Australian War Memorial Heritage Management Plan 2022 (Cth)
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Australian War Memorial Heritage Management
Plan 2022
I, Matt Anderson, Director of the Australian War Memorial, acting pursuant to section 341S(2) of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, hereby make The Australian War Memorial Heritage Management Plan 2022, to protect and manage the Commonwealth Heritage values of the Commonwealth Heritage place, Australian War Memorial.
This instrument commences on the day after it is registered.
16 January 2023
Matt Anderson
Director
Australian War Memorial
Australian War Memorial
Heritage Management Plan
Revised Final Report
Report prepared for the Memorial
March 2022
Report Register
The following report register documents the development and issue of the report entitled Australian War Memorial—Heritage Management Plan—Revised Final Report, undertaken by GML Heritage Pty Ltd in accordance with its quality management system.
| Job No. | Issue No. | Notes/Description | Issue Date |
| 18-0245 | 1 | Draft Report | 4 September 2018 |
| 18-0245 | 2 | Revised Draft Report | 8 July 2019 |
| 18-0245 | 3 | Final Draft Report | 5 August 2019 |
| 18-0245 | 4 | Final Report | 13 September 2019 |
| 18-0245B | 5 | Revised Final Report | 29 May 2020 |
| 18-0245B | 6 | Revised Final Report with minor amendments | 26 June 2020 |
| 18-0245B | 7 | Revised Final Report (DAWE comments amendments) | 8 June 2021 |
| 18-0245B | 8 | Revised Final Report (DAWE and AWM comments amendments) | 22 June 2021 |
| 18-0245B | 9 | Revised Final Report (for DAWE review) | 2 July 2021 |
| 18-0245B | 10 | Revised Final Report (for AHC review) | 12 August 2021 |
| 18-0256B | 11 | Revised Final Report (AHC Review) | 29 November 2021 |
| 18-0245B | 12 | Revised Final Report (AHC Amendments) | 11 February 2022 |
| 18-0245B | 13 | Revised Final Report (minor AHC Amendments) | 10 March 2022 |
Quality Assurance
GML Heritage Pty Ltd operates under a quality management system which has been certified as complying with the Australian/New Zealand Standard for quality management systems AS/NZS ISO 9001:2008.
The report has been reviewed and approved for issue in accordance with the GML quality assurance policy and procedures.
Copyright
Historical sources and reference material used in the preparation of this report are acknowledged and referenced at the end of each section and/or in figure captions. Reasonable effort has been made to identify, contact, acknowledge and obtain permission to use material from the relevant copyright owners.
Unless otherwise specified or agreed, copyright in this report vests in GML Heritage Pty Ltd (‘GML’) and in the owners of any pre-existing historic source or reference material.
Moral Rights
GML asserts its Moral Rights in this work, unless otherwise acknowledged, in accordance with the (Commonwealth) Copyright (Moral Rights) Amendment Act 2000. GML’s moral rights include the attribution of authorship, the right not to have the work falsely attributed and the right to integrity of authorship.
Right to Use
GML grants to the client for this project (and the client’s successors in title) an irrevocable royalty- free right to reproduce or use the material from this report, except where such use infringes the copyright and/or Moral Rights of GML or third parties.
