Where to join Australians this Anzac Day

Australia marks its national day of remembrance – Anzac Day – on April 25. Across the country Australians will be getting together to remember their lost relatives at dawn services in cities and towns. This year is also the 100th anniversary of the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign in Turkey, and there are many special events on around the country this month. If you want to find out how the First World War gave birth to this country's self-made national identity, check out some of these exhibitions. Learn about the rarely told stories of Chinese and Indigenous Australian soldiers, the political campaigns to conscript young men for a war on the other side of the globe, as well as the personal stories from that era recounted through letters, photographs and diaries. 

First light at the Dawn Service, Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne

NoMansLanding

Sydney's Darling Harbour will host the world premiere of NoMansLanding, a large scale installation to commemorate the Anzac centenary. The installation features floating walk-ways with a chapel-like dome in the middle. The program also features a Poppy Remembrance Wall, a series of talks at the Australian National Maritime Museum, and educational tours.

Date: April 2015
Location: Darling Harbour, Sydney, New South Wales
More information: www.darlingharbour.com

The WWI Centenary Exhibition

From the British Imperial War Museum collection to Melbourne Museum this multi-million dollar touring exhibition, designed by Casson Mann, shares unique stories and showcases original artefacts, dramatic film, rare artworks, sounds and images from World War One.

Date: Opens 18 April 2015
Location: Melbourne Museum, Melbourne, Victoria
More information: www.ww1exhibition.com.au

Camp Gallipoli

Held in cities across Australia, Camp Gallipoli will give participants the opportunity to come together to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Gallipoli. It will be a special night of remembrance while sleeping out under the stars.

Date: 24 – 25 April 2015
Location: Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Hobart
More information: www.campgallipoli.com.au

Dawn Service at the Australian War Memorial

At the Australian War Memorial in Canberra and kicking off at 4.30am, excerpts will be read from letters and diaries of Australians who experienced war firsthand. At 5.30am the official dawn service will begin with the traditional order of service including the Anzac dedication, laying of wreaths, prayer and hymns, sounding of The Last Post and the observance of one minute’s silence.

Date: 25 April 2015
Location: Canberra, Australian Capital Territory
More information: www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/dawn

Red poppies at the Remembrance Wall of the Australian War Memorial, Canberra

Anzac Day Parade

This annual event takes over the streets of Sydney’s city centre with thousands of people looking on as veterans, school children, and servicemen and women march in remembrance of Australian soldiers who have served and died in all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. The parade concludes with a Commemoration Service at the War Memorial in Hyde Park.

Date: 25 April 2015
Location: Sydney, New South Wales
More information: www.rslnsw.org.au

Albany's Anzacs

Community events around this southwestern town that was heavily affected by WWI include night time light projection installations and a commemorative poppies in the sand at Middleton Beach in the sand near Ellen Cove.

Date: 25 April 2015
Location: Albany, Western Australia
More information: www.anzacalbany.com.au

Chinese Anzacs

The Chinese Anzacs exhibition tells the poignant tales of Chinese-Australian soldiers’ service in the First World War.  The exhibition commemorates the original Anzac soldiers who served in World War One, but also honours all the soldiers throughout history who have been dedicated to protecting Australia.

Date: Now until 31 July 2015
Location: Chinese Museum, Melbourne, Victoria
More information: www.chinesemuseum.com.au

Politics & Sacrifice: NSW Parliament and the Anzacs

Through photographs, books, newspaper articles, propaganda and records from Parliament and other collections, this free exhibition will explore some of the political aspects of the war including the conscription referendum campaigns to the treatment of dissenters in Australia. It also tells the stories of some of the members of staff that served as soldiers, officers and medical personnel including Sergeant Ted Larkin and Lieutenant-Colonel George Braund.

Date: 7 January – 30 April 2015
Location: Parliament of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales
More information: www.parliament.nsw.gov.au

War Pictures: Australians at the Cinema 1914 – 1918

In association with the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) will present War Pictures: Australians at the Cinema 1914-1918 to commemorate the Centenary of the First World War. Audiences will step inside an early 20th century picture palace and observe what Australians were presented when they went to the cinema during the WWI era. ACMI’s Gallery 2 will showcase fascinating shorts, advertisements, newsreels, propaganda and feature films of the period produced by the local film industry.

Date: 10 March – 12 July 2015
Location: ACMI, Melbourne, Victoria
More information: www.acmi.net.au/exhibitions/upcoming-exhibitions/war-pictures