Canberra: Australian War Memorial

Each state capital we have visited in Australia has a war memorial. Each town has a “Lest We Forget” monument. Canberra — as the capital of Australia — is home to the Australian War Memorial (AWM).

After a day of resting to jump start our recuperation from whatever bug we had picked up while on the IP, today we headed off to start our Canberra sightseeing at the AWM. (Feeling much better … thank you very much.)

Established in 1925, the idea for the AWM germinated soon after WWI … to honor service members who served and died in WWI. It was unveiled to the public in 1941. The scope has since been expanded to include not only WWII, but other conflicts in which Australians have served.

Admission is free, but requires a timed entry — two hour slots. That was nowhere near enough for us as by the end of two hours we had only covered the WWI exhibits in the museum. No worries, a quick visit to the ticket office extended our time another two hours.

The stories of the Australian men and women who served in military conflicts is told through exhibits, artifacts, and art. There was so much to see and digest. Not to mention share. Not enough time or space to do so in this footprint. So, this one is focused on the art from the museum galleries of the AWM.Read more