Australian War Memorial

From Lone Pine through the indescribable horror of the Somme to the remarkable feats of courage shown on the Kokoda track, this nation’s character and in many ways its soul, was forged in conflict and sacrifice. This pristine and deeply moving memorial, pays tribute to those 102,000 Australians who paid the ultimate price in defending this county and its allies. The Hall of Memory with its vast, yet simple and egalitarian list of the fallen is capable of reducing people to tears.

The museum’s collection has some remarkable items including a bullet ridden boat used in the 1915 Gallipoli landing, a Japanese midget submarine captured from Sydney Harbour and a venerable Avro Lancaster B1 bomber that survived 89 sorties over occupied Europe during World War Two.

However it’s the smaller, more personal items that have the greatest resonance. Letters, cards, drawings and diaries from all theatres of war are represented and are often incredibly sad to read. With such a huge and inspiring collection to view and marvel at, many visitors spend all day at this most ‘Australian’ of places.