Cover Image: Roll of Honour, AWM. (Source: GML, 2018)
Contents Page
Executive Summary
Abbreviations and Definitions
i
iii
Abbreviations iii Australian War Memorial Terms iv Definitions and Terminology iv 1.0 Introduction
1
1.1 Background 1 1.2 Previous Heritage and Conservation Management Plans 1 1.3 Location of the Site 2 1.4 Heritage Listings 3 1.5 Heritage Register 6 1.6 Consultation 6 1.7 Endnotes 7 2.0 Understanding the Place—Historical Context
8
2.1 Aboriginal Cultural and Historical Context 8 2.2 Origins and Establishment 8 2.3 Expansion and Evolution 14 2.4 New Meanings 16 2.4.1 The Western Precinct—1999 to Present 19 2.4.2 The Eastern Precinct 24 2.5 Australian War Memorial Development Project 2019-2028 25 2.5.1 Project Development 25 2.5.2 Initial Business Case (2017) 25 2.5.3 Detailed Business Case—Development of Options 27 2.5.4 Design Development 37 2.5.5 The Replacement of Anzac Hall 40 2.5.6 Project Development Outcomes 42 2.5.7 Community Response to the Development Project and Designs 43 2.5.8 Closure and demolition of Anzac Hall 43 2.6 Endnotes 44 3.0 Understanding the Place—Physical Context
45
3.1 Topographic Context 45 3.2 Physical Description 45 3.2.1 The Main Memorial Building 49 3.2.2 The Commemorative Area 49 3.2.3 The Galleries 52 3.2.4 The Dioramas 55 3.2.5 ANZAC Hall 56 3.2.6 The Administration Building 57 3.2.7 CEW Bean Building 57
3.2.8 The Landscape 58
3.2.9The Lone Pine 60
3.2.10 Site Vegetation and Natural Heritage 61
3.2.11 Aboriginal Cultural Heritage 62
3.3 Comparative Analysis 64
3.3.1 Introduction 64
3.3.2 War Memorials in Australia 64
3.3.3 National Institutions in Canberra 66
3.4 Conclusion 73
3.5 Endnotes 74
4.0Understanding the Heritage Values 75
4.1 Introduction 75
4.2 Identifying Heritage Values 75
4.2.1 Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) 75
4.2.2 Indigenous Heritage Values 76
4.2.3 Natural Heritage Values 77
4.3 National and Commonwealth Heritage Values 77
4.3.1 National Heritage List Statement of Significance 77
4.3.2 Commonwealth Heritage List Statement of Significance 78
4.4 National and Commonwealth Heritage Values Commentary 78
4.4.1 Status of Heritage Values 78
4.4.2 National Heritage Values—Official and Suggested Revision 79
4.4.3 Commonwealth Heritage values—Official and Suggested Revision 82
4.5 Other Heritage Values 86
4.5.1 Natural Heritage Values 86
4.5.2 Indigenous Heritage Values 87
4.5.3 Values as Part of the Parliament House Vista 87
4.6 Summary of National and Commonwealth Heritage Values 88
4.7 Endnotes 89
5.0Issues and Constraints 90
5.1 Introduction 90
5.2 The Legislative and Management Framework 90
5.2.1 Australian War Memorial Act 1980 (Cth) 90
5.2.2 Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) 91
5.2.3 Statutory Listings 94
5.2.4 Statutory Listings—ACT 95
5.2.5 Non-statutory Listings 95
5.2.6 Australian Capital Territory (Planning and Land Management) Act 1988 (Cth) 95
5.2.7 The National Capital Plan 96
5.2.8 NCA Development and Works Approval within Designated Areas 96
5.2.9 National Memorials Ordinance 1928 (ACT) 97
5.3 Conservation and Condition Monitoring 98
5.3.1 Monitoring Heritage Values 98
5.3.2 Approvals 98
5.3.3 Conservation Works 99
5.3.4 Structural Issues 99
5.3.5Gallery Redevelopment 100
5.3.6Maintenance 100
5.3.7The Condition of Non-Fabric Based Heritage Values 100
5.4 Landscape 101
5.4.1Tree Management 101
5.4.2Pests and Faunal Disturbance 101
5.4.3The Sculpture Garden 102
5.5 Site Use 102
5.5.1Change of Use—Pressure on Gallery Space 102
5.5.2Increased Visitation 103
5.5.3Accessibility 103
5.6 Hazards and Risks 103
5.6.1Fire 104
5.6.2Leaks 104
5.6.3Site Security 104
5.6.4Services and Infrastructure 104
5.6.5Ongoing Management Issues 105
5.7 Indigenous Cultural Issues and Consultation 105
5.7.1Indigenous Stakeholder Consultation 106
5.8 Future Proposals 106
5.8.1Gallery Master planning 106
5.8.2Site Development Plan Review 107
5.9 AWM Development Project 107
5.9.1Assessment Process 107
5.9.2Development Project—HMP Compliance 108
5.9.3Development Project—EPBC Act Approval Conditions 108
5.10Conclusions 108
5.11Endnotes 109
6.0 Conservation Policy 110
6.1 Implementation of the Conservation Policies and Actions 110
6.1.1Timing/Priority 110
6.1.2Responsibilities 110
6.2 Key Objective of the General Conservation Policy 111
6.2.1Policy 1: Conservation Processes 111
6.2.2Policy 2: Management Processes 114
6.2.3Policy 3: Stakeholder and Community Consultation 115
6.2.4Policy 4: Interpretation 117
6.2.5Policy 5: Documentation, Monitoring and Review 118
6.2.6Policy 6: Research and Training 118
