Tuesday 1 May 2018 - Melinda Martin, Matthew Sleeth, Wendy Sharpe and Tanja Johnston Australian war artists as historians, documenters and first hand witnesses must confront their own experience of the tragedies of war. In partnership with Linden New Art Gallery, join us for a special conversation with two contemporary Australian war artists about their experience in war-torn countries.
Recorded Thursday 8 March 2018 Sister Florence James-Wallace was stationed at Villers-Brettoneaux during the early stages of the 1918 German offensive. She described it as resembling 'Dante's Inferno'. The hospital overflowed with badly wounded men and hundreds more lay in the streets on stretchers needing her nursing skills. This is her story. You can learn more about Sister Florence James-Wallace and other Australian Nurses in Susanna de Vries’s book Australian Heroines of the First World War....
Recorded Friday 13 April 2018. Guest speakers Dr James Villiers and Air Vice-Marshal Tracy Smart AM. For Humanity: Medicine in war and peacekeeping since 1945 is the Shrine's latest special exhibition and can be viewed daily between 10am and 5pm until March 2019. For more stories from our medical personnel, check out the latest edition of Remembrance . Become a Friend of the Shrine for invitations to exclusive events such as exhibition launches and for free entry to our public programs....
Recorded 5 April 2018. In 1918 a few daring low ranking Australian infantrymen, alone among all the armies on the Western Front, initiated stealth raids without orders. Lucas Jordan examines this distinct but neglected group who killed Germans, captured prisoners and advanced the line, sometimes thousands of yards and almost always without command on either side knowing. Stealth Raiders is available for purchase from the Shrine shop ....
Join Shrine Curator Neil Sharkey as he unravels the many myths and legends of the Australian Light Horse in the Middle East. While Australian infantry served in the grim trenches of the Western Front, their Light Horse comrades fought a mobile war against the Ottoman Turks in the desert wastes of Sinai, Palestine and Syria. This special centenary exhibition extends beyond the legendary attack on Beersheba and features paintings by Sidney Nolan, George Lambert and Susan McMinn. The Light Horse: A...
Recorded Friday 23 February 2018. This podcast is an extract from the launch of the Recent Conflict Gallery redevelopment featuring Sergeant David Robertson MG. David started the first of his two deployments to Afghanistan in October 2010. A member of the Royal Australian Artillery, he served as a Joint Fires Officer, accompanying Australian Operational Mentoring Liason Team members on patrol in the Tangi Valley. On 20 March 2011, his patrol came under enemy fire while patrolling through a villa...
Recorded live at the Anzac Day Dawn Service at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne. MC Mr Peter Meehan The Ode recited by Dr Robert Webster OAM Veteran speaker Group Captain Annette Holian In Flanders Fields recited by Ms Sarah Trewick Musical accompaniment by the Australian Army Band Melbourne and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Special centenary talk The immense German onslaught in March 1918 caused Britain’s gravest crisis of the war. The culmination of the Australians’ vital contribution in this climax of conflict was the stunning counter attack at Villers-Bretonneux. Historian Dr Ross McMullin illuminates what occurred. Dr Ross McMullin is an award winning historian and has published many books on military history including Pompey Elliott At War: In His Own Words, Farewell, Dear People: Biographies of Australia’s Lo...
Recorded Wednesday 4 October 2017. Entranced by the myths surrounding the army’s Kokoda campaign in Papua, few Australians appreciate or even know of the role played by the Royal Australian Navy between December 1941 and August 1945. Ian Pfennigwerth demonstrates that our ships and men were in the forefront of the fighting, not in backwaters, and their professionalism and skills in many warfare areas were respected, applied and recognised with awards by US Commanders. This talk was part of a ser...
Recorded Tuesday 26 September 2017. The battle of Polygon Wood, the second of the step-by-step victories east of Ypres, has often been depicted as a relatively straightforward victory: the AIF advanced behind an irresistible barrage that resembled a Gippsland bushfire, and there were inevitable casualties but no major hiccups. This interpretation is fundamentally flawed. Dr Ross McMullin explains why. Ross’s most recent publication Pompey Elliot At War: In His Own Words is available through the ...
