From August 2014 until 2018, we will commemorate the centenary of the First World War, the scars it left and the pride we felt when we emerged from the other side. The events that took place 100 years ago meant a lot to us then and means a lot for our future.
Our vision
Director of the Australian War Memorial, Dr Brendan Nelson describes his vision for the Memorial’s commemoration of the centenary of the First World War.
Centenary projects
The Australian War Memorial will be commemorating the Centenary of the First World War through a variety of projects.
Roll of Honour soundscape
From 4 August 2014 until the end of 2018 the recording of schoolchildren reciting the names of those who appear on the Roll of Honour will be heard throughout the First World War cloisters in the Commemorative Area.
This ambitious project will bring together recordings of each of the more than 60,000 names that appear on the First World War Roll of Honour panels.
A camera on Gallipoli
The Memorial has a digital exhibition that showcases the photographs of Charles Ryan, drawn from an extraordinary private collection assembled during the Gallipoli campaign.
Roll of Honour name projections
From 4 August 2014 until 11 November 2018 the names of each of the more than 60,000 Australians listed on the First World War Roll of Honour panels in the Memorial’s Commemorative Area will be projected onto the exterior of the Memorial building.
Members of the public are invited to watch the projections taking place nightly at the Memorial. Names will be displayed from sunset to sunrise, and each name will appear around 30 times over the course of the four-year period.
Commemorative Crosses project
In early 2013 the Australian War Memorial assisted in the distribution of some 2,000 crosses on which Australian schoolchildren had written messages of hope and thanks for those who have served in Australia’s name. These crosses have since been placed on the graves of First World War Australian soldiers on the western front.
Centenary brand
To represent the Memorial's centenary program, a logo has been developed that takes its inspiration from the iconic Memorial building.
National and international outreach
Throughout the centenary the Memorial will facilitate a number of significant loans to regional, state, and national institutions. The Memorial is also collaborating with international organisations and governments on a range of projects including the exhibition held at Australian Embassy, Washington DC and commitment to the Interpretive Centre at Villers-Bretonneux.
Completed projects
- Spirit of Anzac Centenary Experience
- Mephisto
- Flanders Fields Memorial garden project
- Anzac voices exhibition
- Anzac connections
- First World War dioramas
- Australians at the Great War, Peter Burness
- Anzac Treasures: the Gallipoli collections of the Australian War Memorial, Dr Peter Pedersen
- First World War gallery redevelopment
- The Memorial – documentary to air on FOXTEL
- Memorial lighting
- Gallipoli 1915: a century on conference
- Anzac Day 2015
- Commemorative tapestry commission
- Anzac Centenary Print Portfolio
- Indigenous commemoration
- Aboriginal service during the First World War
- Gallipoli Centenary Commission: David Jolly
Keep in touch with the Memorial’s upcoming centenary commemorations by signing up for our email newsletter, following us on Twitter, and liking us on Facebook.
