The Shrine of Remembrance, one of the largest Memorials in Australia and situated on the outskirts of the Melbourne CBD, was built as a Memorial to All who have served in War and also commemorates Service in all Armed Conflicts and Peacekeeping Operations.
The Shrine consists of 4 levels.
The Undercroft Visitor Center
The Crypt-which contains a bronze statue of a father and son and panels listing every unit of the Australian Imperial Force
The Sanctuary-At the center of the Sanctuary is the Stone of Remembrance.
This is a marble stone sunk below the pavement, so that visitors must bow their heads to read the inscription on it...
GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN
The Balcony
All surrounded by 13 hectares of beautiful parklands known as the Shrine Reserve
These contain Monuments and Remembrance Trees.
The Lone Pine has been grown from one of the 5 seeds of a pinecone taken from the single pinetree at Gallipoli by a soldier serving with the 24th Battalion.
The External Design for the Shrine is based on the Tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus and the Parthenon in Athens
The Shrine was opened in 1934 by Prince Henry the Duke of Glouchester and son of King GeorgeV before a crowd of 300,000 people.
Since then, it has been a growing monument, with other memorials added to the site to mark the service of successive generations, such as the Second World War Forecourt and the Remembrance Garden – Post 1945 Memorial
To those who may require accommodation near the Shrine of Remembrance, view the Melbourne City Accommodation page or click on the banner below.
Click on any of the links below for more information. There is also another Book store further down the page.
Australia at War Aboriginal - non-Aboriginal relations, multiculturalism, government and war are some of the most important themes to have shaped Australia...
Australians at War This updated edition vividly describes Australia's battles from the Boer War to Iraq.
A very special feature of the Shrine of Remembrance is the Ray of Light.
A ray of light falls on the word Love on the Sacred Stone of Remembrance every 11th day in November at 11:00am.
This time and date mark the anniversary of the end of hostilities in the Great War-termed The Armistice
A simulation of this happening is held for the visitors every half hour.
The Eternal Flame
After World War II a cross shaped Forecourt was built which includes 3 Flag poles, the Eternal Flame and the Cenotaph a tall pillar constructed of Harcourt Granite.
Inscribed on its surface are the names of the defense forces, together with the theaters of war they served in.
At the top of the Cenotaph is a basalt sculpture of six servicemen carrying a bier with a corpse, draped by the Australian flag. The sculpture symbolizes the debt of the living to the dead.
A water garden on the eastern slopes of the Shrine Grounds commemorates the post 1945 armed conflicts.
Today Locals and Tourists alike visit the Shrine of Remembrance now serviced by the Visitors Centre and Education Centre.
Over 90 Voluntary Guides conduct daily tours.
"Commando": Anzacs at War Suitable for those whose comic-book battle lust has been stirred by Nazi cries of 'Auslander schweinhund!' or Japanese shrieks of 'Banzai!', this work transports them right back into fictional combat situations they'd forgotten, and a new generation can discover how Commando turns ordinary men into heroes.
Anzacs at War Through over 15 beautifully recreated facsimile documents, including maps, diaries, official reports, telegrams and personal letters, Anzacs at War shows why, more than any other fighting force in history, Anzacs have been praised for their courage, endurance, skill, good humour and comradeship.
We Were the Rats A timeless Portrait of the Aussie Diggers. A fiction featuring the Rats of Tobruk in North Africa during World War II.
Dusty Amateurs...of Such Were the Rats of Tobruk In this gripping memoir Felix recalls the eight-year period following the Munich Crisis of September 1938. The action takes place in eight countries, mainly in the Near East and North Africa. During nearly five years of life under fire, his 25-pounder Royal Horse Artillery Regiment was part of the Army of the Nile and the Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Armies.
Heroes of Tobruk It is 1940 and sixteen-year-old Peter Fullerton and his best friend Tony Cantonelli lie about their age to enlist in the army. Tony also lies about his name - Australia is at war with Italy, and suspicion has been added to the racism he already encounters.
Men of World War II: Fighting Men at Ease The long awaited follow up to the original "At Ease" presents 160 new, never before published photographs of WWII Navy men. These photos are not the combat images so often displayed; instead, these are disarmingly winsome and playful pictures that capture the innocence of a lost era.
Australia's Vietnam War Comparatively little is known about Australia's experience — its motives for entering the conflict, national support for Australia's role there, and how that nation dealt with the aftermath of war. Australia's decision to participate in the conflict was part of a collective Western effort to stop Communist expansion. It was also a price willingly paid for assurances of American intervention in the event of an Indonesian attack on Australia.
Don't forget if you want to stay in the heart of this beautiful city and take full advantage of what Melbourne has to offer then just click the banner below and choose accommodation that suits your budget.
Take a look at this great video made by a fellow Melbournian.
It really shows the Shrine of Remembrance in all its glory.
from The Shrine of Remembrance
