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Heart of the land they loved

When Walter Burley Griffin won the Federal Capital Design Competition in May 1911, there was no need to incorporate a site for an Australian War Memorial. However, nothing could have prepared Australians for the events of the Great War. By 1918 a national monument to the service and sacrifice of those who had died and those who had served became essential to Canberra’s design.

Politics will always divide Australians, but our shared losses and the desire to remember the qualities we have held dear in times of adversity will bring us together. Perhaps more so than any other aspect of this city, commemoration makes Canberra the true heart of the nation.

Establishment of the Australian War Memorial

Collection Item C172376

Accession Number: ART09852

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

As few of those grieving over the loss of their loved ones would get to Gallipoli or the Western Front, Charles Bean conceived the idea of an Australian war memorial.
Read more about the establishment of the Australian War Memorial...

 

Hall of Memory

Collection Item C13978

Accession Number: 042349

Aldo Rossi (left), Severino De Marco (centre) and Napier Waller, examining the mosaic prior to ...

The Hall of Memory, set above the Pool of Reflection, is at the heart of the Australian War Memorial.
Read more the Hall of Memory...

 

Planting of Lone Pine

Collection Item C158968

Accession Number: RELAWM12479

Wreath of red poppies from ceremony to plant Lone Pine tree at Australian War Memorial, 1934

Turkish troops had felled nearby pine trees to fortify their trenches and only a solitary one remained on the afternoon of 6 August 1915, when the battle of Lone Pine began.
Read more about planting of Lone Pine...

 

Continuing centre for commemoration

Collection Item C1228076

Accession Number: ART93385

Sketch for 2008 Dawn Service commission

When Australia’s official war correspondent Charles Bean envisioned the Australian War Memorial, he pictured a place that would not only hold records and relics of war, but one that would also commemorate the Australians who lost their lives fighting for their country “on some hill-top still, beautiful, gleaming white and silent”.
Read more about commemoration

Learn More About Canberra's Military History
Back to Salute: Canberra's Military Heritage

Last updated: 25 November 2021

Explore the Collection

Explore the Collection

Our collection contains a wealth of material to help you research and find your connection with the wartime experiences of the brave men and women who served in Australia’s military forces.

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The Donations and bequests

Donations & Bequests

Your generous donation will be used to ensure the memory of our Defence Forces and what they have done for us, and what they continue to do for our freedom remains – today and into the future.

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The placesofpride

Places of Pride

Places of Pride, the National Register of War Memorials, is a new initiative designed to record the locations and photographs of every publicly accessible memorial across Australia.

Find out more
Canberra Highlands in Grayscale

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF
TRADITIONAL CUSTODIANS

The Australian War Memorial acknowledges the traditional custodians of country throughout Australia. We recognise their continuing connection to land, sea and waters. We pay our respects to elders past and present.
Location map of The Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial building

The Australian War Memorial

Treloar Crescent
Campbell ACT 2612
Australia
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The Australian War Memorial

Treloar Crescent

Campbell ACT 2612

Australia

 

Opening Hours

10 am to 5 pm daily (except Christmas Day)

 

In preparation for the daily Last Post Ceremony,

galleries are progressively closed from 4 pm.

 

Public entrance via Fairbairn Avenue, Campbell ACT 2612

Book your ticket to visit: awm.gov.au/visit

 


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