Information About Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance

The most popular war memorial in Victoria is the Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance. It was built from July 1928 to November 1934 so as to acknowledge and remember about 114,000 men and women in Victoria that served and those who died in the World War I (1914_1918). This is situated along St. Kilda Road, and takes only a short walk from Melbourne CBD accommodation.

The design for the Shrine of Remembrance eventually award to two Melbourne returned-soldier architects, Philip Hudson and James Wardrop and was inspired by the mausoleum at Harlicarnassus to Mausolus, King of Caria in South West Asia Minor. The Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance was officially opened in November 1934 by Prince Henry, the Duke of Gloucester before a crowd of 300,000 people in.

The  Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance is constructed from Tynong granite and originally consisted of a central Sanctuary surrounded by the Ambulatory.

The Crypt of the Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance is approximately eight metres below the Sanctuary and is nine metres square. The Crypt contains a bronze statue of a father and son representing two generations of soldiers who fought in the first and second World wars, and the Sovereign and Regimental colours and a series of bronze panels depicting the army and navy units that took part in World War 1 and the names of Royal Australian Navy ships lost in the war.

There are a number of commemorative statues located around the Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance. The The first of which was erected was "The Man With The Donkey" which represented John Simpson Kirkpatrick, and although he was not named on the statue, and statue is said to represent the "valour and compassion of the Australian soldier".

Nearby is the Lone Pine (Pinus brutia). This pine tree was planted in 1933 and is one of four seedlings planted in Victoria from seeds of a cone brought back by Sgt. Keith Mc Dowell from Gallipoli and the 'Mothers Tribute' statue representing a widow and her children was cast by Wallace Anderson and unveiled in 1936.

The 'Drivers and Wipers' statue also located in the Shrine reserve and commemorates the many thousands of Australian lives lost during the fighting at Ypres. "Wipers" is the way servicemen pronounced "Ypres" during World War I. The bronze soldiers were cast by the British sculptor Charles Sargeant Jagger and were originally located outside the Museum of Victoria and the State Library of Victoria at the intersection of Swanston and Latrobe Street in Melbourne.

The statues were relocated to the Shrine in 1998. The Driver is a soldier holding a horse whip and bridles, wearing breeches,a protective legging, spurs, and a steel helmet, and the figure is a recasting of one of the figures from the Royal Artillery Memorial in Hyde Park, London, UK. The other bronze, the "Wipers" figure, is a British infantry soldier standing guard with standard issue .303 rifle, bayonet fixed, a German helmet at his feet. This too is a recasting, taken from the Hoylake and West Kirby War Memorial in Merseyside, UK. The Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance is the Melbourne and Victorian centre of war. Whilst Remembrance Day is globally and annually recognised as 11th November as the official day for acknowledging those who died in times of war; within Australia ANZAC Day on the 25th April is more culturally and ceremonially more significant. It begins with the Dawn Service which attracts record numbers each year and is followed by an official wreath-laying service and later the ANZAC Day March along St Kilda Road and ending at the forecourt.

The Balcony at the Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance offers a stunning and free 360 degree view of Melbourne and across to Port Phillip Bay. From the balcony visitors can see all the way down St. Kilda Road. These stunning views can be samples in the video on this page.

The Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance is open daily between 10am and 5pm and is closed on Good Friday and Christmas Day. There are guided tours each day at 11am and 2pm and the Ray of Light reenactment is held every half hour from 10.30am. There are on site toilets and disabled access. Admission is free. The Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance can be reached either by tram of a comfortable walk along St. Kilda Road which is close to all central Melbourne accommodation.