Description of the attraction
Located in Melbourne, the Memorial Monument is one of Australia's largest war memorials. It was built in memory of the residents of Victoria who served in the army during the First World War, but today it is considered a monument to all Australians who died in the wars. Every year, the complex hosts the celebrations of ANZAC Day (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) and Memorial Day (November 11).
For the first time, they started talking about the construction of a war memorial immediately after the end of the First World War, in 1918. A special committee was created and a competition for the best project was announced, which was chosen only in 1922. But the first stone in its foundation was laid only five years later. Construction work continued for another seven years - from 1927 to 1934.
The architects of the complex were World War I veterans Philip Hudson and James Wardrop. They decided to make the main building in the style of classicism, and took as a basis the Mausoleum at Helicarnassus and the Athenian Parthenon. The site for the construction of the Memorial was chosen very well - on a hill among the Royal Gardens overlooking the front boulevard of Melbourne. In the center of the building there is a sanctuary surrounded by a gallery, and in the sanctuary itself there is a Stone of Remembrance, on which the phrase "Greater love hath no man" is carved. Moreover, this Stone was positioned so that every year on November 11 at 11 o'clock in the morning, a ray of sunshine, passing through a special hole, illuminates the word "love". Thousands of people gather to watch this exciting spectacle every year, and not one leaves without tears.
Below the sanctuary is the Funeral Hall with bronze statues of father and son, and on its walls - panels with a list of all the units of the Australian army that participated in the First and Second World Wars. In 2002-2003, a visitor center was built here, which hosts educational programs, exhibitions and public lectures.
Once there was a mirror pond in front of the entrance to the memorial, but after the Second World War it was replaced by a square with an Eternal Flame.