6.2.7Policy 7: Use, Access and Security 119
6.3 Specific Conservation Policies 120
6.3.1Commemorative Area 120
6.3.2Galleries 121
6.3.3Landscape 123
7.0 Key Conclusions of the HMP 124
8.0 Appendices 127
Appendix A
Decision Making Process
Appendix B
Heritage Impact Self-Assessment Form
Appendix C
EPBC Regulations Compliance Checklists
Appendix D
NCA Works Approval Application Information Checklists
Appendix E
AWM and Memorial Parade National Heritage List Citation
Appendix F
AWM Commonwealth Heritage List Citation
Appendix G
Parliament House Vista Commonwealth Heritage List Citation
Appendix H
AWM Vegetation Study, Neil Urwin—Griffin Associates Environmental
Appendix I
Navin Officer, Australian War Memorial, Campbell and Mitchell, ACT—Indigenous Cultural Heritage Assessment, March 2008
Appendix J
Memorial Stakeholder and Community Consultation
Appendix K
EPBC Referral 2019-8574 Approval Conditions
Executive Summary
War memorials are ubiquitous expressions of Australian nationhood. They appear amongst every concentration of people across the country, from our cities to our tiny outback towns. But the grandest of these expressions, the monument that strives to honour all forms of remembrance and all events that need to be remembered, is the Australian War Memorial (AWM) in Canberra.
The AWM is Australia’s National Shrine to those Australians who lost their lives and suffered as a result of war. It is an important place to the Australian community as a whole and has special associations with veterans and their families and descendants of those who fought in wars for Australia.
The AWM is unique in Australia and believed rare in the world as a purpose built repository where the nature of commemoration is based in equal parts in the relationship between the building, the collections of objects and records and the commemorative spaces.
Its physical presence alone is a dominant feature of the nation’s capital: an Art Deco edifice at the head of Anzac Parade facing the federal houses of parliament across Lake Burley Griffin.
A shrine, a museum, an archive, a formal landscape and an outstanding collection of buildings, the AWM offers itself to the nation as a place for reflection, research, education and ceremony. It embodies many heritage values which are recognised by its inclusion in the National Heritage List along with Anzac Parade, the Commonwealth Heritage List, the Register of the National Estate, the ACT Royal Australian Institute of Architects’ National Heritage List and Register of Significant Twentieth Century Architecture, the ACT National Trust Register.
The Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and its accompanying regulations (EPBC Regulations) oblige government agencies to conserve and manage the heritage values of sites in their control. The legislation defines heritage principles that agencies must follow and directs agencies to create documents for guiding their care of heritage places, including this Heritage Management Plan.
This Heritage Management Plan (HMP) acts as a practical guide for conserving, managing and interpreting the site’s heritage. It begins by describing the AWM in detail: its history, its features and its heritage values. It discusses factors that need to be considered when managing the site, such as its statutory context and compliance requirements. The final sections of the plan provide conservation policies for the place’s managers and staff to follow. The report includes a collection of appendices that give further guidance and detailed information for asset managers and curators alike.
To conserve the AWM’s heritage values, the heritage legislation, a range of organisations and the general public, other management documents, logistics, forward planning and changing cultural attitudes need to be considered. This HMP acknowledges the significant obligations they place on the site’s managers and emphasises the need for community involvement and great care in any future development of the AWM.
Mindful of these issues, this plan provides useful policies to guide the Memorial to care for the site’s heritage values from day to day. Section 6.2 outlines general policies for the whole site and Section 6.3 focuses on individual parts in more detail. The policies cover conservation processes; management processes; stakeholder consultation and community involvement; interpretation; documentation, monitoring and review; and use, access and security. Recommended actions and timing for implementation are provided for each policy.
