Days 6 & 7 Canberra

Hello again.

Monday:

War Memorial today.   They have a great exhibition - maybe the wrong terminology - on the First World War.   I was overloaded with information on the various battles;  great dioramas of the battles,  showing the conditions under which the soldiers fought.   Really brings home how horrific it must have been for these young,  adventurous men,  who thought they'd be home for Christmas,  as the might of the British and colonial forces whipped the Germans into submission.   I don't remember seeing these displays the last time we were here,  yet they've been in the exhibition for years,  apparently.   The memorabelia and artefacts on display are just amazing!   So many of them have come from excavations of battle sites,  and reconstruction of villages after the Second World War;   have been identified,  along with their owners;   and donated to the War Memorial.

Because I have two grandfathers and a father-in-law who fought in the First World War,  I have this morbid fascination with the history of it all,   with where they served,  how they coped when they came home,  even how they reacted when thirty years later it started all over again.

There are also displays from each war or conflict Australia has fought in since 1918.

How come we don't learn anything from these experiences that cost so many lives,  both during the conflict and in later years??

Advertising posters,  

     calling for 

     volunteers.

Note the bullet holes!!!!!!

                                                                                 

Charles Bean was a

war correspondant

in Europe.   This is

his actual typewriter.

There is a lot of 

information on 

Charles Bean in the Anzac Memorial in

Albany,  WA.

Pozieres

                                                                                   

Ypres

Mont St Quentin

On a cheerier note.   From there to the National Portrait Gallery.    Some great paintings and photos of prominant Australians here,  by some very famous,  and not so famous,  artists.   Each portrait has an explanation of the subject's life,  achievements,  livlihood,  and relationship with the artist,  if he/she had one.   Some interesting sculptures/busts also.   Great place!  We really enjoyed it.

Seeing this brought back memories of school at MSM.  

Santamaria was the hero of the nuns and priests,  and we were encouraged to see him if he spoke in Brisbane.

Talk about brainwashing!!!!!

Wondered where the 'Gruen Factor' name came from.   Weird name for a TV show!

Now I know!!!!

This handsome fellow started Qantas.

Born in Launceston,  you'll notice!!!!

Tuesday:

Off to the National Museum today to see 'A History of the World in 100 Objects',  a travelling exhibition from the British Museum.   It covered a huge diversity of objects,   from stone axes,  solid gold necklaces,   heavy animal skin capes,  clay pottery,  to busts of Roman Emperors,  and so on.

Picked the hire car up about 3pm,  and drove to the Mint.   Unfortunately,  it wasn't operating when we arrived,  so we didn't get to see the machines actually 'minting'.   Was still every interesting - the 

history of coinage in Australia,  particularly after the 'rum' currency.

Left:

 These are $1 coins,  probably hundreds of thousands!!

Right:                      
These are 5 cent pieces,  in the risers of the steps leading to the display floor.

This is us,  sitting on all our money!!!!!!!!

Off to Cooma tomorrow.    Cold,  cold,   cold!   

The weather in Canberra has been lovely.   Sunny,  warm,  great.  Bit overcast today.   Looks like that's the end of the shorts and tops!!!

More later.