The Australian War Memorial

Friday night in Canberra I finally got to visit the Australian War Memorial, a place I have been very keen to see for many years.  Our Welcome function was held here for the Human Brochure weekend, and we got a glimpse into this iconic and very moving site to honour those who have served and been lost in war for Australia.

We arrived as the sun was out, and the moon featured above the sandstone building.  From the front steps, we could see the roads leading to Parliament House, and to the side a statue to remind us of the Samson and his Donkey story from Gallipoli.

Our groups gathered and took in the building, before being invited inside.  We were able to explore the commemorative courtyard, take in the mass of names and poppies along the Roll of Honour, and also experience the Hall of Memory.

Such a beautiful place, with the reflecting pool taking in the balconies above.  Walking along the Wall of Honour, the sheer number of names was incomprehensible, and was a solemn mark of remembrance for all battles Australian soldiers have been been involved in and lost their lives.

At the end of the commemorative courtyard was the stunning Hall of Memory, with the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Solider, representing all who have given their lives for our nation.

The Hall features stained glass windows, and mosaic pieces, each with significant wartime significance to the our servicemen and women.

Our evening featured welcomes from the Memorial, and the Australian Capital Tourism who had brought us all here to see what Canberra has to offer visitors.

We were then invited to walk through the Orientation Gallery, out into the Aircraft Hall.  It was clear there was so much to access on a normal visit to the Memorial, and this wander was a taste of the rich volume of wartime history collected here in the one place.

The Aircraft Hall featured many of the planes used in the World War I conflict, which was just mind-boggling to see, given the standards of plane travel today.

Here, we were treated to a film produced by Peter Jackson, and then offered talks of the various features of this area of the Memorial.

Seeing just a portion of the Memorial like this just affirmed my long held desire to be here for an ANZAC Day Dawn Service.

It has also made me realise that I will need to allow plenty of time to take it all in properly, because there is so much to take in, and so many sections to visit to get the full wartime history on display.

This post is part of the #humanbrochure weekend to showcase Canberra as a destination, which I attended as a Plus One, with Carly Findlay.  We were part of the Food and Wine Stream, in the Australian Capital Territory Tourism initiative.