brief history ...

One of the bloodiest battle fought in its short history by Australia, was one over a landing beach, at Gallipoli in Turkey, during the World War One.

Well, the battle was lost, but has left a strong imprint on the Australian spirit and forged a durable alliance between Australia and New Zealand. It should be mentioned, that the battle was not lost by the people fighting on the field but by the English officers conducting the operations. Due to massive loses in human lives, people of Australia opened a fund to build a memorial to honor the supreme sacrifice made by their fellow country men.

By the end of the WWI the money to build the ANZAC Memorial were risen. The plans for the ANZAC Memorial were made by the Sydney born architect, Bruce Dellite. The ANZAC Memorial, built from red granite and white marble and designed in Art Deco style, was opened 1934 and it took two years to complete.

The main feature of the interior, is the sculpture named Sacrifice, made by Rayner Hoff, who was also a veteran of the WWI.

In 1984 the ANZAC monument was rededicated to include all Australians who served their country.

about museum...

The ANZAC Memorial in the exhibition area, contains background information about the wars in which Australia was part of. One of the most important were:

• 1899-1902 Boer War
• 1914-1918 WWI
• 1939-1945 WWII
• 1950-1953 Korea
• 1965-1972 Vietnam
• 2003 Iraq

Trivia: Above the "Sacrifice" statue there is a high dome with 120,000 stars. There is one star for each person fighting in the WWI (1914-1918).

tourist information ...

How to get there
The ANZAC memorial is located in the south part of the Hyde Park, and the closest CityRail station is Museum. See map.

Contact details:
ANZAC House,
245 Castlereagh St, NSW 2000
Ph: +61 2 926 77668
Web site: RSL NSW

Hours of Operation:
Every day: 9am-5pm.
ANZAC memorial is closed on Christmas Day and Good Friday.

Tours are available by appointment. Please check RSL NSW web site for latest details.