
23 April 2018 – Rear Admiral John Korka, Pacific Fleet Civil Engineer and Commander Naval Facilities Engineering Pacific Command, USA
23 April 2018 – Lieutenant General Aksakalli, Commander of the 2nd Corps, First Army of the Republic of Turkey
02 May 2018 – Lieutenant General Riyadh Tawfeeq, Iraqi Ground Force Commander, Iraq
03 May 2018 – The Honourable Jeremy Soames, Chairman of Trustees, Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, United Kingdom
07 May 2018 – General Robert Brown, Commanding General US Army Pacific
12 May 2018 – The Honourable Joseph Kernan, USA
14 May 2018 – Mr Daniel R Coats, USA
16 May 2018 – Vice Admiral Herve de Bonnaventure, Acting Director General International Relations and Strategy, France
16 May 2018 – Vice Admiral Mat Winter, F-35 Program Executive Officer, USA
21 May 2018 – General Joseph Aoun, Armed Forces Commander in Chief, Lebanon
23 May 2018 – Brigadier General Siew Kum Wong, Deputy Chief of Army, Singapore
23 May 2018 – Lieutenant General Iqbal Ali Naderi, Deputy Defence Minister for Education and Training, Afghanistan
24 May 2018 – Lieutenant General Nikolaos Dimitrios Christopoulos, Chief of Staff Hellenic National Defence, Greece
26 May 2018 – The Honourable Vicki O’Halloran AM, Administrator of the Northern Territory
25 June 2018 – Ms Lisa Swan, Director of Material Solutions at the United States Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization (JIDO)

Events and ceremonies

1 July 2017 – 75th anniversary of the loss of the Montevideo Maru wreathlaying ceremony
31 July 2017 – Australian Army Training Team Vietnam wreathlaying ceremony
25 August 2017 – 2nd/4th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment Association plaque dedication ceremony
28 August 2017 – National Launch of Legacy Week wreathlaying ceremony
30 August 2017 – Kokoda Vale recitation
06 September 2017 – Battle for Australia wreathlaying ceremony
12 September 2017 – TPI Annual Congress wreathlaying ceremony
13 September 2017 – 70th Anniversary of Australian Peacekeeping Remembrance Service
08 October 2017 – ACT Solo Piping and Drumming Championships 2017
12 October 2017 – From the shadows: Australia’s Special Forces: Australia’s Special Forces exhibition preview event
13 October 2017 – From the shadows: Australia’s Special Forces: Australia’s Special Forces exhibition preview event
17 October 2017 – From the shadows: Australia’s Special Forces: Australia’s Special Forces official exhibition launch
26 October 2017 – Campbell High School wreathlaying ceremony
11 November 2017 – Remembrance Day National ceremony
16 November 2017 – Defence of Country art commission official launch
01 December 2017 – Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 75th anniversary parade
25 January 2018 – Commonwealth Games 2018, Queens Baton Relay
05 February 2018 – Parliamentary opening Last Post Ceremony
21 February 2018 – 2nd/2nd Field Association plaque dedication ceremony
26 February 2018 – Australian Defence Force Academy Napier Waller reflection ceremony
14 March 2018 – Painting donation event: RAAF “Magpie 228” takes a fatal hit
23 March 2018 – ACT Branch, Returned and Services League of Australia Congress wreathlaying ceremony
24 March 2018 – National Day of Prayer for Defence wreathlaying
04 April 2018 – Aged care Anzac commemorative ceremony
12 April 2018 – A matter of trust: Dayaks & Z Special Unit Operatives in Borneo 1945 exhibition launch
25 April 2018 – Anzac Day Dawn Service and National Ceremony
01 May 2018 – Canberra International Music Festival performances
01 May 2018 – Battle of the Atlantic, Department of Veterans’ Affairs wreathlaying ceremony
08 May 2018 – Nurses and midwives wreathlaying ceremony
25 May 2018 – National Sandakan Remembrance Day wreathlaying ceremony
03 June 2018 – Bomber Command wreathlaying ceremony
08 September 2017 – National Servicemen’s Association of Australia wreathlaying ceremony
08 September 2017 – National Student Leadership Forum poppy laying ceremony 
12 September 2017 - TPI Annual Congress wreathlaying ceremony
13 September 2017 - 70th Anniversary of Australian Peacekeeping Remembrance Service
08 October 2017 - ACT Solo Piping and Drumming Championships 2017
12 October 2017 - From the shadows: Australia’s Special Forces: Australia’s Special Forces exhibition preview event
13 October 2017 - From the shadows: Australia’s Special Forces: Australia’s Special Forces exhibition preview event
17 October 2017 - From the shadows: Australia’s Special Forces: Australia’s Special Forces official exhibition launch
26 October 2017 - Campbell High School wreathlaying ceremony
11 November 2017 - Remembrance Day National ceremony
16 November 2017 - Defence of Country art commission official launch
01 December 2017 - Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers 75th anniversary parade
25 January 2018 - Commonwealth Games 2018, Queens Baton Relay
05 February 2018 - Parliamentary opening Last Post Ceremony
21 February 2018 - 2nd/2nd Field Association plaque dedication ceremony
26 February 2018 - Australian Defence Force Academy Napier Waller reflection ceremony
14 March 2018 - Painting donation event: RAAF “Magpie 228” takes a fatal hit
23 March 2018 - ACT Branch, Returned and Services League of Australia Congress wreathlaying ceremony
24 March 2018 - National Day of Prayer for Defence wreathlaying
04 April 2018 - Aged care Anzac commemorative ceremony
12 April 2018 - A matter of trust: Dayaks & Z Special Unit Operatives in Borneo 1945 exhibition launch
25 April 2018 - Anzac Day Dawn Service and National Ceremony
01 May 2018 - Canberra International Music Festival performances
01 May 2018 - Battle of the Atlantic, Department of Veterans’ Affairs wreathlaying ceremony
08 May 2018 - Nurses and midwives wreathlaying ceremony
25 May 2018 - National Sandakan Remembrance Day wreathlaying ceremony
03 June 2018 - Bomber Command wreathlaying ceremony

