AUSTRALIA'S WAR RELICS

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21710, 18 February 1936, Page 12

AUSTRALIA'S WAR RELICS

. r rT; notable collection in PREPARATION;

CANBERRA NATIONAL MUSEUM

... * ■ - (ntoic OVB own -COEEBapbSDEjn'-) “ SYDNE7, February 10. f One of' the largest collections of war relics in existence will be placed in Australia’s huge National War Memorial Museum at Canberra, one section of which will soon be completed. The first wing is costing £80,000" and its floor

space is greater than that of Parliament House. In its final form •the building will have cost £200,000 and will rank among the great memorials of the world. The relics destined ; for the museum form a complete history of the campaigns of the' Australian troops on Gallipoli, in France, and Palestine. In the library there are 10,000 volumes dealing with all sides' of the life of the Australian forces, seen from within and without. Hundreds of them are German unit histories describing encounters with the Anzacs.

Another section of the library contains of war didries, written in the trenches under all conditions, telling iri simple language the day-to-day events of many of the campaigns. These . have been presented to-the museum by “diggers” or their families and are a record for posterity. As many of the authors and the. persons written about are still alive, the volumes have .been given , land accepted on the express understanding that their story must for the present remain untold. Even more valuable for the future are the photographic acliives. Here are stored In waterproof and fireproof boxes nearly 80 million miles of cinematograph film. Much of it was taken in the front line trenches, and depicts war in its reality. Tens of thousands „of photographs complete this priceless collection. Authentic war material pi every conceivable kind—tanks, guns, barbed wire entanglements,, battered aeroplanes, * anti-aircraft equipment, gas cylinders* and masks —■will be on display. Gallipoli Exhibits

The naval section will include .scale models of all the Australian warships which took part in the war, and the actual name Tetters of some vessels, including the Sydney, the Melbourne, the Australia, and •the Brisbane. Another exhibit will be a German code book captured by an Australian from a submarine early in the wai;. It was used with success to tap German messages of immense value to the Allied forces. In the Gallipoli exhibit will be two boats used by the Anzacs at the

landing. Another record will be the flag found beside the body of the first Australian signaller killed on GalTipoli. This lad sent a message to the warships in the bay, announcing that the troops bad landed, thus forming the first link in the

chain of messages which thrilled Australia a few hours later with news-that her first contingents , had gone into action. This section will display the barrel of a famous 4.7 inch gun which fired its first shot at Ladysmith and was again pressed into service at Gallipoli, where every available piece of artillery was requisitioned in a moment of crave emercenrv. The mm

iuvuicuvui ipove emergency* inegun was the largest on the Peninsula. It was used lor some months and, completely worn out, was * then blown up. After the evacuation the barrel was found by the Turks, and an unsuccessful attempt was made to remove it to the. army museum at Constantinople. After the war it yras found by the Australians on the Kojadere road. Leading from the main exhibition section will be Aeroplane Hall, 120 feet long, 90 feet wide, and 33 feet high. , Here will be housed the old army Vickers Yimy aeroplane in which Sir Ross Smith and his companion made the first flight, from England to Australia, two captured German fighting aeroplanes, and some relics of the German ace Richthofen. who, the story goes, was brought down by an Australian.

The value of the entire collection* must be great, but its sentimental and historic worth are greater. In actual money, probably, the txiost valuable part of the collection is the great selection of .war. pictures which will be displayed throughout the galleries. These include oils and water colours by Australia’s finest artists, including Longstaff, Bryant, Burgess, Mclnnes, Quinn, and Lambert, estimated- to be worth between £85,000 and £IOO,OOO. .