The Commemorative Area at the Memorial.
The Commemorative Area at the Memorial.
The inside is divided into themed areas, typically based on a particular event or period. The photos that follow are somewhat randomly placed from throughout.
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| Model of Gallipoli | |
This model shows the difficulty the invading forces had - uphill from the beach, with the Turks well dug in on the ridges.
Flynn pretending to be inserting a shell into this German 76mm mortar.
I doubt the projectile would do much damage when it arrived, except perhaps
for any propaganda on it!
The giant Flynn is about to damage this ship! Watch out below!
One of the things I do remember from my last visit here (proabably the
late 1950s!) is the diaromas. These amazing models do have a lasting
impression, showing some of the hell of battle in World War I.
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| Flynn | Jake |
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| Flynn and Jake | |
The Crofts boys are manning the gun - watch out you swine!
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| P-51 Mustang | Spitfire |
Two icon fighter planes from World War II.
It takes guts to be a gunner
To sit out in the tail
When the Messerschmitts are coming
And the slugs begin to wail
George Vines, 460 Squadron
A bomber's rear gunner - the "tail-end Charlie" - sat in a turret like this. Sitting behind a thin perspex screen, he spent the long cold flight over occupied Europe alone in the dark, watching for attack from night fighters.
This, a Frazer-Nase turret, carried two .303-inch Browning machine guns, The two ammunition boxes, set to each side of the gunner, were also used as arm rests. The oxygen, intercom, electrical and hydraulic controls - the gunner's only connections with the rest of the plane - entered through a rotating joint in the top of the turret.
The RAF figured out that they could be thwarted with a tricky manoeuvre. A Spitfire would catch up to it, and then placing its wing under the V1's wing to flip the V1 over. The guidance mechanism could not cope with this, and the V1 would spiral out of control.
Flynn seems to be much more interested in the naval gun!
What is so special about this
Studebaker
for it to appear in the Memorial?
Flynn and Jake in front of the Iroquois helicopter scene - a light and
sound exhibit depicting landing troops in a field during the Vietnam War.
Altough static, the show is quite dramatic using light and sound to
depict the transport of troops out on patrol.
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| Armoured Personnel Carrier from the early 1970s | |
With our interest having been used up, it was time to leave and checkin
at the hotel. This is the view of the Captain Cook Fountain in Lake
Burley Griffin, quite visible from the front steps of the Memorial.
We stayed at
Olim's Canberra Hotel.
It was opened in 1927 to house Members of Parliament and public servants,
who were moving to Canberra for the opening of the new Parliament House
(which is now Old Parliament House!). It was then known as the Hotel
Ainslie, and has a spot in family history. It was the first hotel
that my brother Peter and I stayed in - sometime in the late 1950s.
It has been extended and modernised over the years, and indeed is still
undergoing some modernisation. Jake, especially, was impressed with the
idea of a hotel, as it was also the first time for him and Flynn to
stay in one. The family tradition carries on, even though it skipped
a generation!
After unpacking, I called Peter Fyfe to see if we could have a coffee together. Turned out Peter was not too far away, so he picked me up and we went off to the Ainslie shopping centre for a coffee and pleasant conversation.
Getting There
Day 2 - Heading Home
2010