Heavy lifting: The woman behind the Australian War Memorial’s biggest moves

At the heart of the Australian War Memorial’s ambitious development are logistical feats of enormous proportions—moving dozens of the most significant and weighty objects in Australia’s national collection back onto display.

From aircraft to sculptures, each piece tells a story of service and sacrifice.

Behind the scenes of every move, ensuring these artefacts reach their new home safely, is Kassandra Hobbs—a woman whose expertise in object movement is second to none.

“We moved Simpson and his donkey to the new Main Entrance,” she said, referring to one of the War Memorial’s most beloved sculptures.

“We carefully moved the Stone of Remembrance to the new Parade Ground and each of these objects in our collection has a story, and my job is making sure we can tell that story without damaging the artefacts themselves.”

Ms Hobbs was responsible for the decant of Anzac Hall in 2021 and she will now be refilling the Memorial’s new Anzac Hall, coming full circle.

Ms Hobbs has a background in history and collection management, spending 16 years across various Memorial departments. During that time she has spent six years mastering the delicate and often perilous process of relocating priceless artefacts.

Ms Hobbs has been leading the charge in one of the most complex manoeuvres in the Memorial’s history – moving the C 130 Hercules nose from Campbell to Mitchell, and then back to Campbell.

“The Hercules move is going to require two cranes to load onto the truck, specialised mounts, and a detour of 38.1 kilometres—nearly three times the normal distance—due to height restrictions under Canberra’s light rail,” she said.

“My job involves a lot of communications and paperwork. We have ACT Police, the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator, specialised transport teams, aircraft specialists and engineers all working together to make it happen.”

Each move requires meticulous planning. For the Hornet fighter jet, which is wider than the C-130, tree trimming, electrical line adjustments, and road signage removal has to be arranged.

The mathematics involves precise calculations ensuring that cranes can handle the load, the ground can support the weight, and every piece fits together like an enormous puzzle.

“There’s a lot of maths,” she said. “Each crane has a different reach and weight limit. The engineering studies tell us the pressure on the outriggers, and then we bring in geotechnical experts to make sure the ground can handle it. I always have a tape measure on me—every placement has to be exact.”

Despite the highly specialised nature of her work, Ms Hobbs is often the only woman in the room.

“I don’t come across many other women doing this,” she said. “I feel I get questioned more—especially by people who don’t know me. But if you have all your documentation in order and you know what you’re doing, people start to take you seriously.”

The former administration staffer played a key role in redesigning and relocating aircraft into the Treloar E facility and now she’s coming full circle, overseeing the return of some of those same objects to their new homes in the redeveloped Anzac Hall.

“It’s fascinating to get to know these objects,” she said. “Historians tell their stories, but I understand them in a different way— we have to know where their centre of gravity is, how they’re put together, how they need to be supported and lifted.”

Director of the Australian War Memorial, Matt Anderson, said: “With every move, from tiny lucky charms to the C-130 Kassandra ensures that history remains intact and each of her teammates are safe at the end of the day.

“From military aircrafts to the Stone of Remembrance, her work isn’t just about logistics—it’s about preserving the past for future generations.

“Moving into Anzac Hall will be huge piece of work for Kassandra, her team and the whole of the Memorial, but this isn’t about scale - it is about stories.”

Contact: 02 6263 6628 media@awm.gov.au 0449 775 688