Recorded Thursday 7 September 2017. The Shrine of Remembrance was inspired by classical architecture, especially the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Although the Mausoleum did not house the war dead, its decoration depicted scenes of mythical combat common throughout the ancient Greek world, particularly in Athens—where special arrangements were made for the commemoration of the war dead, especially those who fell at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. Th...
Recorded Wednesday 9 Aug 2017. Meet some of our last surviving Second World War navy veterans Jim Paizis, Norm Tame, Hiram Ristrom, Ray Leonard and Pamela Nicholls of the WRANS as they recount tales of their service. From taking part in the Battle of Coral Sea to decoding and encoding war-winning intelligence, these vets reflect upon their time at sea. Chaired by Shrine Trustee Tracey Curro. This talk was part of a series of programs in support of the Shrine’s special exhibition Nerves and Steel...
Recorded Tuesday 15 August 2017. Hear Paul Field discuss his recently released book Gimme Shelter, a collection of stories of endurance, courage and survival told by returned members of the armed forces and other first responders. Paul is joined by Vietnam veteran Don Barnby and Paul Stewart, brother of Balibo Five journalist Tony Stewart. For upcoming talks and events at the Shrine visit shrine.org.au/bookings...
Recorded 25 October 2017. October 23 marked the 75th anniversary of the Battle of El Alamein, one of the turning points of the Second World War. The 9th Australian Division was crucial to the victory of Montgomery’s 8th Army at Alamein. Although the Australians represented only 10 per cent of the 8th Army, they suffered 20 per cent of its casualties in what an admiring British general described as ‘homeric fighting.’ Dr Mark Johnston, author of several books about the 9th Division and Alamein, e...
Recorded Wednesday 18 October 2017 Join Dr David Holloway OAM, historian of the 4th Light Horse, as he reflects one hundred years later on their legendary attack on Beersheba in October 1917. Discover more about this remarkable regiment—Australia’s only unit to fight on all three fronts during the First World War. The Shrine's latest special exhibition The Light Horse: Australians in Middle East 1916–18 has just opened exploring the myths and realities of the legendary Australian Light Horse. On...
Rear Admiral Guy Griffiths AO DSO DSC, Jim Paizis and Margaret Hattersley share memories from their time in the navy during the Second World War. Uncover these and other extraordinary stories of our navy veterans in the Shrine's Nerves and Steel exhibition. On display until July 2018. For more information, visit shrine.org.au/nervesandsteel
Second World War veteran Jim Paizis recounts the day HMAS Colac was almost sunk by Japanese artillery in the Solomons. Uncover more extraordinary stories for our navy veterans in the Shrine’s exhibition Nerves and Steel: Australians in the Pacific 1941 – 45, on display until July 1918. For more information visit shrine.org.au/nervesandsteel
Second World War navy veteran Ray Leonard recounts the fateful day in December 1942 when HMAS Armidale came under attack by thirteen Japanese aircraft off the coast of Timor. Uncover more stories from our navy veterans in the Shrine's Nerves and Steel: Australians in the Pacific 1941–45 exhibition, on display until July 2018. For more information visit shrine.org.au/nervesandsteel...
Over the next few weeks we will be releasing behind the scenes videos and stories from Nerves and Steel:Royal Australian Navy in the Pacific 1941-45 . Nerves and Steel is an historical exploration of the naval battles in the Pacific during the Second World War and Australia's role in securing the ultimate Allied victory. Nerves and Steel will be on display at the Shrine until July 1918. Visit shrine.org.au/nervesandsteel for more information.
Recorded Tuesday 25 July 2017. Join Naval Historian John Perryman for a journey through time from colonial naval days to contemporary operations in the Middle East as he discusses the evolution of naval uniforms, badges and accoutrements. Learn how changing operating environments, climate and even religion have all influenced changes to naval uniform at sea, ashore and in the air.