Appendix 4 – Staff talks, lectures, conference presentations, and interviews

George Bailey

“Radioactive glass and enamels”, conference paper, The Institute of Conservation, Ceramics and Glass Group Conference, Oxford, United Kingdom, 7 September 2017

George Bailey and Claire Champion

“An investigation into the impact of sealed wooden and acrylic showcases and storage cases on the corrosion of lead objects during long term storage and display”, article, AICCM Bulletin, Volume 38, Issue 1, 1 July 2017

George Bailey and Eileen Proctor (Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies)

“The radioactive legacy of WW2”, conference paper, Renovated, rebuilt, saved – how they survived WWII. Conservation, preservation and prevention of items from the years 1939–1945, Warsaw Rising Museum, Poland, 12 April 2018

George Bailey and Agata Rostek-Roban (Australian National Maritime Museum)

“Conserving the MV Krait at the Australian National Maritime Museum”, conference paper, Renovated, rebuilt, saved – how they survived WWII. Conservation, preservation and prevention of items from the years 1939–1945, Warsaw Rising Museum, Poland, 12 April 2018

Toni Bailey

“Ivor Hele: painting the troops”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 16 November 2017

Michael Bell

“In defence of country”, talk, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O6R5lVHHZc, 14 May 2018

Stephanie Boyle

“Journeys through space and time: interviewing the military”, conference paper, Oral History Association of Australia Bi-Annual Conference, Sydney Masonic Conference Centre, 16 September 2017

“Tattoos in the military”, interview, ABC Radio Canberra, 16 January 2018

“Inked: tattoos in the military”, lecture, Australian War Memorial, 18 January 2018

“Journeys through time and space: interviewing the military”, article, Oral History Australia Journal, number 39, 31 January 2018

“Joint Public Affairs Unit – defence photographers photography awards”, talk, Fyshwick, 7 March 2018

“Inked: tattoos in the military”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQsejVRkFUI&list=PL9NtBRzT05K9YGGlVppw6EI8TEFZLsam&index=3, 2 May 2018

Ross Cameron

“Objects of the Passchendaele campaign”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 12 October 2017

“Wilmansrust affair”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 12 May 2018

Emma Campbell

“Nurses on the Western Front”, article, Wartime, Issue 82, 1 April 2018

“The final year of the First World War”, article, Wartime online, Issue 82, 1 April 2018

“The final piece: photograph reveals panorama of Hamel village shortly after famed battle”, article, Wartime online, Issue 82, 1 April 2018

“Tiber, the tracker dog who went missing from Coral”, article, Wartime online, Issue 82, 1 April 2018

“The Australian War Memorial and commemoration”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 26 June 2018

Danielle Cassar

“Australia’s Special Forces: bringing their stories out of the shadows”, conference paper, Agents of Change, Museums Galleries Australia National Conference 2018, Melbourne, 7 June 2018

Theresa Cronk

“Highlights of the Sheet Music collection”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 28 July 2017

“Bandsmen and the bands of the First AIF”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 25 August 2017

“Anzac connections and the First World War galleries”, Australian War Memorial, 30 May 2018

“The Anzac connections experience”, Australian War Memorial, 30 May 2018

“The wartime experience of Corporal Vivian Noble”, chapter in T. Artico (ed.), From the front. Zibaldone della Grande Guerra, Arcane, 1 July 2017

Richard Cruise

Interview, 2CC Radio, 2 January 2018

Andrew Currey

“Tanks and the AIF”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 23 November 2017, 5 December 2017, 2 January 2018, 30 January 2018, 27 February 2018

“Tanks and the AIF”, interview, ABC Radio Canberra, 2 January 2018

“Australian artillery in the First World War”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 22 February, 13 March, 27 March, 10 April, 24 April, 15 May, 29 May 2018

“RC collections relating to 45 Bn”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 2 March 2018

Brian Dawson

“Treloar E LTO Storage Facility”, interview, Channel 9, 21 September 2017

Amanda Dennett

“Announcement of Leidos 360 video project”, interview, Canberra Times, http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/ augmented-reality-to-offer-an-interactive-look-at-the-war-memorials-artifacts-20171123-gzrjg9.html, 21 November 2017

“Announcement of Leidos 360 video project”, ABC Darwin, ABC Alice Springs, 21 November 2017

Sue Ducker

“The First World War – treasures from the Research Centre”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 14 April 2018

Daniel Eisenberg

“Fighting in Flanders”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 3 October 2017

“75th anniversary of Kokoda frontline’s Oscar”, interview, SBS News, 20 February 2018

Ashley Ekins

“From Nashos to platoon commanders: the role of the Officer Training Unit (OTU) Scheyville in the Vietnam War”, talk, 50th anniversary reunion dinner of graduates of OTU Class 1 of 1967, Australian War Memorial, 13 July 2017

“Charging into history: the battle of Beersheba”, “Hell on earth: the battle of Passchendaele, 1917”, articles, The Great War Part 3, AWM centenary magazine supplement, Weekend Australian, 29 July 2017

“Vietnam: lessons from a long war”, talk, Special Friends of the Memorial Vietnam Veterans Day, Australian War Memorial, 18 August 2017

“The battles of Fire Support Bases Coral and Balmoral, May 1968”, lecture, Review Panel of Defence Honours and Awards Appeals Tribunal, Australian War Memorial, 15 September 2017

