Located in Hyde Park in Sydney, Australia, the Anzac Memorial was erected to immortalize the memory of the men and women from New South Wales who served in World War I. Featuring distinctive Australian imagery and symbolism, it’s aim was not to glorify the war, but to instead emphasize the stakes associated with it. In doing so, the Anzac Memorial has been able to make a powerful impact on the culture of Sydney and Australia as a whole.
Commemorating All Australians from World War I
The first practical effort to erect a permanent memorial in New South Wales came on the first anniversary of the landing at ANZAC Cove on 25 April 1915. The intention was to memorialize all Australians who lost their lives in service during the First World War, not just the soldiers from the Gallipoli campaign to whom the term “Anzac” was first attached. The term “Anzac” began as an acronym for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps in World War I, but it was soon accepted as a word in its own right.
Opening in 1934, the building’s exterior is adorned with several bronze friezes, carved granite relief panels and twenty monumental stone figural sculptures representing the various Australian armed forces and support units. Immediately to the north of the Anzac Memorial is a large rectangular “Lake of Reflections”.
While the exterior was designed as a sculptural monument, the interior features several different areas and places that enable different experiences. The “Hall of Silence” is in the middle of the building and features the sculpture “Sacrifice” located in the center. The ceiling curves up toward the carved marble banister that defines the Well of Contemplation, a large circular opening in the floor of the level above. This opening provides the only natural lighting for the Hall of Silence and has the effect of focusing that light onto the central “Sacrifice” sculpture.
The “Hall of Memory” is a circular room located directly above the “Hall of Silence”. The “Hall of Service” is a civic space that architecturally and artistically mirrors the Hall of Silence. It features “the home soil”, which are eight walls that display soil from 1,701 New South Wales’ towns, cities, suburbs and homesteads given as a home address by First World War enlistees.
Elsewhere in the museum, visitors can see displays of uniforms from all theatres of conflict, videos, paintings, trench art, models, and correspondence from those who served. The Anzac Memorial holds a significant historical collection of approximately 6,000 objects that tell the personal stories of servicemen and servicewomen and their families.
All of these experiences are directly tied into the cultural and economic impact that the Anzac Memorial has been able to generate.
The Focus of Commemoration Ceremonies
The memorial is the focus of commemoration ceremonies on Anzac Day, Remembrance Day and other important occasions. Additionally, the Hall of Service functions as a greeting and orientation space for the public which includes tour groups and school children. It is also a venue for ceremonies and functions, flowing onto exhibition galleries and education facilities.
The Anzac Memorial also has numerous spaces for hire. The Memorial’s Hall of Service functions as a greeting and orientation space for guests. The Hall flows onto the Exhibition Gallery, the library, conference room and auditorium. Visitors are able to see into the Memorial’s Hall of Memory where Sacrifice stands via sightlines up the grand stairwell. The open Oculus connects guests to the Memorial’s façade, providing them with a memorable experience.
The Anzac Memorial is open every day and is free to enter, but supporting the Memorial as a volunteer, a donor or by donating objects to the collection is a simple process. The gift shop also contains a variety of items for purchase that serve a vital source of revenue for the monument.
The way in which the Anzac Memorial has been able to become an essential element of maps and walking tours illustrates the direct and indirect impact it has had on Sydney. That difference has created a legacy which is about much more than the stakes of war.
A Magnificent and Monumental Nature
Just like the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, the Anzac Memorial features a principal commemorative space along with exhibition spaces set within a formal landscape. While there are many similarities to that memorial and many others, what makes the Anzac Memorial different is a dedication to creating something of a magnificent and monumental nature. That allowed the efforts to remember and honor the sacrifices made during World War I to carry through multiple eras and other conflicts.
It’s something that has come through to the present to create a legacy that continues to drive the culture and economy of Sydney in the present and for the future.
