Submission to the Australian War Memorial

I have no objection to the proposed works that improve access and research facilities. My objection is to the work that aims to move this from a War Memorial to a War Museum. The current facility is sombre, emotive and tasteful and should stay that way. Not be turned into some sort of bright and shiny showcase for the acts and means of war.

I am reminded of the Chinese fable (ChengYu) 画蛇添足 (huà shé tiān zú ), which translates to “drawing the snake and adding legs to it” or simply “adding legs to a snake.” Nowadays, it means that you are doing unnecessary work that is actually ruining your result.