The War Memorial’s new Atrium and Anzac Hall were opened earlier this week. The Memorial's media release summed up: 'Visitors now can visit three major new galleries on modern conflicts: Afghanistan, Peacekeeping, and the Middle East. The new space also houses dynamic reimagined displays from the Second World War including G for George in Bomber in Command, Milne Bay and Sydney Under Attack.'
The Governor-General and the Prime Minister gave copybook remembrance-related speeches. The Governor-General mentioned Charles Bean three times while the PM paid tribute to the crews of the Lancaster bomber, G for George, flying 'against the odds, ever deeper into enemy skies', without mentioning the destruction wreaked among German civilians on the ground.
Memorial Council Chair Kim Beazley said the new space 'gets everything right'. Detracting somewhat, however, from the atmosphere as it built up to the big reveal was media speculation about whether Ben Roberts-Smith would attend (he called in sick and didn’t arrive, but his former boss and ex-Chair of the Council, Kerry Stokes, did, along with various politicians, including Senator Hanson, who had hoped to meet BRS).
The opening was a stage for many small dramas. Sky News, the Opposition Leader, and Senator Babet (from the Clive Palmer cohort) made a fuss about the absence of the National Anthem and/or the length of the Welcome to Country. The first was a decision by the Memorial, the second mostly out of its control.
Professor Peter Stanley pointed to the absence of historians among the invitees:
On the day of the gala opening of the new Australian War Memorial galleries I joined a regular gathering of military historians (in the AWM cafe). Of the dozen or so present (who had published about 100 books between them) not one had been invited to the event, not even the former AWM assistant director. The sword, it seems, is mightier than the pen.
The Memorial’s head of communications allegedly got into a dispute with a press photographer about the placement of lighting. Memorial Director Anderson’s comment on this last incident also invoked Charles Bean: 'I am reminded daily of the critical role journalists play in society, not least because the Memorial was the vision of Charles Bean, Australia's First World War Official Correspondent'.
Bean's work had overlooked the Australian (Frontier) Wars. They were still missing on the day of the big reveal. The closest we came was at the start of the Governor-General's remarks: 'I pay my respects to elders, past and present, and all First Nations people here today, particularly those who have served our nation in uniform' (emphasis added).
The Memorial's presser glossed over the future prospects for recognition of the Australian (Frontier) Wars: 'The AWM is still in the process of completing galleries with the Pre-1914 and Discovery Zone Interactive Learning Centre to be delivered in 2028. The Pre-1914 galleries are currently recruiting for experts.'
No mention there that the Pre-1914 galleries are to include the Australian Wars and that the experts sought are First Nations. The inconsistency between the Memorial's successive messages is puzzling, to say the least.
Canberra Times 12 November 1941 reports the opening of the Memorial
Picture credit: view of the Parade Ground and Stone of Remembrance at the Memorial from the new front steps, December 2024 (supplied).
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