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Origins of the Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial in Canberra ranks among the world's great national monuments. Sharply etched grandeur and dignity in its stylised Byzantine profile, contrast with a distinctively Australian setting among lawns and eucalypts, at the head of a wide ceremonial avenue: ANZAC Parade. Kangaroos, occasionally straying from nearby bushy hills, add to the physical impact.
The Memorial is more than a monument. Inside the sandstone building with its copper-sheathed dome, selections from vast national collections of relics, personal and public records, art and media are employed to relate the story of a young nation's
experience in world wars, regional conflicts and international peacekeeping. The story begins at the time sailing ships first brought European settlers, convicts and military from England in 1789 - and extends to the present.
The complex, its contents and wide-ranging activities, form the core of the nation's
tribute to the sacrifice and achievement of 102,000 Australian men and women who died serving their country and to those who served overseas and at home. A central commemorative area surrounded by arched alcoves but open to the sky, houses the names of 102,000 fallen - on the bronze panels of the Roll of Honour. At the head of the Pool of Reflection, beyond the Flame of Remembrance, stands the towering Hall of
Memory, with its interior wall and high dome clad in a six-million-piece mosaic. Inside lies the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier - an official war grave and national shrine.