“The tragedy of Passchendaele”, article, Wartime, Issue 80, 1 October 2017

“Conflicted memories: the centenary of the battles of Beersheba and Passchendaele”, lecture, Australian War Memorial, 4 October 2017

“From Nashos to platoon commanders: the role of the Officer Training Unit (OTU) Scheyville in the Vietnam War”, talk, 50th anniversary reunion dinner of graduates of OTU Class 2 of 1967, Mercure Hotel, Canberra, 8 October 2017

“The battle of Passchendaele, 1917: Australia’s worst year”, talk, Sydney Legacy Centenary Tribute Luncheon, RSL Memorial Club, Cronulla, 13 October 2017

“The Phuoc Tuy classroom: 1st Australian Task Force, adaptability, and ‘the learning curve’ in combat”, conference paper, 2017 Chief of Army History Conference, National Convention Centre, Canberra, 20 October 2017

“Australian military involvement in the Vietnam War”, lecture, Australian War Memorial, 30 October 2017

“The battle of Long Tan: an overview and analysis”, lecture, Royal Military College, Duntroon, Canberra, 14 November 2017

“General Sir John Monash, master of the battlefield: an appreciation”, lecture, Monash Oration Dinner, Civic Hall, Jerilderie, 24 November 2017

“No front line: Australia’s Special Forces at war in Afghanistan, by Chris Masters”, book review, Wartime, Issue 81, 1 January 2018

“The centenary of 1918 and the end of the First World War”, interview, Ten and WIN networks, 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2SW8PI-fEk 4 January 2018

“The battles of Fire Support Bases Coral and Balmoral, May 1968”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 14 March 2018

“Allied naval assault on the Dardanelles in March 1915”, interview, ABC Radio, http://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/nightlife/battle-of-the-dardanelles/9551954, 18 March 2018

“They’ll come looking for you: battles of Coral–Balmoral”, article, Wartime, Issue 82, 1 April 2018

“Battle of Villers-Bretonneux”, interview, Ten and WIN networks, https://tenplay.com.au/channel-ten/studio-10/extra/ season-2018/new-centre-to-commemorate-100-years-of-anzac-spirit 4 April 2018

“Second battle of Villers-Bretonneux”, lecture, Bungendore War Memorial Hall, 21 April 2018

“Australian soldiers in France during the Great War”, interview, France 3 TV, http://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/playlisthistoires-14-18/ 25 April 2018

“General Sir John Monash”, panel discussion, Channel 601 Foxtel, https://www.skynews.com.au/details/_5794123762001 24 April 2018

Margaret Farmer

“Telling their stories”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 22 May 2018

Nick Fletcher

“Centenary of Roy Inwood’s VC action at Polygon Wood”, interview, ABC Radio Broken Hill, 21 September 2017

“Fighting in Flanders”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 3 October 2017

“Arrival of Seahawk Helicopter and return of Menin Gate Lions”, interview, 2CC Radio, 5 December 2017

“Manfred von Richthofen – the Red Baron”, interview, Sky News, 11 April 2018

Lachlan Grant

“Battle of Milne Bay”, interviews, 2CC Radio, ABC Radio National, Channel 9, SBS News, WIN TV, 25 August 2017

“Battle of Milne Bay”, interview, 2CC Radio, 5 September 2017

“The challenges of interpreting the Holocaust in the Australian War Memorial’s Second World War Gallery”, lecture, University of New England, Armidale, 15 September 2017

“The experiences of the Japanese in the Second World War”, conference paper, RSL national congress, Hotel Realm, Canberra, 20 September 2017

“Battle of Milne Bay”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 27 September 2017

“Letters home from Changi”, interview, ABC News24, 24 December 2017

“The Kaiapit capture: Australian commandos in New Guinea in 1943”, article, Wartime, Issue 81, 1 January 2018

“HMAS Perth”, interview, 2CC Radio, 28 February 2018

“Australians and the Great War”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 26 March 2018

“Australians on the Western Front (and Private Giles uniform)”, interview, France 3 TV, http://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/ playlist-histoires-14-18/ 28 March 2018

“D-Day 6 June 1944 and the Normandy campaign”, interview, 2CC Radio, 6 June 2018

Michael Grant

“Battle of the beachheads: SWW official war art”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 4 January 2018

“Fall of Singapore”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 22 February 2018

“Australian artistic depictions of Japanese soldiers during the SWW”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 15 March 2018

“SWW Official War Art scheme”, interview, ABC Radio National, 27 March 2018

“Painted by the enemy (SWW Japanese paintings of Australians)”, Wartime, Issue 83, 1 July 2018

Michael Grant, Stephanie Hume and Garth O’Connell

“8th Division Association – fall of Singapore”, Australian War Memorial, 16 February 2018

“D-Day and the liberation of Europe”, Australian War Memorial, 7 June 2018

Anthea Gunn

“Art of nation: digital art history at the Australian War Memorial”, ANU Digital Humanities seminar series, Australian National University, 7 August 2017

“After the fall: a panel on making art about a shared WWII history”, talk, National Museum of Singapore, 23 September 2017

“Challenging stories: commissioning art at the Australian War Memorial”, talk, Grey Projects, Singapore, 27 September 2017

“Staff clerks at work, headquarters, St Gratien”, “Camouflage”, articles in Anne Grey (ed.), Arthur Streeton: the art of war, National Gallery of Australia, 1 December 2017

“Embedded artists: an historical perspective”, conference paper, Art Association of Australia and New Zealand conference, University of Western Australia, Perth, 7 December 2017

“Art of nation and official war art”, interview, ABC Radio National, 27 March 2018

