The National ANZAC Centre, Albany, Western Australia

Perched on a cliff, high above Albany, the National ANZAC Centre looks out across King George Sound toward the Great Southern Ocean. In 1914 in response to the outbreak of World War I, Australia raised a new army -  the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). At the time Australia as a nation was little more than a decade old. The AIF was joined by a force from New Zealand and together they became known as the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs). For the 41,265 men of the First and Second ANZAC Convoys, the coast of Albany was their last sight of Australia. 60,000 Australians and 18,000 New Zealanders perished in the war at a time when the two countries had a combined population of just 6 million people - every Australian soldier was a volunteer. The National ANZAC Centre is dedicated to telling the stories of the men and women of the First and Second convoys and the stories of the ANZACS who followed them. David's great uncle was among the Australian dead.

ANZAC day is commemorated each year on 25 April, the anniversary of the landings at Gallipoli Peninsula. The Gallipoli campaign against Turkish forces was the first major military action by the ANZACs in World War I.  ANZAC day has become a day of services, marches, wreath laying, remembrance and honour.

I took this still shot of a moving image as we entered the centre. It showed column after column of ANZACs marching to war.

David and I visited the National ANZAC Centre on a grey, overcast and windy day, somehow fitting for the gate-keeper museum of such a terrible waste of lives. The National ANZAC Centre focuses on telling the stories of those who took part in the war in their own words and through their personal and official records.  As we entered, we were each given a small audio device and a card with a name and a photograph. The audio devices accessed a myriad of recordings including letters home, diary excerpts, official reports and other communications. A QR code on the reverse of the cards operated displays throughout the centre recording the personal war history of the person named on the card. By connecting visitors with an individual and encouraging us to follow their path through the war, the centre brought a personal dimension to the men and women who took part in the conflict.

Not all the cards related to ANZAC soldiers. There is a recognition of the sacrifice and tragedy suffered by those on both sides of the conflict. One card, for example, told the story of Sefik Bey, a Lieutenant Colonel with the 5th Ottoman (Turkish) Army, another of Olive Haynes, a sister with the Australian Army Nursing Service, while another told the story of Ernst Junger, a private with the Imperial German Army.

The audio device and QR code card we given at the entrance - the QR code is on the reverse side of the card.

My ANZAC was Lieutenant Joseph 'Eric' Percy of the 16th Battalion. Percy was born in South Australia, grew up in Perth and joined the AIF when he was 23 years old. He left Australia with the First Convoy on 31 October 1914. He landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 and was wounded the same day. He recovered to rejoin the fighting in France. Despite being wounded several times, Percy survived the war and returned to Australia in 1919. He died on 27 September 1969 aged 77.

The QR code allowed me to access Lieutenant Percy's individual records

David and I spent about two hours inside the centre. Although as museums go the centre is not large, if you try to read, watch and listen to everything you could easily spend days there.


David's reflections on the ANZAC Centre - 

The ANZAC centre concentrates on the two principal campaigns that the Australian and New Zealand forces fought in - Gallipoli in Turkey 1915 and the Western Front in France and Belgium 1916-1918. It gives the statistics on the horrific loss of life for minuscule gains in the offensives in 1916 and 1917. It has photographs showing the mud in the trenches and desolate countryside after incessant artillery shelling for years. No museum can completely bring home to those of us who live in the 21st Century how awful it must have been. There is always the question of why did it happen?

After visiting the Centre, I read an account of life on the Somme in 1916 written by a Lieutenant in the British Army -

'We seem to be here under the constraint of some malevolent idiot. In this sunshine it seems impossible to believe that at any minute we in this trench, and they in that, may be blown to bits by shells fired from guns at invisible distances by hearty fellows who would be quite ready to stand you a drink if you met them face to face. What base, pathetic slaves we are to endure such idiocy! No doubt it's good to fight when indignation and hatred boil up as they did in 1914. But these passions have long since spent themselves. Why are we fighting still? We are compelled. We have endowed machinery with the power once confined to a man's right arm, and now the machine continues to function long after our natural impulses have spent themselves. That's what makes this war so ghastly. It is machine-made. Even our opinion is machine-made by a press suborned with fear, and we who do the fighting have no say in when the fight shall cease. Man seems to have become the slave of his own power of organisation. If all the machinery of war were now suddenly taken from our hands, I am certain the war would stop at once.'

Plowman, Max. SUBALTERN ON THE SOMME (Kindle Locations 2001-2009).  . Kindle Edition.

In the trenches

Practical Information 

• Ticket prices - Adult tickets cost $24, concession tickets are $20 and children $10 for the 1st child and $5 thereafter. 

• Opening hours - The National ANZAC Centre is open every day except Christmas Day. Opening hours are from 9 am to 5 pm with last entry at 4 pm

• Location - The centre is located in the Albany Heritage Park on Forts Rd, Albany. Click here for directions and a map. Parking is free and plentiful.

My tip

• Try to visit outside the peak holiday season. One of the shortcomings of the museum is the noise level of the audio devices. While most other visitors kept the volume control low enough not to distract those around them, some of the devices were so loud that it made it difficult to focus on what we were reading or listening to ourselves.

Inside the National ANZAC Centre

Nearby Attractions

The Albany Heritage Park has a number of other attractions which are well worth visiting along with the ANZAC Centre. They are all within a short walk and entry is free.

• The Princess Royal Fortress
• The Desert Mounted Corps Memorial
• Padre White Lookout - Padre White led Australia's first dawn service on 25 April 1932.

Note: David and I received complimentary entry to the National ANZAC Centre.

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Click on the titles below for other posts from our road trip in Western Australia: - 

• Springtime tulips at Araluen Botanic Park, Western Australia

• Wildflowers in Western Australia: Kings Park, Perth
• Rottnest Island
• Fraser Suites, Perth - a review
• Self-contained accommodation in Albany: Albany Harbourside Apartments and Houses
• 7 things to do in Amazing Albany
• 2 Weeks in Western Australia: A road trip itinerary

Other blog posts on Western Australia - 

The Kimberley

• Berkeley River Lodge: A wilderness resort in the Kimberley.

• Amalia Gorge: Would you go swimming with a crocodile?

• Zebedee Springs and Chamberlain Gorge: Disappointment in the Kimberley

• Wille Creek Pearl Farm & The Perfect Pearl

The Coral Coast

• The Abrolhos Islands Fly & Flipper Tour

• Mantra Geraldton: Where to stay in Geraldton

• Hutt Lagoon: A pink lake you can drive to

• Pinnacles and Stromatolites: Ancient formations and living fossils