Australian War Memorial - History

History

Charles Bean, Australia's official World War I historian, first conceived a museum memorial to Australian soldiers while observing the 1916 battles in France. The Australian War Records Section was established in May 1917 to ensure preservation of records relating to the war being fought at the time. Records and relics were exhibited first in Melbourne and later Canberra.

An architectural competition in 1927 did not produce a winning entry. However two entrants, Sydney architects Emil Sodersten and John Crust, were encouraged to represent a joint design. A limited budget and the effects of the Depression confined the scope of the project.

The building was completed in 1941, after the outbreak of World War II. It was officially opened following a Remembrance Day ceremony on 11 November 1941 by the then Governor-General Lord Gowrie, himself a former soldier whose honours included the Victoria Cross. Additions since the 1940s have allowed the remembrance of Australia's participation in other more recent conflicts.

Directors of the AWM to the present:

• August 1919 – May 1920 – Henry Gullett
• 1920–1952 – Major John Linton Treloar, OBE (1894–1952)
• 1952–1966 – Major J. J. McGrath, OBE ( -1998)
• September 1966 – 1974 – W. R. Lancaster (formerly Assistant Director of the War Memorial)
• 13 January 1975–1982 – Noel Joseph Flanagan, AO
• 1982–1987 – James H. Flemming, AO
• 1987–1990 – Keith W. Pearson, AO
• 1990–1994 – Brendon E. W. Kelson
• 1996–2012 Major General Steve Gower, AO.