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Shrine
of Remembrance
Melbourne
By
Richard Moore
Pictures
of The Shrine of Remembrance
 The
Shrine of Remembrance is a stunning building completed in 1934 to
mark those Australians who died during World War I.
Today
is for all Australian soldiers, sailors and arimen who died in all
of the country's conflicts.
The
Shrine is one of the biggest war memorials in Australia and is able
to be seen from many aspects of the city.
Designed
by WWI veterans Phillip Hudson and James Wardrop the Shrine was
meant to hark back to the glories and fighting spirit of ancient
Greece.
The
Parthenon in Athens inspired the entrance porticos which, on the
north and south sides, are identical.
 Hudson
used a technique perfected by the ancient Greeks to correct optical
distortions of the large Doric columns.
The
main entrance to the Shrine is via the northern steps. To your right
is the Eternal Flame and a monument to Australia's sailors.
The
stairs leading to the Shrine is lined by balustrades on which are
stones carved with the nation's battle honours. The stones are on
all approaches and feature the WWI battles of: The Anzac landings,
Sari-Bair, Rumani, Gaza-Beersheba, North Sea, Cocos Island, Megiddo,
Damascus, Villers Bretonneux, Amiens, Mont St Quentin, Hindenberg
Line, Ypres, Messines, Pozieres and Bullecourt.
 Going
inside the Shrine is a moving experience, particularly when The
Last Post is played. The main interior is known as the sanctuary
and contains the marble stone of remembrance on which the phrase
"Greater love hath no man." The roof of the Shrine is designed so
that at 11am on the 11th of November every year (Remembrance Day)
sunlight will illumnate the word Love.
Around
the sanctuary is an ambulatory with books of remembrance of those
who fell.
Beneath
the sanctuary is the the crypt, which contains a bronze statue of
a soldier father and son.
On
the same floor is the Shrine's visitor centre, which was finished
in 2003. The centre contains a Gallery of Medals, a shop and educational
facilities. From there you can go outside into the entry courtyard
and Remembrance Garden - a
zig-zag walled enclosure with poppies and Lest We Forget written
on the wall.
 Visitors
to the Shrine can also go upstairs from the sanctuary and walk around
the top of the building, which gives some lovely views of the city.
There
are also some very nice bronze statues of military figures close
by the Shrine as you head towards the nearby parklands.
If
you are in Melbourne on Anzac Day, April 25, then there will be
major commemorations with the Dawn Parade and then the later, larger,
Anzac Day parade with the old Diggers marching to the Shrine.
It
is a fabulous and moving day.
Melbourne
Interactive Map
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