“Sidney Nolan works on paper”, interview, ABC/BBC, 10 April 2018

“Art in the First World War”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 12 April 2018

“Art of Nation: scholarship recipient presentation”, “Art of Nation: web crit session”, talks, Museums and the web conference, Vancouver, Canada, 19 April 2018

“Art of Nation”, talk, https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/tellingtheirstories 2 May 2018

“Villers-Bretonneux and Australia’s artists at war”, lecture, Art Gallery Society of NSW, Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney, 4 and 5 May 2018

“What could have Bean: using digital art history to revisit Australia’s First World War Official war art”, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Art, Volume 17, Issue 2, 2 June 2018

“‘Best permanent exhibition’: award acceptance”, talk, Museums Galleries Australia annual conference, Brisbane, 5 June 2018

“Official war art and dioramas of the First World War”, lecture, Australian War Memorial, 19 June 2018

Anthea Gunn and Scott Bevan

Art of nation, talk, Australian War Memorial, 10 November 2017

Anthea Gunn and Kate Morschel

Art of nation, talk, Australian War Memorial, 24 August 2017

Art of nation, talk, Heritage in the Limelight research intensive, Australian War Memorial, 11 September 2017

Anthea Gunn and Angela Tiatia

“After the fall: contemporary art in response to history”, talk, Fall of Singapore symposium, National Museum of Australia, 30 October 2017

Art of nation, interviews, ABC24, ABC 666, Canberra Times, http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/canberra-life/art-ofnation-at-the-australian-war-memorial-an-interactive-virtual-experience-20171108-gzhaxu.html, 10 November 2017

Vick Gwyn

“Archaeology of photographs: hands-on workshop”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 1 September 2017

Gallery tour, For Nation, for Country, talk, Australian War Memorial, 2 September 2017

“Remember me: the lost diggers of Vignacourt”, talk, Hamilton Gallery, 10 September 2017

“The Aspinall Photographic Collection”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 12 September 2017

“Cultural identity and inclusivity in the museum: oral history as advocacy”, conference paper, Oral History Association of Australia Bi-Annual Conference, Sydney Masonic Conference Centre, 14 September 2017

Meleah Hampton

“The key to victory: Australia’s military contribution on the Western Front in 1918”, book chapter in Kate Ariotti and James E. Bennett (eds.) Australians and the First World War: Local-Global Connections and Contexts, Palgrave Macmillan, 2017

“Hasn’t that been done? The future of the operational history of the First World War”, book chapter in Tristan Moss and Tom Richardson (eds) New directions in war and history: Debating military history, Big Sky, 2017

“A Tale of Two Tanks”, article, Wartime No. 78, Autumn 2017

Chelsea Hopper

“The power of display: curating and visualising 9/11 and its aftermath”, talk, Art and Conflict: Investigating Cross-Disciplinary Methodologies workshop, Melbourne University Law School, 26 June 2018

Stephanie Hume

“Changi Concert Party programs”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 15 February 2018

“Pecha Kucha – Honour Rolls web forms”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 8 May 2018

Stephanie Hume and Ross Cameron

“Objects of the German Spring offensive”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 26 April 2018

Claire Hunter

“It was absolutely unbelievable”, article, Australian War Memorial blog, https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/james-mccabe 16 January 2018

“How Dr Seuss and the Squander Bug went to war”, article, Australian War Memorial blog, https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/ blog/dr-seuss-and-the-squander-bug , 17 January 2018

“Return to no man’s land”, article, Australian War Memorial blog, https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/eric-bogle, 31 January 2018

“On the offensive”, article, Australian War Memorial blog, https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/on-the-offensive, 31 January 2018

“It was him or me”, article, Australian War Memorial blog, https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/george-palmer-kokoda, 6 February 2018

“HMAS Patricia Cam and the search for Percy Cameron”, article, Australian War Memorial blog, https://www.awm.gov.au/ articles/blog/percy-cameron-and-the-patricia-cam, 7 February 2018

“We had the rest of our lives to spend together”, article, Australian War Memorial blog, https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/ dennis-davis-and-alamein, 13 February 2018

“It was a flurry of red flashes”, article, Australian War Memorial blog, https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/javier-studenkoand-special-forces, 16 February 2018

“I’m very lucky to be alive”, article, Australian War Memorial blog, https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/derek-holyoake, 21 February 2018

“I thought he’d died there”, article, Australian War Memorial blog, https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/john-hair-andfrederick-maurer, 27 February 2018

“I promised I’d be strong and brave”, article, Australian War Memorial blog, https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/LeonardKentish-and-the-Patricia-Cam, 27 February 2018

“The thing we fight”, article, Australian War Memorial blog, https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/norman-lindsay-andhearts-and-minds, 28 February 2018

“You couldn’t believe you’d survived”, article, Australian War Memorial blog, https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/lenardmason-and-el-alamein, 1 March 2018

“You just tried your best to keep yourself alive”, article, Australian War Memorial blog, https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/ cyril-allender-remembers-kokoda, 16 March 2018

“A sign of the times”, article, Australian War Memorial blog, https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/keep-calm-and-carry-on, 16 March 2018

“The healing power of art”, article, Australian War Memorial blog, https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/napier-waller-artprize, 16 March 2018

Hannah Hutchison

“Badu Commission: printing a legacy”, article, IMPRINT, volume 52, number 2, 1 July 2017

Karl James

“Taking it to the enemy”, article, Wartime, no. 79, July 2017

Interview with Max Blenkin, “75 years on, Kokoda campaign remembered”, AAP, https://au.prime7.yahoo.com/q1/news/a/-/ national/36431395/75-years-on-kokoda-campaign-remembered, 19 July 2017