To put these policies into practice, the Memorial will formally adopt this HMP. Specific policies and actions will need to be implemented by the head of Buildings and Services and other sections will have roles to play as well.
The HMP offers various tools to guide policy implementation. Along with the recommended actions mentioned above these tools include an outline of a decision-making process and a works assessment for to help assess the heritage impacts of proposed actions at the site (provided as Appendices A and B).
This HMP relates to the AWM at the time of drafting (September 2018—June 2021). The information and policies in this document therefore reflect the status and condition of the AWM at this time. As the AWM undergoes changes associated with scheduled upcoming development, this program of works will be managed in accordance with the conditions of the project’s regulatory approvals and this HMP, where applicable. Updates to the topics in this HMP which reflect the outcomes of the development project will be implemented in the next version of the HMP.
The HMP confirms that the following key principles are essential to protect the national heritage significance of this important site:
When considering change or development at the site, consult widely.
Always be consistent with the HMP when taking any action that will affect features with heritage value.
Integrate the HMP with the Memorial’s daily asset management and curatorial practices.
Constantly monitor the implementation of this document and the condition of the site’s heritage values.
In accordance with the EPBC Act provisions, review this plan after major changes in circumstance, including the completion of the AWM development project, or every five years, whichever is earlier.
Abbreviations and Definitions
Abbreviations
The following table outlines a range of standard abbreviations used in the preparation of heritage management plans as well as specific abbreviations for this report.
Abbreviation Definition ACT Australian Capital Territory AHC Australian Heritage Council AHDB Australian Heritage Database AIA Australian Institute of Architects AR Archival Recording, or Record AWM Australian War Memorial BCA Building Code of Australia BS Buildings and Services BSS Buildings and Services Section CAM Communications and Marketing CHL Commonwealth Heritage List CMG Corporate Management Group CMP Conservation Management Plan Cth Commonwealth DAWE Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment DCP Development Control Plan DEX Digital Experience EPBC Act Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) FCAC Federal Capital Advisory Committee GML GML Heritage Pty Ltd HA Heritage Assessment HIA Heritage Impact Assessment HMP Heritage Management Plan ICOMOS International Council on Monuments and Sites ILO Indigenous Liaison Officer LGA Local Government Area MNES Matter of National Environmental Significance NC Act Nature Conservation Act 2014 (ACT) NAA National Archives of Australia NCA National Capital Authority NCP National Capital Plan NFSA National Film and Sound Archive
| Abbreviation | Definition |
| NGA | National Gallery of Australia |
| NHL | National Heritage List |
| NLA | National Library of Australia |
| NMA | National Museum of Australia |
| OPH | Old Parliament House |
| PO | Project Officer |
| PR | Photographic Recording |
| RAO | Representative Aboriginal Organisation |
| RNE | Register of the National Estate |
| RSSILA | Returned Sailors & Soldiers Imperial League of Australia |
Australian War Memorial Terms
To assist with understanding the references provided in this report, the Australian War Memorial terms used have been defined below.
