January 2017

Many of our TripAdvisor reviews recommend spending at least half a day on your visit to the Memorial. See our events calendar or download our summer brochure for the full list of scheduled art talks, behind-the-scenes tours, and children’s activities planned for the school holiday period. Go to our plan your visit page to see more information on maps, tours, and events. General information regarding parking, conditions of entry, and cafe details can also be found here.

The TripAdvisor website has some great tips from past visitors, so please be sure to leave a review after your visit to the Memorial!

If you are flying into Canberra during the holidays, be sure to take a moment to see our fully restored Lockheed Hudson Mark IV Bomber, on display inside the Canberra Airport near the Virgin Australia check-in counter. We’d love to see some images on our social media accounts, so feel free to post something when you visit!

There’s plenty to keep the entire family occupied at the Memorial these January school holidays. Programs include: story time sessions suitable for pre-school aged children; the Discovery Zone, a favourite with children of all ages; family tours, including stories behind objects in our galleries; and hands-on history sessions giving children the opportunity to try on uniforms and hear incredible stories of Australians in wartime. Visit our events calendar for full details.

See the Memorial in a different light during our late-night openings of the Commemorative Area. Voluntary guides will offer insights into the space and the stories of those listed on the Roll of Honour. Listen to the recorded voices of Australian school children reciting the names of the men and women who died serving our nation during the First World War. As the sun sets, visitors can watch as names from the First World War Roll of Honour are projected onto the dome above the Memorial’s Hall of Memory.

Fridays and Saturdays from 1 to 30 January, 7.30 pm to 10 pm.

The darkest days of the Second World War, when the Allied powers suffered humiliating defeats and significant losses, are explored in the latest issue of the Memorial’s military history magazine, Wartime.

The latest issue of Wartime is on sale from mid-January, visit our website to purchase your copy.

Australian stories from the battles for Malaya and Singapore

Friends of the Memorial are invited to join a special 75th anniversary gallery presentation on the Australian campaign in Malaya and Singapore, from 2.30 pm to 3.30 pm, 24 January 2017.

For Country, for Nation tour

Yaama!*

As a special event for Friends of the Memorial, please join us for a tour of the new exhibition For Country, for Nation, from 11 am to 12 pm, 17 January 2017.

(*”Hello” in the traditional language of the Gomeroi people of New South Wales)

See our website for more information on how to join our Friends of the Memorial program.

The Spirit of Anzac Centenary Experienceis the flagship event of the national Centenary of Anzac program. More than 200 artefacts from the Memorial’s National Collection are included in the exhibition, which recently closed in Port Augusta having welcomed more than 242,000 visitors during its run.

The exhibition will be on display in the Eaton recreation centre near Bunbury from 11 to 16 January before moving to Kalgoorlie, then back to the east coast in February for display in Geelong, Newcastle, and Orange. The Spirit of Anzac Centenary Experience will end its tour in Sydney in April 2017.

Tickets are free, but bookings are recommended. For more details and to book tickets visit www.spiritofanzac.gov.au

Join us at 12 pm on Wednesday 25 January for a behind-the-scenes look at newly acquired prints from Otto Dix’s monumental portfolio Der Krieg (The War), an enduring visual record of the human consequences of the First World War.

Bookings are essential and close Monday 23 January.

To book for behind-the-scenes tours please email public.programs@awm.gov.au or phone (02) 6243 4473

Join Research Centre staff for a 20-minute introduction to researching the military experiences of a family member. Find out what you need to know and where to find it.

Wednesday 1 February 11.30 am, Research Centre Reading Room. This is a free event. Visit our website for all the details.

The summer holidays are here again, and with them come the annual Australian War Memorial Sunday film screenings. Join us this year to watch a collection of films exploring the dynamics of journalism and the risks of documenting conflict. All screenings start at 1.30pm, are free, and will be accompanied by a short introduction by experts from the Memorial. This is not a ticketed event, so get in early to guarantee yourself a seat.

Sundays 22 and 29 January, 5 and 12 February, 1.30 pm, BAE Systems Theatre. Entry is free. Visit our website for details.

Captured on glass, printed into postcards, and posted home, the photographs made by the Thuillier family enabled Australian soldiers to maintain a fragile link with loved ones in Australia. The Thuillier collection covers many of the significant aspects of Australian involvement on the Western Front, from military life to the friendships formed between soldiers and civilians.

The collection will be on display at the Glasshouse Gallery, Port Macquarie, until 5 February 2017. Visit our website for tour details.

Visit our online shop for the latest range of military history books, unit histories, biographies and educational resources.