Evening Commemoration

Join us for a special commemoration on the Northern Forecourt to celebrate our 90th anniversary from 4.45pm. Don’t miss this opportunity to recognise the Memorial in our 90th year.

Treasures of the Anzac Memorial Exhibition

Experience our new exhibition showcasing treasures that have been donated to the Anzac Memorial since its opening in 1934. For 90 years veterans and their families have donated objects to which they ascribe great value to the Anzac Memorial. Some of those objects are of unquestionable aesthetic and financial value. Some appear quite mundane, their significance requiring explanation and interpretation. All are treasures. 

The exhibition is located in the Assembly Hall on the Ground Floor. Open from 9am to 5pm.

Veteran Artist in Residence Exhibition

They Never Returned; Though their Name Liveth for Evermore by Dominic Bartolo shares the stories behind local war memorials including the Anzac Memorial.

In areas of Sydney, many young people would be unaware or oblivious of what the Anzac Memorial and other Great War monuments are and the gravity of what they represent. Few would understand today, that in 1917 the devastated communities of Sydney and wider Australia suffered as a result of the appalling loss of life during the First World War. With nearly all Australians who died in the First World War buried in overseas countries, the Anzac Memorial and the suburban monuments along with the names engraved on them are the only locations that families who had lost a loved one could mourn their loss. Domenic’s work begs us to refocus on the lessons of courage, endurance and sacrifice our memorials represent.

The exhibition is located in the Auditorium on Lower Ground Floor. Open from 9am to 5pm.

Family Activities

Pick up one of our Family Discovery Trail booklets for a family friendly self-guided journey through the Memorial. With illustrations that can be coloured in at home and family-friendly activities designed to help you on your Anzac Memorial journey, your family can reflect on your visit long after you’ve left.

After you’ve completed the trail, stop by our colouring in station and create your own postcard as memento. The station will be open from 10am to 3pm in in the Centenary Extension opposite the Security desk.

Treasures of the Anzac Memorial Lecture 

Welcome to our treasures. In this lecture, our Senior Historian & Curator Brad Manera will give an overview of the treasures featured in our new exhibition, Treasures of the Anzac Memorial. Discover some of the unique objects that have been donated to the Memorial since 1934.

The talk will take place in the Auditorium on the Lower Ground Floor from 10am to 10.30am.

Service of Remembrance and Star Ceremony

At 11.00am each day, the Memorial pauses for a Service of Remembrance. The commemoration includes the recitation of the Ode and a live bugle call of the Last Post and Rouse in the Hall of Memory. Following the Service, visitors are welcome to release a commemorative star bearing the name of an Australian serviceman or woman killed on active service into the Well of Contemplation.

Loyal Creatures Live Performance

Don’t miss this rare chance to see Morris Gleitzman’s powerful monologue performed by one of the Anzac Memorial's resident actors. Usually only available for school performances, this is the story of a boy who lies about his age and enlists in the Australian Light Horse with his dad and his beloved horse, Daisy. Experience this emotional journey from the plains of Mudgee to the charge at Beersheba. Suitable for ages 10 and over.

The performance will take place in the Auditorium on the Lower Ground Floor from 11.30am to 12.00pm.

Treasures Mini Talk and Live Reading | Major John Chauncy Champion de Crespigny Collection

The Anzac Memorial is home to a remarkable collection of artefacts that belonged to Major John Chauncy Champion de Crespigny who was captured on Java in March 1942 and spent the rest of the war as a POW. The collection includes the covert pencil scribbled diaries he kept, a set of hand drawn camp posters and even a camp magazine which was produced by and for the prisoners and which they called Mark Time. 

Discover this collection with a mini talk by the Memorial's Exhibitions Research Officer, Dr Catie Gilchrist. The talk will be followed by a live reading of de Crespigny's war diary by one of the Memorial's resident actors.

The talk and live reading will take place in the Auditorium on the Lower Ground Floor from 12.00pm to 12.30pm.

The Telegram Man Screening

A BAFTA Los Angeles® winner and Australian Academy Awards® nominee, The Telegram Man explores the impact of the Second World War on a close-knit Australian farming community. Join us for screenings of this short film and a short presentation on telegrams in the Memorials collection.

Screenings will commence at 9.15am, 1.00pm and 4.15pm in the Auditorium on the Lower Ground Floor.

Snippet Tours

Gain an understanding of the history and symbolism behind the Memorial with our 30-minute Snippet Tours. This introductory tour covers key architectural and symbolic elements of NSW's principal war memorial. 

Tours will depart at 9.30am, 11.30am, 12.30pm, 1.30pm, 2.30pm, and 3.30pm from the Hall of Service located in the Centenary Extension.

Treasures Mini Talk and Live Reading | Private James Smith Collection

During the bitter fighting of the Battle of Lone Pine, Private James Smith ‘stopped one’—a Turkish bomb—with his right knee, promptly and painfully ending his Gallipoli service. Fourteen months later, while convalescing in England, Smith was repatriated and discharged from the AIF, not for his knee, but for an amputated trigger finger, the cause of which was never specified. Irrefutably, Smith’s war wounds ran far deeper than flesh and sinew. 

Discover this collection with a mini talk by the Memorial's Exhibitions Research Officer, Jacqui Reid. The talk will be followed by a live reading of Smith’s own words by one of the Memorial's resident actors.

The talk and live reading will take place in the Auditorium on the Lower Ground Floor from 2.00pm to 2.30pm.

Devoted Service Live Performance

Join us for one of our last public performances of Devoted Service, a powerful drama that is derived from the true stories of five remarkable women during the Great War.  In a moving live performance, the personal accounts of New South Wales women are brought to life by an actor. From the Gallipoli landing to the sinking of HMHS Gloucester Castle, you will be captivated by their extraordinary letters and diaries. 

The performance will take place in the Auditorium on the Lower Ground Floor from 3.00pm to 3.30pm.

Treasures Mini Talk and Live Reading | Beryl Crowdy Collection

Physiotherapist Beryl Crowdy enlisted in the Australian Army Nursing Service in 1940 and was posted to 2/6 Australian General Hospital in Egypt as a masseuse. When the 6th Australian Division went to Greece, the 2/6th went with them. At sea they risked prowling U-boats, and on land in they were strafed and bombed. After the Crete debacle the nurses eventually returned to Australia with what was left of the 6th Division. By war’s end, Crowdy was serving as a captain at 1st Australian Orthopaedic Hospital, assisting those wounded in the Pacific to recover their mobility.

Hear Beryl’s story from our Collection Officer Rebecca Jones followed by a live reading of her own words by one of the Memorial’s resident actors.

The talk and live reading will take place in the Auditorium on the Lower Ground Floor from 4.00pm to 4.30pm.

RUSI NSW's Ursula Davidson Library

The Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies NSW's (RUSI NSW) Ursula Davidson Library will be open from 9.30am to 3.00pm. The library includes British military history from the Civil War (1642-1651) onwards and Australian military history from the nineteenth century. It also contains material on other theatres of war, along with multi-volume editions of despatches, including those of the Duke of Marlborough (1650-1722) and Admiral Lord Nelson (1758-1805).