The inauguration of the Australian War Memorial, Canberra, ANZAC Day 1929

McCubbin was commissioned to paint this work of the Australian War Memorial's Inauguration Ceremony, Canberra on 25th April 1929. The Memorial was the result of Charles Bean's vision for a place to remember and commemorate the First World War. The actual building was not officially opened until 11 November 1941, 23 years after the Armistice that halted the First World War and two years after the outbreak of the Second World War. The design for the building itself was the result of an architectural competition in 1927, which failed to produce a satisfactory single design for the building. Two of the entrants in the competition, Sydney architects Emil Sodersteen and John Crust, were encouraged to submit a joint design, incorporating Sodersteen's vision for the building and Crust's concept of cloisters to house the Roll of Honour. The joint design was accepted.
This work is a view from the bottom of Mount Ainslie and looking towards what is now ANZAC Parade and Parliament House. By using a sweeping perspective, McCubbin has captured the crowd of people as well as the bush landscape that dominated Canberra in the early years of its development.