Recorded Wednesday 14 June 2017 What threads connect Australian soldiers across six decades? Those who travelled to South Africa at the turn of the nineteenth century and to Vietnam in the early 1960s had little idea of what they were to encounter on the battlefield. Their insightful and entertaining letters and diaries position them as men eager to bring honour to their country but expose the differences between their reactions to the war and those of the Australian public. For more information...
Recorded 3 May 2017. Sharon Bown's remarkable 16-year career with the Royal Australian Air Force saw her deployed to East Timor, Bali and Afghanistan. From barely surviving a helicopter crash to commanding a combat surgical team, Sharon's journey is a confronting, but ultimately inspirational account of what our men and women in the military experience, and the price they pay for their service. Join Sharon as she explores her life and career in the RAAF through times of war and peace. For more i...
Recorded 20 April 2017, Maryborough Town Hall The Australian debates about conscription for overseas service in the First World War were unique. Conscription was adopted by almost all other countries fighting the war, including Britain, Canada and New Zealand. Australia was the only country to put the issue to popular vote and to reject it, if only by narrow margins. Why was Australia different? Why did the Hughes government fail where other governments has succeeded? And what was the impact of ...
Recorded Tuesday 30 May 2017. In 1917, Robert Grieve was awarded the highest military honour, the Victoria Cross (VC) medal, for knocking out a machine gun post concealed in a concrete pill-box during the Battle of Messines. Unusual for a VC award, Grieve’s actions were reported by two non-commissioned officers. Hear Philip Powell discuss his research on Grieve and the broader implications of the Battle of Messines on Monash’s 3rd Division. Grieve’s VC is currently on display in the Shrine’s Gal...
Presenter: Neil Sharkey Recorded 11 April 2017 The battles at Bullecourt in April and May 1917 were an unmitigated disaster. Marred by poor planning and disastrous mechanical failures, the battles resulted in more than 10,000 casualties and over 1,000 Australians taken prisoner. Neil Sharkey, Shrine Curator, explores the circumstances which led to this hollo victory on the Hindenburg Line.
Recorded Friday 7 April 2017. The Soldiers' XI explores conflicts in Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan from the unique perspective of cricket. SGT H has played cricket on eleven deployments with the Australian Army: to maintain team resilience, to build rapport with locals, and to de-stress after combat. Cricket once even brought together allies and enemy. Eleven bats each tell a story about war in the twenty-first century. The Soldiers' XI will be on display at the Shrine of Remembrance until March 2...
Recorded Thursday 6 April 2017 During the Second World War, heavy cruiser HMAS Australia (II) protected our nation’s borders, trawled the Atlantic for German battleships and served alongside US forces in the Pacific where she survived both the Battle of Coral Sea and the Battle of Leyte Gulf. She withstood mutiny, the first on an Australian war ship and multiple kamikaze attacks. Join journalist and author Mike Carlton as he delves into the intriguing history of the last ship to bear Australia’s...
Recorded 23 March 2017 For 44 Days in March and April 1942, RAAF Squadron stood alone in Port Moresby between the invading Japanese forces and Australia. By the time relief arrived, the squadron had almost been wiped out. Join author and broadcaster Michael Veitch, as he explores the little-known story of these young recruits and their Kittyhawks. For more information on upcoming talks and events at the Shrine, visit our website ....
Recorded Tuesday 28 March 2017 Panelists: Sergeant David Robertson, recipient of the Medal for Gallantry, was deployed twice to Afghanistan and currently serves as an instructor at Puckapunyal. He now wants to help the community better understand the Afghanistan conflict and how it affected the soldiers who served there. Dr Steven Cooke, Senior Lecturer in Cultural Heritage, is the Course Director of Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies Programs at Deakin University. Alistair Gee, Chief Operatin...
Dr Amanda Laugesen Recorded Friday 10 March 2017 at the Kerang RSL Language provides a fascinating way of approaching and understanding the Australian experience of the First World War, a war like nothing that had come before. Technological innovations generated a new language and slang helped those who fought make sense of their experiences. Join Dr Amanda Laugesen as she explores the language and slang of Australian soldiers during the war. For more information on upcoming talks and event, vis...