Interview with Natalie Peters about “75 years on from Kokoda battle”, Sunday evening with Natalie and Michael, Macquarie Media, http://www.4bc.com.au/podcast/75-years-on-from-kokoda-battle, 23 July 2017

Tour historian, Thales’ Battle of Milne Bay: our journey: 1942–2017, Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, 22–27 August 2017

“Kokoda: beyond the legend: Kokoda’s enduring resonance”, public talk, BAE Systems Theatre, Australian War Memorial, 30 August 2017

“Australia’s Special Forces”, interview, Life on the Line Podcast, 22 September 2017

“From the shadows: Australia’s Special Forces”, interviews, ABC Radio Perth, 17 October 2017, ABC News, 18 October 2017, 2CC Radio, 18 October 2017, ABC Radio Canberra, 18 October 2017, Channel 9, 22 October 2017

“Special Forces exhibition at Australian War Memorial reveals stories of secret soldiers”, interview, ABC News, 17 October 2017

“Rare insight into secret soldiers”, interview, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 October 2017

“Tribute to diggers”, interview, AAP, 23 October 2017

“Historian evokes the terror of Australia’s position in 1942”, interview, ABC News, 2 November 2017

Live interview and presenter’s friend with Siobhan Heanue, live broadcast of the Australian War Memorial’s 75th anniversary of the liberation of Kokoda, ABC news, 2 November 2017

Radio interview with Eleanor Hall, “Historian evokes the terror of Australia’s position in 1942”, The World Today with Eleanor Hall, ABC News, http://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/worldtoday/historian-evokes-the-terror-of-australias-positionin-1942/9112078, 2 November 2017

“Australian War Memorial’s 75th anniversary of the liberation of Kokoda”, interview, ABC News, 2 November 2017

“Kokoda”, interview, Living history with Mat McLachlan, 5 January 2018

“From the shadows”, article, Wartime, Issue 81, 1 January 2018

“76th anniversary of the bombing of Darwin”, 2CC Radio, 19 February 2018

Recorded interview on the Kokoda campaign, episode 7, Battles won and lost, WildBear Entertainment, History Channel, https://www.historychannel.com.au/shows/battles-won-and-lost, 12 June 2018

“Beyond the legend with Dr Karl James”, Life on the line podcast, https://www.lifeonthelinepodcast.com/podcast/2018/4/13/ beyond-the-legend-with-dr-karl-james, 13 April 2018

Recorded interview on the siege of Tobruk, episode 1, Battles won and lost, WildBear Entertainment, History Channel, https://www.historychannel.com.au/shows/battles-won-and-lost, 1 May 2018

Interview with Richard Wood, “Notorious sinking of Australian hospital ship 75 years ago”, 9 News, https://www.9news.com. au/national/2018/05/14/11/59/notorious-sinking-of-australian-world-war-two-hospital-ship-commemorated, 15 May 2018

Interview with Richard Wood, “How the ‘Dam Busters’ struck Hitler’s war machine”, 9 News, https://www.9news.com.au/ world/2018/05/16/10/37/tributes-to-dam-busters-raid-on-seventy-fifth-annniversary, 16 May 2018

Live radio interview with Gaye Pattison about the history of war memorials, ABC Goulburn Murray (Albury, Wodonga, Wangaratta, Shepparton), ABC Regional, 21 April 2018

Live television interview with Michael Rowland and Virginia Trioli on ABC News Breakfast about the changing nature of commemorating Anzac, ABC News, 25 April 2018

Michael Kelly

“Mr Les Hall: the Korean War”, interview, Oral History Collection, Australian War Memorial, 13 September 2017

Kerrie Leech

“From Guernsey with love”, article, Australian War Memorial blog, https://www.awm.gov.au/index.php/articles/blog/fromguernsey-with-love, 14 May 2018

Kerrie Leech and Margaret Farmer

“The Memorial in landscape”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 28 September 2017

Bridie Macgillicuddy

“Mericourt”, article in Anne Grey (ed.), Arthur Streeton: the art of war, National Gallery of Australia, 1 December 2017

Gallery tour, “Through women’s eyes”, Australian War Memorial, 1 February, 8 March 2018

Bridie Macgillicuddy and Alex Torrens

Gallery tour, Sculpture Garden, Australian War Memorial, 10 November 2017

Jennifer Milward

“Military history research”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 22 August 2017

“Heritage and the Australian War Memorial”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 13 September 2017

“Behind the scenes of the Research Centre”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 26 September 2017

“WW1: telling the stories of those who served”, talk, National Library of Australia, 30 May 2018

Jennifer Milward and Andrew Currey

Talk, Sapphire Coast Family and Local History Expo, Merimbula, 12 August 2017

Kerry Neale

Gallery tour, For Country, for Nation, talk, Australian War Memorial, 29 August 2017

Amanda New and Kerry Neale

“Looking at trench art”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 21 September 2017

Garth O’Connell

“Australian Aboriginal prisoners of war of the Japanese in Singapore”, conference paper, Exhibiting the fall – remembering and representing war and its aftermath in Asia, National Museum of Singapore, 1 September 2017

“A little bit of Singapore at the Australian War Memorial / Imperial Japanese propaganda and Singapore”, talk, National Library of Singapore, 6 September 2017

“Looking through the eyes of the enemy – Japanese propaganda and Singapore during the Second World War”, talk, Former Ford Factory Museum, Singapore, 9 September 2017

Alexandra Orr and Theresa Cronk

“Ephemera in the Memorial’s collection”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 5 October 2017

Aaron Pegram

“Polygon Wood and the Third Battle of Ypres”, talk and gallery tour, Australian War Memorial, 28 August 2017

“Third Battle of Ypres”, interviews, ABC Radio News, 5 September 2017, Channel 10, 6 September 2017, ABC Radio Canberra, 8 September 2017

