Thousands gander at Australia’s military relics at the War Memorial

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Thousands of people have gotten up close and personal with some of the Australian military’s biggest relics at the War Memorial's warehouse in Mitchell.

Transcript

00:00 From big shots to big birds. Size certainly mattered for thousands of people today who

00:07 descended on the Australian War Memorial's storage hub in Mitchell for a rare look at

00:12 the military relics that don't fit in the Campbell Building.

00:16 Today is a really great way for people to get really close to these big things and see

00:22 things that they wouldn't normally see every day.

00:24 We're able to tell the stories of that service through an object to allow people to see it

00:28 through effectively a different lens.

00:30 Some 121,000 items used by or against Australians during conflict and peacekeeping that make

00:36 up the memorial's back catalogue were on show and in demand, including a Bushmaster damaged

00:43 by IEDs in Afghanistan and the G for George Lancaster bomber which carried out almost

00:48 90 bombing missions during World War II.

00:51 I am interested in a lot of aviation stuff and I'm very interested in fighter planes.

00:57 Just to have the history and be able to show your children this and have access, it's what's

01:02 great about living in Canberra isn't it?

01:03 It's not just vehicles and machinery stored here, there are plenty of smaller, big items

01:08 too. Everything from bomb removal robots and sea mines to munitions and even a sewing machine

01:15 used by the Light Horse.

01:17 And far more than storage, this is where items are restored and preserved, ready to go on

01:23 display when there's room.

01:25 For some items, like the Chinook helicopter, that won't be until late 2025 when the expanded

01:31 memorial's new galleries open.

01:33 But there's plans for more big things more often then too.

01:37 I would like to think that once we get through the development there is an opportunity to

01:41 have this facility open more regularly because there's clearly a demand for it.

01:46 A new perspective on Australia's service and sacrifice.

01:49 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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