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.

Yolŋu artist Jennifer Dikarr Malarra Roy’s woven World War II plane is more than a striking artwork. It carries Dhäwu-mi...
02/06/2026

Yolŋu artist Jennifer Dikarr Malarra Roy’s woven World War II plane is more than a striking artwork. It carries Dhäwu-mirr, story and memory, preserving community experiences of the 1943 bombing of Yurrwi/Milingimbi Island for future generations.

Through the Australian War Memorial’s Defending Country Indigenous Acquisitions Program, supported by Boeing Australia, First Nations artists are sharing powerful stories of service, survival and cultural strength through contemporary art.

Through works like Dikarr’s woven planes and the Yolŋu led Miringu larrakitj recognising the Northern Territory Special Reconnaissance Unit (NTRSU), the Defending Country program is transforming how Australians understand the past.

These artworks demonstrate that defending Australia includes defending culture, honouring ancestral knowledge, and strengthening First Nations voices.

Photograph: Jennifer Dikarr Roy with World War II Plane (74 x 80 x 30 cm, pandanus, sedge grass & kurrajong fibre). AWM2025.379.1 courtesy of Milingimbi Art and Culture, 2025.

The Boeing Company

31/05/2026

On the night of 31 May 1942, war arrived in Sydney Harbour.

Under the cover of darkness, three Japanese submarines slipped undetected into Sydney harbour to sink Allied warships, targeting heavy cruisers USS Chicago and HMAS Canberra.

One fired torpedo struck HMAS Kuttabul, killing 21 sailors and marking one of the most significant wartime attacks on Australian waters.

Now on display in the Memorial’s new exhibition, Sydney Harbour Under Attack: 1942, the reconstructed Japanese midget submarine stands as a striking reminder of the night war reached Sydney Harbour.

30/05/2026

After weeks of fighting, a shipwreck, and a desperate escape across Crete…

Private James Condliffe made it to the shore - but the last boat was already gone.

His diary captures the moment everything changed.

▶️ Watch as Assistant Curator Rachel Vaughan shares his story, 85 years on.

Private Patrick Ronald Walker, known as ‘Paddy’, served alongside one of the most important members of his patrol - his ...
30/05/2026

Private Patrick Ronald Walker, known as ‘Paddy’, served alongside one of the most important members of his patrol - his tracker dog, Caesar.

After joining the Army in 1965, Paddy was posted to infantry before serving with 5RAR on its second tour of Vietnam as a tracker alongside Caesar. Together, they moved through dense jungle terrain searching for enemy trails, often leading patrols into dangerous and unpredictable conditions.

Tracker dogs like Caesar played a vital role during the Vietnam War, often able to detect danger long before soldiers could see it. During one patrol, Caesar suddenly froze and pointed ahead, alerting the patrol to enemy movement concealed in thick scrub and helping prevent an ambush. Later, as the patrol moved cautiously through the jungle, Paddy spotted a Viet Cong soldier preparing to fire on his comrades and reacted instantly, shooting first and helping protect the patrol from attack.

For Paddy and Caesar, survival depended on their bond, a partnership defined by trust, loyalty and companionship.

Photo: Private Paddy Walker and his tracker dog Caesar, courtesy 5RAR Association.

Today we pause to remember the Sandakan Death Marches, one of the darkest chapters of the Second World War. Of the more ...
29/05/2026

Today we pause to remember the Sandakan Death Marches, one of the darkest chapters of the Second World War. Of the more than 2,400 Australian and British prisoners of war held at Sandakan in Borneo, only six Australians survived.

Their survival was made possible not only by courage and endurance, but by extraordinary acts of humanity and mateship.

Among those survivors were Keith Botterill, Bill Moxham, and Nelson Short. After escaping into the jungle near Ranau, the men were discovered by Barigah, the headman of a local village. At enormous personal risk, Barigah hid the escaped POWs and secretly brought them food, medicine and supplies while Japanese patrols searched the area.

Sadly, one of the escapees, Jim Anderson, died during this period. But Barigah and members of his village refused to give up on the others. Eventually, they were able to connect the surviving men with Z Special Unit operative John “Lofty” Hodges, who helped guide them to safety through the jungle.

Barigah’s bravery was later recognised by the Australian Government, and 40 years after the marches, surviving POWs Short and Botterill returned to Borneo and reconnected with the man who had saved their lives.

As we commemorate Sandakan Remembrance Day this year, we remember not only the suffering and loss, but also the compassion, courage and mateship that endured even in humanity’s darkest moments.