“Third Battle of Ypres”, Visit Flanders Passchendaele Street Art unveiling, Hosier Lane, Melbourne, 6 September 2017

“Australians in the Third Battle of Ypres”, talk, Polygon Wood Commemorative Service, Polygon Wood, Belgium, 26 September 2017

“The war with Germany, by Robert Stevenson”, book review, Wartime, Issue 80, 1 October 2017

“Australians in the Third Battle of Ypres”, interview, Channel 9, 5 October 2017

“Passchendaele: an Australian tragedy”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 9 October 2017

“Wind farm in France an affront to our Western Front fallen”, article, The Australian, 10 November 2017

“Remembrance Day: how victory seemed far away in 1917”, interview, News.com, https://www.9news.com.au/ national/2017/11/10/12/51/remembrance-day-marks-century-since-australias-bloodiest-year, 10 November 2017

“The battles of Bullecourt and the proposed windfarms”, interview, Macquirie Media, 11 November 2017

“Australia and the Victoria Cross”, interview, Living history with Mat McLachlan, http://livinghistory.libsyn.com/aaron-pegramthe-victoria-cross-0, 30 November 2017

“Alexander Worsfold and the transporter”, interview, History Channel, 15 January 2018

“The first and second battles of Dernancourt”, interview, Living history with Mat McLachlan, https://itunes.apple.com/au/ podcast/living-history-with-mat-mclachlan/id1317242813?mt=2, 28 March 2018

“Defending Amiens: the Australian Imperial Force during the German Spring Offensive, March–April 1918”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 29 March 2018

“Douglas Grant, Roland Carter and the Halbondlager at Wunsdorf-Zossen in 1918”, interview, ABC Canberra, http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/awaye/black-diggers-and-the-jihad-experiment/9664024, 5 April 2018

“The second battle of Dernancourt, 5 April 1918”, interview, ABC Canberra, 5 April 2018

“The AIF and the defence of Amiens, March–April 1918”, conference paper, Masters of war: the AIF in France 1918, Military History and Heritage Victoria, Camberwell RSL, 14 April 2018

“Victory at Villers-Bretonneux remembered”, article, Sydney Morning Herald/Canberra Times, http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/victory-at-villers-bretonneux-remembered-20180419-p4zal8.html, 23 April 2018

“Victory at Villers-Bretonneux”, talk, Anzac Day Breakfast Address 2018, Australian War Memorial, https://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/speeches/AnzacDay2018Breakfast, 25 April 2018

“Australians on the Western Front”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 1 May 2018

“Hamel: the orchestral battle, 4 July 1918”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 24 May 2018

“‘A life of torture and hell’: Australian prisoners of war on the Western Front and the German Reprisals in 1917”, chapter in Paul Skrebels (ed.), Fighting on all fronts: the MHSA Battle Series, volume 1, 1916–17, Rainbow Press, Regency Park, 2017

Gerard Pratt

“Guiding at the Australian War Memorial: sensitivities, interpretation and management”, conference paper, 2017 Australasian Botanic Gardens Volunteer Guides Conference, National Library of Australia, 17 October 2017

Thomas Rogers

“Troopers, not trackers”, article, Wartime, Issue 81, 1 January 2018

“The AWM Summer Scholars program”, National Library of Australia, 12 January 2018

Gallery tour, “Post-1945 galleries”, Australian War Memorial, 15 January 2018

Talk, Summer Scholars final presentations, Australian War Memorial, 15 February 2018

The civilisation of Port Phillip: settler ideology, violence, and rhetorical possession, book, Melbourne University Press, 23 February 2018

“From Australian frontier to South African veldt: Aboriginal military service, 1788–1902”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 7 March 2018

“The civilisation of Port Phillip”, interviews, ABC Radio, 9 March 2018, RTR FM Perth, 9 March 2018, ABC Radio Melbourne, 12 April 2018

“Troopers, not trackers”, article, The Kopje, Issue 100, 24 April 2018

“From the Australian frontier to the South African veldt: the service of Aboriginal Australians during the colonial era, 1788– 1901”, chapter in Lachlan Grant and Michael Bell (eds), For country, for nation: an illustrated history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander military service, AWM, 30 June 2018

“The vigil of empire”, article, Wartime, Issue 82, 1 April 2018

Thomas Rogers and Peter Bakker

“Troopers, not trackers”, article, Wartime, Issue 81, 1 January 2018

Dianne Rutherford

“Mysterious case of the Emden Bell”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 17 July 2017

“Objects found at Gallipoli and Pheasant Wood mass grave”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 11 January 2018

“Sinking of the Centaur”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 10 May 2018

David Sutton

“19,000 deaths a day – the cost Russia endured”, article, Weekend Australian, 18 November 2017

“Russia’s bloodiest battle”, interview, 2GB Radio, 20 November 2017

“The Eastern Front”, Life on the Line Podcast, 24 November 2017

“Hitler vs Stalin, 1941–1945: the turning point of World War II”, lecture, In2Uni Education program, University of Wollongong, 12 January 2018

“Australian peace-keeping staff”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 29 May 2018

“Hitler vs Stalin, 1941–1945: the turning point of World War II”, lecture, Australian War Memorial, 5 June 2018

“The Eastern Front”, article, The Guidepost, 22 June 2018

“The ‘obscene peace’ of 1918”, article, Wartime, Issue 82, 1 April 2018

“Aussies in the Arctic”, article, Wartime, Issue 81, 1 January 2018

Dianne Rutherford and Ross Cameron

The battle of Hamel”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 3 July 2017

Joanne Smedley

“My son fighting in France: reverse painted glass framed photographs”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 14 December 2017

