Australian War Memorial – AU$500M Expansion Plans
by Paul Hastings
Australia’s largest collection of artifacts from more than a century of conflict, the Canberra-based Australian War Memorial (AWM), is to undergo a massive expansion of its display galleries, at a cost of just under AU$500 million.
On Thursday November 1st, 2018, the institution’s director, Dr. Brendan Nelson, announced with detailed plans in Parliament House that over a period of nine years, the Memorial’s display space will expand by 83 per cent, adding approximately 10,000 square metres of covered display space, and allowing many of the museum’s larger pieces, such as armoured fighting vehicles and aircraft, to come out of storage and go on public display for the first time. The expansion plans have broad political support including from Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who also spoke at the unveiling of AWM’s plans.
The biggest expansion since the Memorial opened in 1941 will see an increased emphasis on the commemoration of Australia’s post-Vietnam War conflicts such as East Timor, Iraq and Afghanistan,
Announcing the expansion on 1 November 2018, AWM Director Dr Brendan Nelson said just a fraction of the collection is currently on display. “In crowded galleries, the stories of Australian military service from the Boer War through to the First and Second World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam are all largely told,” he said. “Yet, the service of 70,000 young Australians in the Middle East Area of operations of the past two decades currently covers only two per cent of available space. We must tell these stories not years or decades after they have occurred, but now. It is also the stories of families who love and support them.”
Part of the expansion will see redevelopment of existing galleries, such as ANZAC Hall where the Bomber Command themed “Striking at Night” and First World War aviation themed “Over the Front” displays have proved very popular since opening last decade.
Although at this stage no specific aircraft have been identified as forming new displays, significant aircraft such as Department of Aircraft Production (DAP) Beaufort MK VIII A9-557 and Lockheed Hudson MK IV A16-105, which have largely remained in storage since their restoration, may finally go on permanent display.
Richard Mallory Allnutt's aviation passion ignited at the 1974 Farnborough Airshow. Raised in 1970s Britain, he was immersed in WWII aviation lore. Moving to Washington DC, he frequented the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, meeting aviation legends.
After grad school, Richard worked for Lockheed-Martin but stayed devoted to aviation, volunteering at museums and honing his photography skills. In 2013, he became the founding editor of Warbirds News, now Vintage Aviation News. With around 800 articles written, he focuses on supporting grassroots aviation groups.
Richard values the connections made in the aviation community and is proud to help grow Vintage Aviation News.
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