Australian War Memorial

Australian War Memorial Shrine, Museum, Archive

This page contains names & images of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
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The Memorial encourages respectful & appropriate discussions. We have a zero-tolerance policy on soliciting, discrimination or bullying. This website contains names, images and voice of deceased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This website contains war-related material, including images which some people may find confronting and disturbing.

Legacy Week was officially launched at the Australian War Memorial yesterday, with a commemorative ceremony recognising ...
01/09/2026

Legacy Week was officially launched at the Australian War Memorial yesterday, with a commemorative ceremony recognising Legacy's enduring support for the families of Australian veterans.

Legacy representatives from clubs across Canberra and southern New South Wales took part in the ceremony, joined by the Governor-General, Her Excellency the Honourable Ms Sam Mostyn AC, who delivered an address.

For more than 100 years, Legacy has stood beside the partners and children of those who served. This week's appeal helps make sure that support continues.

Legacy Week runs until Saturday 5 September.

🔗 Learn more: https://brnw.ch/21x5kKi

Today marks Malaya and Borneo Veterans’ Day, where we commemorate those who served in the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960) ...
31/08/2026

Today marks Malaya and Borneo Veterans’ Day, where we commemorate those who served in the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960) and the Indonesian Confrontation (or Konfrontasi, 1962–1966).

We pay tribute to the 61 Australians who lost their lives in these conflicts, whose names are listed on the Roll of Honour.

In the Last Post Ceremony for today, we commemorate the life of Private Robert Charles Moncrieff, who was killed during the Indonesian Confrontation in 1966. Watch live at 4.30 pm AEST: https://brnw.ch/21x5jlI

Image: Phillip Oliver Hobson. A Daimler Ferret armoured car escorts unidentified soldiers from 'stand by' platoon, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 2RAR. 1956, Malaya, HOB/56/0751/MC.

This Family History Month, staff from across the Australian War Memorial are sharing personal connections to family memb...
29/08/2026

This Family History Month, staff from across the Australian War Memorial are sharing personal connections to family members who served, and to the records, photographs and objects that help tell their stories.

From a nurse’s cape and a wartime wedding dress to letters, souvenirs, service records, personal memorabilia and treasured family photographs, these stories show how family history can be found in many forms.

If you’re looking to research your own family’s military service, the Research Centre team at the Charles Bean Research Centre can help you get started, with access to records, collection material, research guides and expert assistance.

🔗 Learn more: https://brnw.ch/21x5iXl

Today's Last Post Ceremony honours the life of Lance Corporal Mervyn “Merv” McDonald, who was killed while serving in Af...
28/08/2026

Today's Last Post Ceremony honours the life of Lance Corporal Mervyn “Merv” McDonald, who was killed while serving in Afghanistan in 2012.

Lance Corporal Mervyn McDonald was travelling aboard a United States helicopter alongside Private Nathanael Galagher when it tragically crashed in Uruzgan Province on 30 August 2012.

The incident occurred during the deadliest 24 hours for Australia since the days of the Vietnam War. During the same 24-hour period, three other Australian soldiers were killed in a devastating “green on blue” attack.

Remembered by those closest to him as positive, humble and professional, Merv served in the Australian Defence Force for 13 years and deployed to Afghanistan six times.

▶️ Join us at 4.30 pm AEST as we share his story and remember his service: https://brnw.ch/21x5iiQ

Image: Official portrait of Lance Corporal Mervyn McDonald, who was killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan on 30 August 2012.

27/08/2026

Now open: Treasures from the National Collection 🖼️✨

Discover iconic works by Sidney Nolan, Nora Heysen, Ivor Hele and other celebrated Australian artists in this brand-new exhibition, introduced by Senior Curator of Art Anthea Gunn.

🔗 Learn more: https://brnw.ch/21x5gvr

26/08/2026

Australia’s Frontier Wars are a complex and deeply personal part of our national story.