“Algernon Darge and the Broadmeadows studio”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 21 December 2017

“Warwick showcases faces of World War I”, interview, Warwick Daily News, 4 January 2018

“Stories behind the Vignacourt negatives”, lecture, Warwick Art Gallery, 3 February 2018

“Rediscovering lost soldiers in Warwick”, interview, Warwick Daily News, Gatton Star, 7 February 2018

“Remember me: the lost diggers of Vignacourt”, interview, Weekender Herald, 28 February 2018

“Remember me: the lost diggers of Vignacourt”, interview, ABC Bundaberg, 11 May 2018

“Remember me: the lost diggers of Vignacourt”, talks, Bundaberg Regional Art Gallery, 11 May 2018

“The march to freedom”, article, Wartime, Issue 82, 1 April 2018

Craig Tibbitts

“Battles of El Alamein, 1942”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 28 August 2017

“Vietnam medical legacies – project overview and update”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 16 May 2018

Alex Torrens

“Badu Print Suite”, talk, NAIDOC Week, Australian War Memorial, 5 July 2017

Gallery tour, For Country, for Nation, talk, Australian War Memorial, 25 July, 22 August 2017

“Badhu Koewbu Gidhal: stories of the war from Badu Island”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 8 September 2017

“New acquisition: senior men’s collaborative painting from APY lands”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 7 December 2017, 14 March 2018

Gallery tour, Hearts and minds: wartime propaganda, talk, Australian War Memorial, 15 February, 1 March, 22 March, 26 March, 5 April 2018

Propaganda Curator floortalk Public talk Mornington Peninsula Regional Art Gallery 5 May 2018

“Pecha Kucha: Monash Commemorative Sculpture”, Australian War Memorial, 8 May 2018

Alex Torrens and Jane Robinson

“Conscription behind the scenes”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 30 November 2017

Robyn Van Dyk

“The diary of Sergeant Apcar Devine: a valuable record of war”, chapter in T. Artico (ed.), From the front. Zibaldone della

Grande Guerra, Arcane, 1 July 2017

“Eyewitness accounts of top secret missions”, article, Wartime, Issue 81, 1 January 2018

“With the Dayaks in Borneo”, article, Wartime, Issue 81, 1 January 2018

“Z Force families: hidden stories of Australia’s guerilla soldiers unveiled in special exhibition”, interview, ABC National News

Darwin, 2 April 2018

Exhibition opening: A matter of trust: Dayaks & Z Special Unit Operatives in Borneo 1945, interview, 2CC Radio, 3 April 2018

Exhibition launch: A matter of trust: Dayaks & Z Special Unit Operatives in Borneo 1945, interview, 2CC Radio, 11 April 2018

“Treasure trove: Z Special Unit’s Borneo Map”, interview, ABC Radio, 16 April 2018

“Looking after your archives and memorabilia”, interview, Dalby Herald, 30 April 2018

Gallery tour, A matter of trust: Dayaks & Z Special Unit Operatives in Borneo 1945, talk, Australian War Memorial,

19 April, 3 May 2018

“The Memorial’s digitisation program”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 30 May 2018

Robyn Van Dyk and Christine Helliwell

“Operation Semut, Borneo 1945: behind enemy lines”, talk, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lPVQiPu19c, 29 September 2017

Gallery tour, A matter of trust: Dayaks & Z Special Unit Operatives in Borneo 1945, talk, Australian War Memorial, 5 June 2018

Erin Vink

Talk, Reconciliation Week, Australian War Memorial, 8 June 2018

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 20, 27 June 2018

Laura Webster

“Dioramas”, interview, ABC Radio National, 27 March 2018

Emily Wubben

“Three Australian artists depicting peacekeeping behind the scenes”, talk, Australian War Memorial, 14 September 2017

“Gas alert”, “3rd Australian General Hospital, Abbeville”, articles, in Anne Grey (ed.), Arthur Streeton: the art of war, National Gallery of Australia, 1 December 2017

Peter Yule

“Problems of writing contemporary history: the Agent Orange controversy”, talk, School of Historical and Philosophical Studies, University of Melbourne, 25 October 2017

“The medical legacies of the Vietnam War”, talk, Royal Children’s Hospital Medical Alumni Association, Melbourne, 14 November 2017

“Update on Vietnam Medical Legacies Project”, talk, Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia National Congress, Canberra, 10 May 2018

Glossary

COMPLIANCE INDEX

The table bellows shows compliance with Section 17BE of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Rule 2014

Other legislative requirements

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 section 516A

Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918

Index

A matter of trust: Dayaks & Z Special Unit operatives in Borneo 1945 10, 34, 45, 55, 65, 116, 120, 131

