In the First World War of 1914–1918, thousands of boys across Australia and New Zealand lied about their age, forged a parent’s signature and left to fight on the other side of the world. Though some were as young as thirteen, they soon found they could die as well as any man. Like Peter Pan’s lost boys, they have remained forever young. These are their stories.

Paul Byrnes speaks about some of the underage Anzacs featured in The Lost Boys and the how he uncovered their stories.

The Lost Boys is available now available from the Shrine Shop.

Shrine Curator Neil Sharkey discusses the Shrine’s special exhibition The Cinderella Service: Australians in Coastal Command 1939–45.

Discover the story of 5,000 Australian airmen who undertook grueling maritime patrols with the Royal Air Force Coastal Command. Battling the German submarines which threatened to blockade Britain, the men made an essential contribution to the Allied effort during the war’s longest continuous campaign, the Battle of the Atlantic.

The Cinderella Service is on display daily at the Shrine until June 2020.

Send us any questions you have about the exhibition or coastal command at [email protected] or through Facebook.

Join Dr Barbara Musso,Facilities Program Director of the Marine National Facility CSIRO and Emily Jateff who was Chief Scientist on board RV Investigator when it discovered the final resting place of SS Iron Crown. The vessel, sunk by a Japanese submarine off the Victorian coastline in June 1942, was discovered in 2019 in a collaboration between CSIRO and Heritage Victoria.

Changed forever: Legacies of conflict opened this week at the Shrine. In Changed forever, stories of migrants who have resettled in Australia from war-torn countries are presented beside those of recent veterans of overseas service in the Australian Defence Force. This moving exhibition explores the impacts of global and civil conflict in changing lives and shaping contemporary Australia. All have been redefined by the emotional and physical dislocation of war, and seek to reconcile this with their new lives.

Changed forever will be at the Shrine until Sunday 13 October before commencing its tour of Victoria.

Join our upcoming panel discussion supporting the exhibition on Wednesday 18 September.

The Cinderella Service: Australians in Coastal Command 1939–45.

Discover the story of 5,000 Australian airmen who undertook grueling maritime patrols with the Royal Air Force Coastal Command. Battling the German Submarines which threatened to blockade Britain, the men made an essential; contribution to the Allied effort during the war’s longest continuous campaign, the Battle of the Atlantic.

Speakers:

Air Vice-Marshal Chris Spence AO (Retd), Chairman of Shrine Trustees

Mr Robin Scott, Minister for Veterans

Wing Commander Colin Smith, Commanding Officer No. 10 Squadron

View The Cinderella Service in our South Gallery daily from 10am with last entry at 4.30pm until July 2020.

For two days in April 1951, the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment fought a heroic rearguard action and helped to stop a massive Chinese force at the gates of Seoul. Dr Adrian Threlfall explores Australia’s largest post-Second World War battle.

Adrian's two books are:

Jungle Warriors

Reg Saunders: An Indigenous War Hero

Adrian's third book is due for release in 2020.

The Shrine's special exhibition, The Korean War 1950–53, is on display daily in our Galleries from 10am with last entry at 4.30pm.

Recorded Friday 5 April. 

MC:

Mr Dean M Lee, CEO Shrine of Remembrance

Speakers:

The Honourable Robin Scott, Minister for Veterans

Mr Tom Parkinson, President of the Korean War Veterans Association of Australia

Dr Richard Trembath, academic and author of A Different Sort of War: Australians in Korea 1950–53

Mr Kim Sunghyo, Consul-General of the Republic of South Korea

The Korean War 1950–53 will be on display at the Shrine until March 2020 and can be viewed daily from 10am, last entry at 4.30pm.

Become a Shrine Friend to receive invitations to our exhibition launches and many other exclusive benefits.

Shrine Curator Neil Sharkey shares his insights into the creation of our latest special exhibition on the Korean War. Although the fighting ceased over 65 years ago, the war has never ended.

The Korean War 1950–53 is on display in the Shrine Galleries daily until March 2020. Entry is between 10am and 4.30pm.

Len Waters was a trailblazer. In realising his childhood dream, Len became the first and only Indigenous Australian fighter-pilot. Peter Rees reflects on Len’s man’s extraordinary life.

Recorded Tuesday 28 May during Reconciliation Week 2019.

Enter the draw to win a complimentary copy of  Peter Rees's book on Len's life, The Missing Man, through the Shrine’s Facebook page.

 The Missing Man is also available for purchase online through the Shrine Shop.

How can we create a more peaceful world? Join Dr Tania Miletic, specialist in peace and conflict studies, as she reflects on the Australian experience of conflict prevention and peace building processes around the world.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, Australia conducted hundreds of trials against Japanese wartime leaders. Adam Wakeling considers whether these trials were acts of justice or revenge and what we can learn from them today.