| Term | Definition |
| Australian War Memorial (AWM) | Refers to the buildings (including the main Memorial building, ANZAC Hall, Administration building, the CEW Bean Building and Poppy’s Café), and surrounding grounds located at Campbell, ACT, that are managed by the Memorial (see above) as a national shrine, museum and archive. |
| AWM Mitchell Precinct | Refers to the buildings located at Mitchell, ACT that are managed by the Memorial. It includes Treloar A (also known as the Annex), Treloar B, Treloar C, Treloar D (the Old Post Office), Treloar E and Treloar F (currently under lease). |
| The Memorial | Refers to the organisational body and its people that manages the AWM and the AWM Mitchell Precinct (see above). |
| Main Memorial Building | Refers to the sandstone building located at the AWM. |
Definitions and Terminology
| Term | Definition |
| Commonwealth Heritage List (CHL) | The CHL is a list of heritage places which are within a Commonwealth area (land owned or leased by the Commonwealth) which have been identified as having one or more Commonwealth Heritage values. To have Commonwealth Heritage values a place must have been assessed as being significant against one or more of the nine Commonwealth Heritage criteria. Places in the list can have natural, Indigenous and/or historic heritage values, or a combination of these, and range from places of local through to world heritage levels of importance. |
| Commonwealth Heritage criteria | Under s 341D of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act), these are the criteria prescribed in the EPBC Regulations at reg 10.03A to establish if a place within a Commonwealth area has significant heritage value for its natural, Indigenous or historic heritage values. |
| Commonwealth Heritage values | Commonwealth Heritage values are the legally listed values for which a place is included in the CHL. These can comprise one or more natural and cultural (historic or Indigenous) aspects such as significance for reasons of historical, research, aesthetic or social importance, or due to a place’s significant rarity, creative or technical achievement, characteristic features of a class of place, association with important people or importance as part of Indigenous tradition. |
Term Definition Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) (EPBC Act) The EPBC Act is the key piece of Commonwealth environmental legislation in Australia. It provides a legal framework to protect and manage nationally and internationally important flora, fauna, ecological communities and heritage places. The Act defines and protects these ‘matters of national environmental significance’ (MNES) as:
· world heritage properties
· national heritage places
· wetlands of international importance (listed under the Ramsar Convention)
· listed threatened species and ecological communities
· migratory species protected under international agreements
· Commonwealth marine areas
· Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
· nuclear actions (including uranium mines)
· a water resource, in relation to coal seam gas development and large coal mining development.
The EPBC Act also regulates actions on, or impacting on, the environment on Commonwealth land, or actions by Commonwealth agencies impacting the environment in general. This includes protecting heritage values on Commonwealth land and controlling actions taken by the Commonwealth that may have a significant impact on the environment, including heritage values.
Heritage Assessment (HA) A HA is a report that includes the history and physical description of the property, along with analysis of environmental history and archaeological potential. Comparison with similar sites with identified heritage values is included. Historical themes using the Australian Historical Themes Framework are identified, where relevant. Assessment of this information against the criteria for the NHL and CHL is included, and a summary statement of heritage significance is provided. Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) A HIA is a report that analyses the potential impacts of a proposal on the heritage values of a place. The HIA also identifies mitigation and management measures to reduce the severity of impacts, where possible. Mitigation measures can include retention and re-use of building fabric on site, interpretation of heritage values, archival recording, undertaking oral history interviews and preparing a publication on the history and heritage values of the site.
Key inputs to a HIA include the alternatives considered in the planning process for the proposal. A HIA can include a HA where this has not been prepared to date.
A HIA assists with deciding if a proposal needs to be referred under the EPBC Act. HIAs need to be prepared using the EPBC ACT Significant Impact Guidelines 1.1 and 1.2. For more information on these refer to the ‘Useful Guides’ section below.
Heritage Management Plan (HMP) HMPs are prepared for places included in the NHL, CHL, or places with identified heritage values established through a heritage assessment against the Commonwealth or National Heritage criteria. They are intended to help managers to conserve and protect the National and Commonwealth Heritage values of a place by setting out the conservation policies to be followed.
HMPs need to be prepared in accordance with the requirements of the EPBC Regulations, including the National and Commonwealth Heritage management principles. HMPs include the HA (either integrated or as an appendix) and provide heritage compliance guidance, assess risks to heritage values, and provide detailed policies and guidelines to support the conservation management of the property’s identified heritage values. A maintenance guide and action plan can also be included to assist with implementing the HMP.
Heritage Register This is a database of heritage places or assets managed by the Memorial, and is a requirement under s 341ZB of the EPBC Act. Heritage Strategy This is a document that provides for the integration of heritage conservation and management within the Memorial’s overall property planning and management framework and is a requirement under s 341ZA of EPBC Act. Identified heritage values Identified heritage values refers to those values that have been identified through a heritage assessment, tested and found to meet the applicable threshold but have not been nominated or officially listed. National Heritage List (NHL) The NHL is a list of heritage places which have been identified as having one or more National Heritage values. To have National Heritage values a place must have been assessed as of outstanding heritage value to the nation against one or more of the nine National Heritage criteria. Places in the lists can have natural, Indigenous and/or historic heritage values, or a combination of these.
