Charles Bean War Memorial

Conception or idea for War Memorial

The idea for the war memorial came about during the Gallipoli campaign but it was not until after the campaign that action was taken. Charles Bean was impacted by the sufferings faced by the soldiers and he didn’t want the unpleasant experiences and sufferings to be forgotten and lost in history. A month after his idea, a memorial museum was constructed for the Australian soldiers. The main idea of this museum was so that the sufferings of people at war and what they did for the country would not be forgotten.

Roles of Charles Bean and John Treloar

Charles Bean as seen in image 1, was Australia’s first official historian of World War One. In his younger years, he was educated and worked as a journalist

and he was chosen as an official war correspondent. He was placed on shore for the landing of soldiers at Gallipoli and for the remainder of the war he followed the troops movements. Bean saw the experiences of soldiers at war and generated ideas to ensure their experiences and work for the country was not lost. Bean wrote six of the twelve volumes of ‘Official History of Australia in the War 1914-1918’.
John Treloar as seen in image 2, was the director of the memorial between 1920 nd 1952. Like Bean, Treloar was also at the landing at Gallipoli. At the beginning of the memorial, he was appointed as the head of the new section ‘Australian War Records’ in London. For this section he had to collect records and relics so the museum could be continued. At the conclusion of the war he gave most of his life to this museum and had a major influence on most aspects of its development. In 1920 he was appointed as the director of the memorial.
Attempts to build a national collection
Relics and records were collected in attempt to build a large unique collection. The ‘Australian War Records’ section of the memorial was set up in 1917 to ensure Australia held its own collection of relics and records from the war. John Treloar devoted himself to improving this unit and collecting new relics. Other people such as Sid Gullet and Ernie Bailey went into the field to collect new material for the museum. A total of around 25,000 original relics were gathered. There were also appointments with official war artists and photographers to add new images to the museum. There were eighteen official war artists including Will Dyson, George Lambert and Arthur Streeton.

The Melbourne and Sydney Collections
The memorial buildings were constructed in Canberra at the conclusion of the First World War.

Although, there was immediate struggle in gaining public and government enthusiasm towards the project and there was no initial support for it. The Great Depression and financial crash also made it difficult to get going. However, during this period of time exhibitions were held in Sydney and Melbourne for long periods of time which helped to raise awareness and funds. The Australian War Museum officially opened on Anzac Day in 1922 in the Exhibition building in Melbourne. Large crowds were attracted to this museum and they were all positive about it and it received enthusiasm and compliments by both the public and the press. The exhibition was open until 1925 when it moved to Sydney until 1935.

Finding a Permanent home

Charles Bean had a very intricate and definite decision of what he intended and wanted for the memorial. His building idea had to compromise for what he wanted as well as the budget of £250,000.

The Design

Competition
A design competition was held in 1927 in attempt to produce a design for the memorial that would be used. However, none of the entered designs satisfied anyone. Two of the entrants in the competition were encouraged to join their designs and enter it into the competition. This design was accepted and it forms the basic idea of what is able to be seen today in Canberra. The memorial was completed and opened on Remembrance Day on November 11 1941.

Guiding Ideas for the exhibitions
Charles Bean did not want any of the museum to be seen as glorifying the war or to show defeat over the enemy. He wanted the focus to be on what the Australian soldiers contributed to the country and what they had to experience. The sources in the museum could not be mentioned as “trophies” but only relics as it is seen as more respectful towards others involved. Captions for the relics could also not use derogatory terms. Former enemies were to be referred to as generously as Australians are. Exhibition principles and things to avoid in the memorial were written up to ensure everything held respect. Exhibitions are required to be relevant to what has happened and what the public want to see as well as what they should see due to the impact on Australia. They should be engaging and keep the public interested by presenting relics along with stories and information rather than just text to provide different opinions.

Original aim and purpose for the War Memorial
The original aim and purpose of the war memorial was to ensure that everything that the soldiers had done was not forgotten. The current aim and purpose is now to commemorate the sacrifices of soldiers who died during the war. The memorial aims to help Australians remember and understand more clearly the experiences of Australians at war and the continued impact on Australia. It now focuses more strongly on the impact on Australia and for people to understand it.

Incorporation of conflicts post WW1
Before and throughout World War One most relics were collected and maintained by Charles Bean. However, now official histories are commissioned by the government including firsthand accounts like diaries. Since the conclusion of World War One more recent conflicts and battle are being included in the memorial so Australians can know how much of an extent people are suffering. The exhibitions have been using more technology and creative ways to convey stories and experiences.

Construction of additional wings and areas of AWM
The Australian War Memorial is constructed of many different areas each holding a different purpose. The original way that Charles Bean had imagined the memorial looking was having a centre area holding relics and two wings; one with a gallery showing paintings from artists who were on the scene and the other wing as a library for official records. However, additional wings have been constructed onto the existing memorial but hold different purposes to what Charles Bean had imagined. The left wing showcases an exhibition for World War One and the other wing holds an exhibition for World War Two.
Throughout the rest of the memorial there are ten other common and well-known areas.

The commemorative area and roll of honour hold records of over 102,000 names and a place to commemorate the members of armed forces who have died whilst serving the country. The hall of memory is above the pool of reflection where names of soldiers can be seen and the tomb of the unknown Australian soldier lies underneath the dome where souls of the dead are shown to “ascend into heaven”. The dioramas are a physical representation for different battles and assist in showing the devastation and danger caused. The hall of valour also recognises ordinary citizens who faced similar conditions and the Anzac hall shows large displays and stories about Australians who served. The aircraft hall is also an exhibition demonstrating how the aircraft worked and the discovery zone is an educational area where school groups can learn and do hands-on work to assist in understanding. The sculpture garden is a quiet area with a range of sculptures in which much commemoration can

occur.
Commemoration at the AWM
Commemoration at the memorial plays a key role as the main purpose is to commemorate the sacrifices of the soldiers and there are a range of ways that it can take place within the memorial. There are regular Anzac Day and Remembrance Day ceremonies which take place and ceremonial customs and wreath laying also occur as a symbol of remembrance and commemoration for soldiers. An example is seen in image 4 below. The roll of honour also shows the names of over 102,000 soldiers who have died fighting for the country.
Changing uses and purposes of the AWM up to 2018
There are permanent exhibitions sharing information about Australia’s involvement in battles and temporary exhibitions are also held at different times demonstrating other aspects about Australia’s military history. A past temporary exhibitions includes Hearts and Minds: Wartime Propaganda (3 November – 8 April) and a current exhibition is From the Shadows” Australia’s Special Forces. The memorial is now more focused on educating Australians on the effect on Australia. They do this by providing many free talks and ceremonies that can be attended. The current purpose is to commemorate the Australians who have made sacrifices for the country and they present these in different ways to keep the public engaged and to assist them in understanding in different ways.