Treasures of the Anzac Memorial

For 90 years veterans and their families have donated objects to which they ascribe great value to the Anzac Memorial. Some of those objects are of unquestionable aesthetic and financial value. Some appear quite mundane, their significance requiring explanation and interpretation. All are treasures. This exhibition comprises a selection of treasures of the Anzac Memorial collection. The choices were made by the curatorial and collection management staff. The selection is subjective and by no means definitive. New treasures are being donated all the time. In 1934 Great War veteran, lawyer and author S Elliot Napier wrote of the Anzac Memorial that “as the men of 1914-1918… are gathered to the valley of the shadows” the rooms of the Memorial “will be transformed into reliquaries wherein may be placed such tributes and mementoes to the men of 1914-1918 as may be deemed appropriate. Thus will the Memorial gather to itself its full spiritual message for delivery to future generations of Australians.” We hope that our choices have lived up to the ideals of those of Napier's generation and through their display provide examples of the courage, endurance and sacrifice of those whose…