Today, we welcomed the Governor-General of New Zealand Dame Cindy Kiro, who laid a poppy on the Roll of Honour to commem...
28/05/2026

Today, we welcomed the Governor-General of New Zealand Dame Cindy Kiro, who laid a poppy on the Roll of Honour to commemorate Private Wilfred Victor Knight; the first reported death for New Zealand in the First World War.

Knight was born in Otago, New Zealand, before immigrating to Australia and enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force soon after war broke out in 1914. Serving with the 1st Battalion, he landed at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915.

Within days, Knight was seriously wounded during the fighting at Gallipoli. While being evacuated aboard HMAT Seang Choon, he died of his wounds.

News of his death was cabled from the Australian government to Wellington, marking an early and deeply personal reminder of the shared sacrifice that would define the ANZAC story.

Buried at sea by an army chaplain, Private Knight’s story remains a powerful example of the connection between Australia and New Zealand, forged in the first days of the Gallipoli campaign.

Charles Mene was 24 years old when he enlisted for service on 3 September 1939, the day Prime Minister Robert Menzies an...
26/05/2026

Charles Mene was 24 years old when he enlisted for service on 3 September 1939, the day Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced Australia's involvement in the Second World War.

He went on to serve for more than 20 years. Having fought in the Middle East and New Guinea during the Second World War, he was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in Korea, and served during the Malayan Emergency.

When he returned to Australia at the end of the Second World War, he went to enjoy a beer with his mates in Brisbane, but was refused entry: “We don’t serve black men here.”

Born on Mabuiag Island in the Torres Strait, Mene’s family survived on his father’s work as a pearl diver, supplemented by produce from the family’s gardens and food caught from the sea.

“I want to come back to an Australia where my people will have full rights as citizens, to an Australia where Aboriginal children will have the right to education, to work and to a healthy, happy life.”

Image: Corporal Charlie Mene, 2/33rd Australian Infantry Battalion. Photographer unknown, P08297.020.001

More than 100 years ago, a young Australian Flying Corps Lieutenant named John Clifford 'Cliff' Peel had a vision that w...
25/05/2026

More than 100 years ago, a young Australian Flying Corps Lieutenant named John Clifford 'Cliff' Peel had a vision that would change healthcare in remote Australia forever.

While training as a pilot during the First World War, Peel wrote to Reverend John Flynn suggesting aircraft could be used to deliver efficient and cost-effective medical care across the outback. Tragically, Peel was killed in action in France in 1918 at just 24 years old, never seeing his dream come to life.

A decade later, his vision became reality with the creation of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, which continues to provide vital care to Australians in rural and remote communities today. ✈️❤️

Discover Cliff's remarkable story: https://brnw.ch/21x2OzI

Photographs: Clifford Peel and aircraft, 1917, Courtesy of Doug Peel.

Timor-Leste experienced a violent political crisis in April 2006, leading to one of Australia’s largest peacekeeping dep...
24/05/2026

Timor-Leste experienced a violent political crisis in April 2006, leading to one of Australia’s largest peacekeeping deployments: Operation Astute.

Australian, Malaysian, New Zealand and Portuguese personnel helped restore security and provide humanitarian assistance at the request of the Timor-Leste Government.

An estimated 9,700 Australians deployed to Operation Astute between 2006 and 2013 to assist our close neighbour rebuild. This response to the 2006 Timor-Leste crisis saw the largest deployment of amphibious ships by the Royal Australian Navy since the Second World War.

Today, we mark 20 years since the commencement of Operation Astute and recognise the service and partnership that helped restore stability in our region.

Sometimes survival in war comes down to luck.Private Colin John Spence DCM, a schoolteacher from New South Wales, was se...
24/05/2026

Sometimes survival in war comes down to luck.

Private Colin John Spence DCM, a schoolteacher from New South Wales, was serving in Malaya with the 2/18th Infantry Battalion during the desperate fighting against the Japanese advance in 1942. On the night of 26 January, Australian troops successfully ambushed Japanese forces along the Mersing–Jemaluang Road.

In the middle of the gr***de fight that followed, a Japanese officer slipped behind Col’s platoon and swung a sword at his neck. At that exact moment, Col leaned forward to throw a gr***de.

The blade missed killing him by inches.

Instead, it slashed from his shoulder to his hip. Col turned instinctively and shot the officer with his rifle before collapsing from blood loss. He survived 150 stitches, evacuation from Singapore just days before its fall, and even a chance encounter with a Japanese fighter pilot who spotted the Red Cross on his evacuation ship and chose not to attack.

The sword that nearly killed him is now held in the Australian War Memorial’s collection as a reminder of a brave (and very lucky) man.

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