Your Self guided tour of the Shrine of Remembrance

1. The Second World War Forecourt

The Second World War Forecourt, commemorates the service & sacrifice of Victorians in the Second World War (1939-45). It was dedicated in 1954 and incorporates the Flagpoles, Eternal Flame and Cenotaph. 

At the pinnacle of the 12.5 metre Cenotaph are 6 servicemen in the battle dress of the Navy, Army & Air-force, carrying a bier on which lies a fallen comrade. The names of the theatres of war where each of the services served in the Second World War (1939 - 45) are inscribed on the pillar.

The Eternal Flame was lit by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II during the 1954 dedication ceremony. The flame is always burning, symbolising eternal life for those who have died. The three Flagpoles on the Forecourt fly the Australian flag, Victoria’s flag and armed service flags in rotation. The Forecourt is in the shape of a non-denominational cross.

2. Driver and Wipers

Driver and Wiper sculptures were created by British serviceman Charles Sergeant Jagger who served at Gallipoli and the Western Front.The Driver is holding a whip and bridles for two horses, wearing breeches, spurs and a protective legging on his lower right leg. He has a steel helmet for protection from shrapnel. This is a second casting of a figure on the Royal Artillery Memorial at Hyde Park Corner in London, which was built in 1925.

Wipers illustrates a war-hardened British infantry soldier from the Front, standing guard with standard issue .303 rifle, bayonet fixed. He is dressed for winter and has a gas mask around his neck. Bullets have left their mark on his helmet. Many servicemen pronounced Ypres (a town in Belgium as ‘Wipers’).

3. Gallipoli Memorial

This garden commemorates the service and sacrifice of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) in the Gallipoli Campaign 25 April - 20 December 1915. Since 1914 Australians and New Zealanders have shared a tradition of service and sacrifice in war and peacekeeping operations.

This Memorial garden incorporates the original Lone Pine tree (1933), the Man with the Donkey (1936), the Memorial to War Horses, relocated from St Kilda Road to the Shrine (1987) and the young Lone Pine tree (2006). The latter was planted to ensure that the ANZAC tradition of service and sacrifice would continue to be observed in the Shrine Reserve.

4. The Legacy Garden of Appreciation

The Legacy Garden of Appreciation features red Flanders poppies which flower around Remembrance Day to keep alive the memory of those who perished in the First World War. The sculpture of a mother and her children symbolises the work of Legacy caring for the widows and dependants of veterans.

5. Memorial Trees

Memorial Trees were planted throughout the Reserve to mark the 20th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War; each dedicated to units who fought in the First World War (1914 -18). There are now over 200 Memorial Trees on the Reserve.

6. Remembrance Garden – Post 1945 Memorial

The Remembrance Garden, on the western side of the Shrine, was dedicated in 1985 to recognise those who served in conflicts and peacekeeping operations after the Second World War (1939-45).

The names of those conflicts – Korea, Malaya, Borneo, Vietnam, Kuwait, the Balkans, Cambodia, Somalia, East Timor, Malaysia, Thai-Malay, Iraq, Namibia, Thailand, Rwanda and Afghanistan are engraved on the stone wall (cut into the hillside).

The pool and rippling water create a peaceful memorial and serve to remind us of the jungle and rainforests where many post 1945conflicts were fought.

7. Cobbers

Cobbers, the memorial to Australian service and sacrifice at the Battle of Fromelles 19 July 1916, was installed in the Australian Memorial Park at Fromelles, France in 1998. The bronze cast located on the Shrine Reserve is the second cast of the sculpture by sculptor Peter Corlett.