Australian War Memorial

Historically significant diaries of C.E.W. Bean are now online

Robyn Van Dyk — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:03:15 +0000

The notebooks, diaries and folders created by Charles Bean during and after the First World War have immense historic value and are considered to be one of the most significant records created by a single Australian. The collection includes 286 volumes of diaries and historical notebooks recorded by Bean at the time and often at [...]

The diaries of C.E.W. Bean: 11 November 1918

Robyn Van Dyk — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:02:07 +0000

The notebooks and diaries of C.E.W. Bean provide valuable insight into the last days of the First World War. Bean was Australia’s sole official correspondent and he worked assiduously throughout the four years of the war recording events, often from the front line. Charles Bean was staying in Lille, France during November, 1918. He was an experienced [...]

Memorial Film screening at Dendy Cinemas, Canberra

steboy — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:27:36 +0000

War films show soldiers constantly locked in battle and participating in non-stop action – but the reality of war is actually much different. “No Dramas”, a film by Robert Nugent commissioned by the Australian War Memorial, shows what life is really like for our troops deployed to combat zones. Shot in Iraq in April 2006, the [...]

Proactive Collecting with HMAS Parramatta

Alexandra Orr — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:55:05 +0000

HMAS Parramatta (author's collection) The Australian War Memorial faces unique challenges presented by the modern age to its collection development for recent conflicts, including Iraq and Afghanistan. With email, phones and internet communicative tools largely replacing traditional keepsakes such as diaries and letters, this has made identifying and retaining objects of the ADF experience in modern [...]

Wedding dresses

Emma Jones — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:27:14 +0000

Here is the first of several blog posts about the wedding dreses being considered and conserved for our upcoming Of love and war exhibition. Recently the Textile Conservation Laboratory retrieved from storage four wedding dresses that are proposed for the up and coming exhibition Of love and war. Three of the dresses – originally owned Mrs [...]