In this special episode of 'Through Their Eyes', Rachel Perkins, the Hon. Tony Abbott and Professor Henry Reynolds bring different perspectives to the Frontier Wars, their legacy, and how this history should be understood and remembered

🎧 Listen to the full conversation in 'Through Their Eyes':
Spotify - https://brnw.ch/21x5eAr
Apple Podcasts - https://brnw.ch/21x5eAs
WM - https://brnw.ch/21x5eAt

🔗 To be a part of this important conversation, we invite you to join us at our upcoming conference Imperialism and Resistance: Australia’s First Wars on 17–18 September: https://brnw.ch/21x5eAu

A passport for a dog? In the First World War? Meet Zep - a stray young pup who was found after an air raid near Sermaiz...
26/08/2026

A passport for a dog? In the First World War?

Meet Zep - a stray young pup who was found after an air raid near Sermaize les Bains, France. His new parents, Charles Fryer and Sister Ethel Ubsdell, were humanitarian workers with the Society of Friends and Red Cross.

This passport granted Zep 'official' (not really) permission to travel into military zones with the Society of Friends, visiting hospitals and riding in the front seat of the ambulance. The passport, authorised by pawprint, describes Zep as the following:

Nationality: French
Age: 9 months
Profession: Light infantry
Nose: long, black
Distinguishing features: scratches itself

Happy International Dog Day to the friends who have left their pawprints across our collections and our hearts. 🐕

Accession number: PR86/342
--
📸 Image: Charles Fryer and Ethel Ubsdell at a hospital with their puppy Zep, c. 1916 in Steenvorde, France. P02686.014

24/08/2026

Behind every bomber crew was a much larger team keeping the operation running.

From mechanics and fitters to radar operators and communicators, members of the WAAF and ground crew performed hundreds of vital roles that kept aircraft flying and missions moving.

Many of their stories, and the objects that tell them, are now on display for the first time in our new exhibition.

Read more: https://brnw.ch/21x5aYI

This is no ordinary wheelie bin...On HMAS Toowoomba, it was used specially to dispose of illegal drugs seized during the...
23/08/2026

This is no ordinary wheelie bin...

On HMAS Toowoomba, it was used specially to dispose of illegal drugs seized during the ship’s 2020 deployment to the Middle East region, as part of Operation Manitou. Navy personnel modified wheelie bins in response to health and safety concerns.

For over 30 years, the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has had a presence in the Middle East region. This includes continued involvement in the ongoing multinational naval mission to counter terrorism, smuggling (including illegal narcotics), and piracy.

The traditional method of disposal was to just open the packages over the water. HMAS Darwin developed the 'Illicit Drug Disposal Unit' in 2014, following the accidental ingestion of illicit drugs by members of the ship's company as they disposed of powder-based substances.

By cutting out the bottom of a wheelie bin and adding tubing around the top, it works as a water funnel. When hung over the side of a ship, it flushes away the substances, with less chance of any powder blowing back.

The invention was so successful that it won a Navy Safety Award.

🔍 See it for yourself in the Conflict in the Middle East galleries in Anzac Hall, at the Australian War Memorial.

When Stephen Hall deployed to Afghanistan in 2012, his wife Christine was adjusting to life in a new city and caring for...
23/08/2026

When Stephen Hall deployed to Afghanistan in 2012, his wife Christine was adjusting to life in a new city and caring for their infant daughter. Like many military families, she faced the challenges of deployment largely on her own, balancing everyday life with the constant worry for a loved one serving overseas.

Christine remembers structuring her days around the possibility of hearing from Stephen. She would wake early to check for messages, stop everything when a private number appeared on her phone, and anxiously wait through periods of silence. When casualties occurred and communications were temporarily suspended, the uncertainty became even harder.

As she put it: "You want the phone to ring, not a knock at the door."

When Stephen returned home safely, Christine wanted to capture that moment forever. She chose a tattoo depicting a woman embracing an Australian soldier, a lasting reminder not only of her husband's homecoming, but of the sacrifices made by service personnel and the families who support them.

Help us make a sculpture that honours stories like Christine's, embodying the long months apart, the missed milestones, and the responsibility felt by families that wait at home.

Donate: https://brnw.ch/21x58AV
Recognising Families Sculpture

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