ANAO see Australian National Audit Office
Anzac Connections 34, 122
Anzac Day Dawn Service 23, 120
Anzac Day National Ceremony 2, 8, 21, 23, 55, 120
Anzac Hall 10, 29, 42, 45, 47,
Anzac Legacy 49
Anzacs on the Western Front: the Australian War Memorial
Battlefield Guide 57, 70,
Art of nation: Australia’s official art and photography of the
First World War xii, 11, 30, 114, 124, 125
Australia’s Federation Guard 27
Australian Defence Force 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 15, 21, 22, 27, 30, 31, 39, 52, 55, 108, 109, 111
Australian Federal Police 9, 58, 65
Australian National Audit Office 4, 61, 77
Australian War Memorial Act 1980 4, 14, 76
BAE Systems 51, 70, 118, 126
Battle of Hamel xiii, 11, 30, 34, 48, 58, 70, 129, 130
Bean, C.E.W. xiii, 11, 30, 34, 35, 124
Beersheba 10, 24, 122, 123, 9
Book Council of Australia 51
Bryan Gandevia Prize for Military History 58
Cambridge, Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of 29, 65, 79 
centenary of the First World War 12, 15, 21, 24, 27, 30, 31, 34, 42, 49, 52, 55, 57, 58, 59, 61, 62, 65, 66, 70, 76, 110, 111, 113, 116
CCG see Collections Coordination Group
CFO see Chief Finance Officer
Chair/Chairman of Council 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 14, 61, 76, 84, 103,110, 112,
Chief Finance Officer 5, 15, 62, 67, 82, 84, 115
CMG see Corporate Management Group
Collections Coordination Group 15
Commemorative Area 8, 27, 28, 55, 65
Commemorative Crosses 23, 49, 55
Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 79
Corporate Management Group 15, 62, 63
Corporate Plan viii
Corporate Services 5, 11, 12, 14, 16, 62, 114, 115,
Cosgrove AK MC, Governor-General Sir Peter 23
Council ix, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 12, 14, 57, 61, 62, 63, 67, 76, 77, 82, 84,103, 106, 108-112,
Department of Veterans’ Affairs 8, 10, 12, 14, 24, 27, 34, 57, 61
Director, Australian War Memorial ix, 4, 5, 6, 8-12, 14, 15, 24,61, 62, 67, 76, 82, 103, 115
e-business 16, 70, 113
external audit 5, 76, 77
Facebook xi, 56 
Financial statements i, ii, ix, 5, 62, 77, 81-106
First World War Galleries 39, 47, 114, 116, 122
First World War xii, xiii, 2, 3, 4, 11, 21, 23, 30, 34, 35, 36, 39, 42,47, 50, 51, 52, 55, 57, 58, 59, 61, 65, 66, 113, 114, 115, 116, 118, 121,122, 123, 124, 125,
Flickr x, 56
For Country, for Nation 10, 22, 45, 46, 47, 61, 64, 65, 125, 128,129, 130,
fraud control 14, 16, 63
Freedom of Information Act 1982 77
From the shadows: Australia’s Special Forces 3, 10, 21, 22, 35,45, 47, 52, 55, 57, 61, 64, 65, 120, 126, 127
Gallipoli 9, 11, 23, 31, 36, 51, 59, 109, 113, 114, 116, 129
General Sir John Monash commemorative sculpture xiii, xiv,28, 30, 64, 65, 130,
general visitor survey 52, 77
Hall of Memory 24, 31, 79
Hearts and minds: wartime propaganda 10, 34, 45, 55, 65,130,
heritage management 28, 79, 116
insurance 63, 77
internal audit 6, 16, 61, 76-77
Jolly, David 31
Kulatangku angakanyini manta munu Tjukurpa (Country and
culture will be protected by spears] 11, 30, 35, 42, 
Last Post Ceremony x, 8, 9, 11, 15, 21, 23, 24, 27, 28, 56, 65,66, 120
legal actions 77
Leman, Judith 10, 35
Lone Pine tree 29, 65, 79,
Long Tan Cross 2, 11, 21, 42, 90
Memorial Boxes xi, 50
Memorial redevelopment project 2, 3, 12, 28, 63, 65, 66, 89,90, 96, 101,
Memorial Shop 16, 70
Mephisto 42
Minister for Veterans’ Affairs 4, 12, 61, 76, 82, 117, 119
Mitchell x, xiv, 3, 12, 14, 22, 31, 35, 37, 39, 64, 72, 73, 79, 113
Napier Waller Art Prize 11, 30, 52
National Collection viii, xi, xiii, 2, 3, 4, 11, 12, 14, 15, 20, 30, 31,35, 36, 39, 40, 41, 45, 52, 56, 61, 62, 66, 67, 70, 77, 96, 113, 115
Nelson AO, Brendan 4, 5, 6, 8-12, 14, 24, 115
Official History of Australian peacekeeping, humanitarian and
post-Cold War operations 34, 58, 61
Official War Art Scheme 30, 31, 114, 124
Ombudsman 77
operational service 6, 13, 15
plaque dedication 23, 119, 120
Poppy’s café 60
Pricewaterhouse Coopers 6, 61, 63, 77
prime minister 27, 58, 59, 76, 109, 117
Public Governance Performance and Accountability Act 2013 viii
Public Management Reform Agenda 67
Public Programs x, 9, 12, 15, 48, 49, 52, 57, 60, 62, 77, 113,
Public Service Modernisation Fund 11, 62, 66,
Quilty, Ben 36, 116,
Reading Room 34, 59
Reflections 10,
Remembrance Day xi, 4, 8, 15, 21, 23, 52, 55, 56, 65, 69, 120,128
Returned and Services League of Australia 23, 110, 112, 113,120
risk management 16, 63, 72, 77
Roll of Honour 6, 15, 23, 28, 29, 55, 61, 65
Roll of Honour Committee 5, 6, 61
school wreathlaying xi, 23, 24, 120
Semple OAM BEM, Bob 2, 8, 23
Senior Management Group 61, 62, 63, 78
service charter 61
SMG see senior management group
Social Justice and Equity 77
Soldiers in Residence 51
Spirit of Anzac Centenary Experience 101, 113
Stokes AC, Kerry 2-4, 5, 6, 12, 14, 112
Summer Scholars 58, 129
Tehan MP, The Honourable Dan 12, 76
Treloar 12, 35, 37, 48, 90, 96, 122
TripAdvisor 60
Unknown Australian Soldier 27
Wartime 11, 57, 59, 121, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130
website x, xi, 11, 15, 30, 35, 40, 41, 50, 55, 56, 57, 58, 64, 65,77, 113
Work Health and Safety 16, 68, 72
workforce planning 67
Yule, Peter 57, 131