Last January, we escaped the intense heat of Melbourne and the tiny airless upstairs flat
by taking a little trip to Canberra. There was a Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition on at the
National Gallery, and my husband had never been to the Australian War Memorial before.
I've been quite a few times.
Canberra was the closest "big" city to the town where I grew up, and thus where culture
lived. So all our school excursions were to Canberra - the War Memorial, Galleries,
Parliament House, the Mint, the Planetarium, the Universities...
The "Remember Me" exhibition was also on display.
We had been devouring this story in the news, of the lost photographs discovered in an attic.
AB had received the book for Christmas to add to his already prolific collection of WWI reading.
You can read more about the collection here:
http://www.awm.gov.au/exhibitions/remember-me/
^ the original rolled canvas backdrop of the photographer.
The photographs have been lovingly restored, hand printed in the style of the day and mounted.
They are beautiful.
Lest We Forget.
After touring the special photographic exhibition, we explored the rest of the Memorial.
I must say, staff ( who are often history buffs and volunteers ) are the kindest,
most helpful and most interested of all staff I think I have ever encountered anywhere.
There were special interest tours, and tours for children, interactive displays,
and on a number of occasions, when looking at a display, a staff member might just
come up and add a little story .. a bit of "did you know..."
I thought they were fabulous!
As always, my favourite pieces were the model displays. I could stare into them
forever, seeing new things and hearing the stories in my mind.
The Vietnam story was very big and loud ..
"G for George"
The Avro Lancaster B1, known with affection as "G for George", has a remarkable history.
"G for George" flew ninety operational missions over Germany and occupied Europe
during the height of the bomber offensive.
With every entry ticket bought coming in we received a red poppy of remembrance.
You could use these to place by your relative's name, or take home if you wish.
It is a very humbling place to be
On our way out, we were also handed a packet of poppy seeds, to plant at home.
Due to the renovation, we haven't done this yet, but we know exactly where they will go.
We will remember them.
1 comment:
Canberra is a pretty cool place to take kids. I have fond memories of family trips there. Questacon, The War Memorial and National Gallery. Also a cafe by a huge lake I ate duck and really enjoyed it. Ironic as we'd just been feeding ducks at the lake scraps of bread.
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