Community members can visit the Shrine of Remembrance starting from August 13 to see ‘Designing Remembrance: Alternate visions for Victoria’s war memorial.’
This public display is for the first time since the original 1920s architectural competition.
Opening exactly 90 days before the shrine’s 90th birthday (Remembrance Day 2024), the exhibition bridges past and present, encouraging visitors to discover the people and community who contributed to designing this Australian icon.
‘Designing Remembrance: Alternate Visions for Victoria’s War Memorial’ is a wonderful opportunity to explore Victoria’s history of remembrance and discover the untold stories behind the shrine’s creation.
Designing remembrance tells the story of the architectural competition that shaped Victoria’s national war memorial.
The exhibition, which showcases ambitious proposals, allows visitors to journey back in time and see how Melbourne’s iconic memorial might have looked and how it could have taken a very different shape.
Each of the shortlisted entries from the 1921 War Memorial design competition is a testament to the social and political tapestry of the time. From grand cenotaphs to humble sanctuaries, visitors will discover the different visions that once competed for a place in Victoria’s heart.
The exhibition invites reflection on questions that challenged past Victorians: should a memorial honour the past or herald the future? should it be grandiose or modest, solemn or hopeful, glorious or a warning?
Offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse into history, visitors can examine detailed plans, conceptual drawings and correspondence.
Visitors can also eavesdrop on conversations and debates between designers, builders and judges, gaining insight into the creative process behind the shrine’s inception.
The competition was fiercely contested, with more than 80 submissions made.
Although veterans and architects Phillip Hudson and James Wardrop’s winning design became the monument we know and love, the second-place runner-up, William Lucas, was publicly disappointed.
Shrine Curator Neil Sharkey collaborated with historians Dr Katti William (University of Melbourne) and Dr Laura Carroll (Shrine Education & Volunteer Manager) to develop the exhibition.
Mr Sharkey said, “Designing remembrance is a rare glimpse into the collective mind of a post-war community grappling with how to honour a legacy of service and sacrifice.
The hand-drawn plans, rendered in pencil and watercolour, are remarkable, showing the plazas, pylons and sculptures that could have stood where the shrine now stands,” he said.
Shrine chief executive Dean Lee said, “The Shrine has been Victoria’s home of commemoration for nearly 90 years. It serves as a bastion of memory and reflection for the service that secures our nation’s future.
“With the 90th anniversary approaching, we’re delighted to celebrate the creativity of those who shaped this beloved monument and our understanding of remembrance,” he said.
Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor and Chair of Architecture at the University of Melbourne’s School of Design, Professor Philip Goad, who consulted on the exhibition, said, “Ninety years on, this exhibition is a fascinating insight into the ideals and aspirations of architects in the 1920s as they grappled with the difficult questions of sacrifice, loss, monumentality and national engagement with bloody conflict on the other side of the globe.”
“The final result in the design competition had long-lasting consequences, casting forever an ideological net across Melbourne’s urban psyche. Who cannot still be affected today by the Shrine of Remembrance’s constant, even haunting presence on axis down Swanston Street?”
It also reflects on the evolving meanings of remembrance and honours the service and sacrifice of past and future generations.
The Shrine of Remembrance is on Birdwood Ave, Melbourne.
Details at: shrine.org.au/designing-remembrance.