| Term | Definition |
| National Heritage criteria | Under s 324D of the EPBC Act, these are the criteria prescribed in the EPBC Regulations at reg 10.01A to establish if a place has outstanding heritage value to the nation for its natural, Indigenous or historic heritage values. |
| National Heritage values | National Heritage values are the legally listed values for which a place is included in the NHL. These can comprise one or more natural or cultural (historic or Indigenous) aspects such as significance for reasons of historical, research, aesthetic or social importance, or due to a place’s significant rarity, creative or technical achievement, characteristic features of a class of place, association with important people or importance as part of Indigenous tradition. |
Throughout this HMP, the terms place, cultural significance, fabric, conservation, maintenance, preservation, restoration, reconstruction, adaptation, use, compatible use, setting, related place, related object, associations, meanings, and interpretation are used as defined in The Burra Charter: the Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance, 2013 (the Burra Charter). Therefore, the meanings of these terms in this report may differ from their popular meanings.
| Term | Definition |
| Place | Site, area, land, landscape, building or other work, group of buildings or other works, and may include components, contents, spaces and views. |
| Cultural significance | Aesthetic, historic, scientific, social or spiritual value for past, present or future generations. Cultural significance is embodied in the place itself, its fabric, setting, use, associations, meanings, records, related places and related objects. Places may have a range of values for different individuals or groups. |
| Fabric | All the physical material of the place including components, fixtures, contents, and objects. |
| Conservation | All the processes of looking after a place so as to retain its cultural significance. |
| Maintenance | The continuous protective care of the fabric and setting of a place, and is to be distinguished from repair. Repair involves restoration or reconstruction. |
| Preservation | Maintaining the fabric of a place in its existing state and retarding deterioration. |
| Restoration | Returning the existing fabric of a place to a known earlier state by removing accretions or by reassembling existing components without the introduction of new material. |
| Reconstruction | Returning a place to a known earlier state, which is distinguished from restoration by the introduction of new material into the fabric. |
| Adaptation | Modifying a place to suit the existing use or a proposed use. |
| Use | The functions of a place, as well as the activities and practices that may occur at the place. |
| Compatible use | A use which respects the cultural significance of a place. Such a use involves no, or minimal, impact on cultural significance. |
| Setting | The area around a place, which may include the visual catchment. |
| Related place | A place that contributes to the cultural significance of another place. |
| Related object | An object that contributes to the cultural significance of a place but is not at the place. |
| Associations | The special connections that exist between people and a place. |
| Meanings | Denote what a place signifies, indicates, evokes or expresses. |
| Interpretation | All the ways of presenting the cultural significance of a place. |
In addition to the Burra Charter terms, the following have specific meanings within the context of this report:
Term Definition Attribute A feature that embodies the heritage values of a place. Element/Component A part of an attribute, or individual spaces within a place. Authenticity This is a measure of the place as an authentic product of its history and of historical processes. Cultural heritage places may meet the conditions of authenticity if their cultural values are faithfully and credibly expressed through a variety of attributes such as form and design, materials and substance, traditions, techniques and management systems, location and setting, language and other forms of intangible heritage, spirit and feeling. Integrity This is a measure of the wholeness and intactness of the place and its attributes. Examining the conditions of integrity requires assessing the extent to which the place:
· includes all attributes and elements necessary to express its value;
· is of adequate size to ensure the complete representation of the features and processes that convey the place’s significance; and
· suffers from adverse effects of development and/or neglect.
Policy (Conservation Policy) A statement or suite of statements framed to guide the ongoing use, care and management of the place and to retain, and if possible reinforce, its cultural significance. Once adopted or endorsed, they should be implemented or acted upon. Guideline A statement framed to clarify or guide the implementation of a broader conservation policy, setting a preferred direction for such implementation.
1.0
Introduction
1.1 Background
The AWM is a national shrine, a museum and an archive located in the northern Canberra suburb of Campbell in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It is managed by the Memorial and is a major research centre and tourist attraction, now consistently attracting more than one million visitors per year.1
These functions of the AWM are supported by the AWM Mitchell Precinct, which is also managed by the Memorial. The AWM Mitchell Precinct, consisting of Treloar A (also known as Annex A), Treloar B, Treloar C, Treloar D (the Old Post Office), Treloar E and Treloar F (currently under lease), provides additional storage and conservation facilities for the AWM collection in the suburb of Mitchell, ACT.
