National Anzac Centre

C insisted on an early morning swim before the wind got up. Our local beach is quite exposed, with waves coming straight from the nearest land mass which is the Antarctic. Just around the other side of Emu Point is quite sheltered and there is a swimming area partitioned off, where the sand has been excavated in order to make it a good depth for swimming. I was trying to do lengths inside this, but the current against me was so strong that I couldn’t make any headway. At 7.00 am it was quite a challenge to get into the cold water, but it proved to be very exhilarating. The nearby Emu Point Cafe was doing good business for breakfast even at that early hour, but we returned to our chalet for our own favourite delicacies.

After that , we jumped in the car to drive to the National Anzac Centre, high up on Mt. Clarence between Middleton Beach and Albany. This is an award-winning museum which commemorates the large numbers of Australian and New Zealanders who went to fight in the First World War. “In late 1914 over 41,000 Australians and New Zealanders in two large convoys of vessels over 50 ships strong departed…. For many of these young men and women, this would be the last time they saw Australian soil.” We now know that casualties on both sides of the conflict were enormous and futile.

View from the main window, looking out onto the harbour where the convoys gathered.

The poppies on the windowsill are all hand knitted or crocheted by volunteers. They are everywhere in the museum.

Vessels in the First Convoy in position.

Interactive display, with info about each vessel.

Model of soldier sharing the last drop of water with his horse.

C saw a display which stated that 4000 N.Z. horses were shipped to Gallipoli and only 4 made it home. We read and listened to many interactive displays before stepping outside to take a guided tour of the rest of the area, which had been a military installation for many years previous to the museum.

Our volunteer guide was an ex-policeman, who couldn't resist telling us too many anecdotes for us to remember.  Here are a few pics from his tour:

We decided to go home for lunch and returned in the afternoon to take in the rest of the museum:

Logistics of the convoy.

Casualties as a percentage of the population.