Denis Baguley - Preparing the Shine for the Centenary
Denis was appointed as CE in 2003. He informed us about the functions of and improvements to the Shrine of Remembrance, which is the 2nd largest in Australia. Over 2014-2018, the Centenary of ANZAC will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the WW1. There were 416,809 Australians who enlisted to serve in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). This accounted for 38.7% of the Australian male population aged between 18 and 44. In Victoria 114,000 enlisted, 89,000 served overseas and 19,000 did not return home. The Shrine of Remembrance was created to meet the needs of a grieving Victorian community
During 2014-2018, The Shrine of Remembrance will commemorate the Centenary of Anzac through a program of ceremonies, exhibitions, education programs for school students and public talks and events. The centrepiece of the Shrine's Centenary is the Galleries of Remembrance redevelopment.
Over the last 10 years, there has been an increase from 250,000 to a total of 700,000 visitors. The Shrine is also a place of education with approximately 50,000 school children visiting per year. There are permanent (such as the Galleries of remembrance), temporary (such as Voices from Afghanistan) and travelling (such as Indigenous Australians at war) exhibitions.
Some of the newer improvements include a underground Visitors Centre, which includes a lift for those who do not wish to walk up the 57 steps to the Shrine.
The Galleries of Remembrance redevelopment contains some remarkable exhibits such as:
- the Changi flag: http://www.shrine.org.au/Exhibitions/Permanent-Exhibitions/Changi-flag
- SS Devanha lifeboat, a Gallipoli landing boat: http://www.shrine.org.au/Centenary-of-Anzac/Galleries-of-Remembrance/Exhibition-Spaces The Devanha carried soldiers of the 12th Battalion and the 3rd Field Ambulance into Anzac Cove on the morning of 25 April 1915.