The King’s Birthday Dinner was celebrated in Canberra at the Commonwealth Club on 15 June.

The guest speaker, Mr Matthew Anderson, Director of the Australian War Memorial, spoke about progress on the extensions to the building, designed to accommodate the memorial’s growing collection of material.

The memorial was built by the Federal Government, largely as a result of lobbying by Charles Bean, war correspondent and WW1 historian. The Memorial’s inscription, Never Again, was intended as a reminder of the 62,000 Australians who died, and the 156,000 who were wounded, gassed or taken prisoner. Australia’s population at that time was under five million. By the memorial’s official opening on Armistice Day 1941, Australia was already engaged in World War II.

A memorial to record the Frontier Wars, during European settlement of Australia, will be included in the new exhibits.

Text & Photo: Maureen Hickman