The following formal submission have been made public
Submitter: Peter HusbandNew Southern Entrance
Please see my submission under 'Anzac Hall and Glazed Link".
Bean Building Extension and Central Energy Plant
Please see my submission under 'Anzac Hall and Glazed Link".
Anzac Hall and Glazed Link
Submission in support of the redevelopment of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
I strongly support each aspect of the AWM redevelopment proposal. The main component of the redevelopment is Anzac Hall, however the Southern Entrance redevelopment and the Bean Building redevelopment are equally important.
My views are those of a layman who has only had the opportunity to visit the AWM on a limited number of occasions. In principle however, I believe the redevelopment of the AWM is overdue. The building houses a wonderful collection of memorabilia, generally well presented, covering military activity up to roughly the time the existing building was constructed. The collection beyond that time is not housed to the same standard.
Of the three components of the redevelopment, I make the following observations:
1. The Southern Entrance
This is the face the memorial exhibits to the world. It must remain iconic and it must as well be practical and serviceable. In order to keep up to date with the requirements in respect of the latter two points, the entrance needs upgrading. At the same time it is essential that the visual characteristics of the entrance be maintained.
2. Bean Building and Central Energy Plant
As the collection grows, and ages, the work carried out in the Bean Building will increase in volume and the important work of preservation will expand at an even greater rate. Provision must be made for this essential work. The provision of a reliable comprehensive power supply facility for the AWM is also important in maintaining, amongst other things, the integrity of the work being done in the Bean Building.
3. New Anzac Hall and Glazed link
The essence of the role of the AWM, from the perspective of people such as myself, is the housing and display of a comprehensive record of Australian military engagement since before Federation up to the present day and into the future.
The military activities, and thus their associated records, from the early twentieth century are vastly different from those of the early twenty-first century. The records of each phase of Australia’s military activity, together with records of the various engagements associated with each phase, must be maintained, preserved and to the extent possible, displayed for public viewing.
Much is made these days of the relative merit of spending valuable resources on an institution such as the AWM. That is not to deny the merits of many other worthwhile issues, some of which warrant equal emphasis to the AWM redevelopment. Amongst them is the effort to address the mental health issues amongst veterans that has at last risen to prominence. The list of non-military associated issues that are of similar merit is also significant.
However, amongst the emerging issues in our community is that involving a cohort who seek to deny the merits of our memorials to everything from the development of western civilisation to the remembrance of our military history. It is essential that the views of this seemingly well-funded cohort are prevented from overtaking the justification for projects such as the redevelopment of the AWM.
We must never let anything distract us from the fact that the AWM is there essentially to help us keep front-of-mind the memories of the men and women of our military institutions who gave their lives so that we may live as we do today.
The redevelopment of Anzac Hall then is going to enable the AWM to display a more comprehensive and robust record of conflicts ranging from Vietnam to Afghanistan, which are very different in themselves and vastly so compared with the conflicts that preceded them. The effort and the associated cost of providing for this comprehensive record is not only justified, it is essential in order to preserve the record of who we are as a nation.
Peter Husband
Brisbane, QLD
I strongly support each aspect of the AWM redevelopment proposal. The main component of the redevelopment is Anzac Hall, however the Southern Entrance redevelopment and the Bean Building redevelopment are equally important.
My views are those of a layman who has only had the opportunity to visit the AWM on a limited number of occasions. In principle however, I believe the redevelopment of the AWM is overdue. The building houses a wonderful collection of memorabilia, generally well presented, covering military activity up to roughly the time the existing building was constructed. The collection beyond that time is not housed to the same standard.
Of the three components of the redevelopment, I make the following observations:
1. The Southern Entrance
This is the face the memorial exhibits to the world. It must remain iconic and it must as well be practical and serviceable. In order to keep up to date with the requirements in respect of the latter two points, the entrance needs upgrading. At the same time it is essential that the visual characteristics of the entrance be maintained.
2. Bean Building and Central Energy Plant
As the collection grows, and ages, the work carried out in the Bean Building will increase in volume and the important work of preservation will expand at an even greater rate. Provision must be made for this essential work. The provision of a reliable comprehensive power supply facility for the AWM is also important in maintaining, amongst other things, the integrity of the work being done in the Bean Building.
3. New Anzac Hall and Glazed link
The essence of the role of the AWM, from the perspective of people such as myself, is the housing and display of a comprehensive record of Australian military engagement since before Federation up to the present day and into the future.
The military activities, and thus their associated records, from the early twentieth century are vastly different from those of the early twenty-first century. The records of each phase of Australia’s military activity, together with records of the various engagements associated with each phase, must be maintained, preserved and to the extent possible, displayed for public viewing.
Much is made these days of the relative merit of spending valuable resources on an institution such as the AWM. That is not to deny the merits of many other worthwhile issues, some of which warrant equal emphasis to the AWM redevelopment. Amongst them is the effort to address the mental health issues amongst veterans that has at last risen to prominence. The list of non-military associated issues that are of similar merit is also significant.
However, amongst the emerging issues in our community is that involving a cohort who seek to deny the merits of our memorials to everything from the development of western civilisation to the remembrance of our military history. It is essential that the views of this seemingly well-funded cohort are prevented from overtaking the justification for projects such as the redevelopment of the AWM.
We must never let anything distract us from the fact that the AWM is there essentially to help us keep front-of-mind the memories of the men and women of our military institutions who gave their lives so that we may live as we do today.
The redevelopment of Anzac Hall then is going to enable the AWM to display a more comprehensive and robust record of conflicts ranging from Vietnam to Afghanistan, which are very different in themselves and vastly so compared with the conflicts that preceded them. The effort and the associated cost of providing for this comprehensive record is not only justified, it is essential in order to preserve the record of who we are as a nation.
Peter Husband
Brisbane, QLD