Canberra

This statue honors a man who used his donkey to carry wounded to safety.
He took one trip too many and was killed. Note the poppies.

Over dinner after our tour of the Wagga area, we decided that a visit to Canberra and the Australian War Memorial was in order. Linda and I skipped Canberra on our previous visit to Australia and we had been discussing Australia’s involvement in the various wars. We had also watched a documentary on the Kokoda campaign during World War II. This campaign lasted several weeks as the Japanese tried to reach Port Moresby on the island of New Guinea. This would have given them access to the Australian mainland putting the entire country at risk of invasion. A trail of sorts existed then and now across New Guinea up and down the hills and mountains of the island. Fighting was difficult over this terrain, but eventually the Japanese gave up the campaign and then had to continue the fight as they reversed direction and retreated off the island. Today, the trail is open to trekkers. Kerrie had made the trek with a group a few years earlier, so this campaign is of particular interest.

This view shows off the original plan.

Canberra, Australia’s capital city, was designed to be the capital in 1912 and built over the next several years. An international contest chose the design of American architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. The original vision is still being fulfilled as they are now building a light rail system through the city. The design is a beautiful one that takes advantage of Canberra’s geography. A straight line was drawn between the city’s two high points with the War Memorial at one end and the Parliament building at the other. A lake crosses the line at about the halfway point between the two. The city’s main thoroughfares are designed in concentric circles around this center. Meanwhile the commercial part of town is off to the side so as not to impinge on the view of the two main buildings.

Business district in another direction

We started our tour of the area with a drive up the ANZAC Parade. This broad boulevard is lined with memorials for each of the wars Australia and New Zealand fought in. ANZAC is an acronym for Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. On another visit we will take an hour or two to walk this street and get a closer look at these monuments.  The trees that line the street are native to Australia and the bushes in the center are from New Zealand, so there is lots of green.  

As we approached the War Memorial, we circled around to the back and up Remembrance Driveway to the top of the hill where we had a perfect view of Canberra’s design. Information plaques point out what we are seeing and show the original design elements along with some of the original plans and drawings. It is a great way to begin any tour of Canberra.

Uniform literally taken off the back of a soldier

The Memorial was started by Charles Bean, official World War I historian, while he was serving in France in 1916. He conceived the idea and began collecting artifacts. One of the more amazing artifacts he collected is the uniform of a soldier as he left the trenches after several days of fighting. The soldier was more than willing to trade his wet, moldy, flea-infested uniform for a new one. The display includes all the mud and grime from the uniform and his equipment with the exception of his gun. Someone cleaned the rifle before Bean could stop him. The Memorial also includes a large library of written documents and pictures. David found a picture of his father and had it printed as a keepsake for himself.

After returning down the hill and finding a parking place near the Memorial, we walked across the grounds to the entrance passing several statues and fountains along the way. We entered the Memorial itself just in time to take a guided tour of the building. The four of us were fortunate to be his only guests as we spent the next 90 minutes going through the World War I exhibit, the hall of Victoria Cross recipients, and the Memorial Wall. Most Victoria Cross plaques include their medals include the Victoria Cross. They hope to eventually have them all.

The Memorial Wall fills both sides of a reflecting pool with over 100,000 names of those killed in war. Over 60,000 of these are from World War I. Visitors have adorned the names with poppies. I remember poppies being sold on Veterans Day in the US when I was in elementary school, but that tradition seems to have disappeared at home. We saw poppies still in use in England when we visited there several years ago on Armistice Day. Poppies were first adopted by the American Legion in 1919 and soon the practice of using poppies to commemorate the war dead spread to Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The idea stems from the World war I poem, In Flanders Fields.

After our tour we watched some multimedia presentations. Two of them featured the Lancaster bomber runs. The Lancaster was the main bomber used by British forces during World War II. One of these actually puts visitors in the cockpit and concludes with its being shot down on its return to England. We also watched a short video on the Kokoda campaign. As usual with museums like this we did not have enough time.

Watching the ceremony. The tomb of the Unknown Soldier
is through the door at the back. 

Each day at the Memorial ends with a ceremony honoring one of the soldiers killed during World War I. One name is chosen from the 62,000 to honor. His story is told and wreaths are laid while bagpipes and trumpets play. One of the wreaths is laid by a family member or friend of the family. Others are laid by schoolchildren. Schoolchildren come from all over the country to visit the Memorial every day. They will usually choose one of the names from the wall to research and then the class will present the wreath during the ceremony. It only lasts about ten minutes and was quite moving.

The Old Parliament Building

Aboriginal protest has been her for years. The building in front is their Embassy.

Part of the Aboriginal protest

We finished our visit to Canberra with a drive around the old and new Parilament buildings and through the commercial area. Dinner on the way home was at the Shearing Shed, a roadside pub, where I had lamb shanks. Kerrie said I needed to try them. She loves them now, but while growing up on a sheep ranch, they were simply dog food so it took her a while to grow to love them as an adult. They are cooked so the meat falls off the bone. I was pleased.

We stopped here on our way to Canberra.

The dog waited for his master while he was drinking because he could not cross the swollen river.
The Dog on the Tuckerbox is now a song and this memorial.