The values of the AWM are recognised through its inclusion in the National Heritage List (NHL) and the Commonwealth Heritage List (CHL) (refer to Appendix E and F for the official citations). The EPBC Act requires that a HMP be prepared for National and Commonwealth Heritage places to conserve, present and transmit their heritage values.
This HMP has been prepared by GML Heritage Pty Ltd (GML) in line with the requirements of the EPBC Act and its Regulations. A compliance table showing how this HMP meets the requirements of the EPBC Act and its Regulations is included at Appendix C. Additional text has been provided by the Memorial, in particular on the Australian War Memorial Development Project 2019–2028, provided 27 November 2021, at Sections 2.5, 5 and 6.
1.2 Previous Heritage and Conservation Management Plans
This HMP will update and replace the previous management plans for the AWM, which are listed as follows:
·Godden Mackay Logan Pty Ltd 2011, Australian War Memorial Heritage Management Plan, prepared for the Australian War Memorial, Canberra;
·Pearson, M and Crocket, G 1995, Australian War Memorial Conservation Management Plan (CMP), prepared for Bligh Voller Architects (referred to as the 1995 CMP);
·Crocket, G 1997, Australian War Memorial Significance Assessment Report, prepared for Bligh Voller Architects; and
·Bligh Voller Nield and HMC 1997, Australian War Memorial Heritage Conservation Masterplan, prepared for the Australian War Memorial.
The 1995 CMP was based on the Register of the National Estate (RNE) listing (date of listing 21 October 1980, Place ID 13286). Entry in the Commonwealth Heritage List (CHL) occurred in 2004 while entry in the National Heritage List (NHL) occurred in 2006.
The Memorial has also produced a Heritage Strategy and Heritage Register to meet and manage its heritage obligations under the EPBC Act and its Regulations. The heritage values of the AWM Mitchell Precinct have been assessed in the AWM Heritage Register.
1.3 Location of the Site
The AWM is located in the ACT suburb of Campbell and is bounded by Limestone Avenue to the southwest, Fairbairn Avenue to the southeast and Treloar Crescent to the north. It is sited in a crucial symbolic location at the terminus of the land axis of Walter Burley Griffin’s plan for Canberra (refer to Figure 1.1).
The AWM has an area of approximately 14 hectares, including the whole of Section 39, Campbell, and is located at the foot of Mount Ainslie. This boundary is the area of land owned and controlled by the Memorial and is also the boundary of the Commonwealth Heritage listing for the AWM (refer to Section 1.4).
The AWM comprises:
the main Memorial Building;
ANZAC Hall;
the CEW Bean Building;
the Administration Building;
Poppy’s café; and
landscaped grounds incorporating sculptures, memorials, large technology objects, plaques, the Parade Ground and commemorative and landscape plantings (refer to Figure 1.2).
During the drafting this plan (September 2018–June 2021) the Memorial has scheduled the commencement of a development project at the AWM Campbell site. The development includes the removal and replacement of Anzac Hall, creation of a glazed link connecting the main Memorial Building and the new Anzac Hall, and a new Research Centre. These elements will be located in, and around, the main Memorial Building. This project has been approved under the EPBC Act, and the Memorial will manage the project in accordance with the conditions of this approval; this includes management of the project under the previous Heritage Management Plan (2011) under which the proposal was developed, submitted and approved.
Figure 1.1 The location of the AWM (red outline) within the context of the central national area of Canberra and the National Triangle (dotted orange outline). (Source: Google Earth with GML overlay, 2018)
1.4 Heritage Listings
The AWM is entered in the CHL and the listing boundary is shown in Figure 1.2. The CHL citation is included in Appendix E.
The AWM is also entered in the NHL. The National Heritage listing incorporates the whole of Anzac Parade (including the median strip and its monuments) and the AWM, shown in Figure 1.3. The complete NHL citation is included in Appendix F. The area of the National Heritage listing is approximately 25 hectares, with Anzac Parade owned and controlled by the National Capital Authority (NCA), not the Memorial. This HMP does not cover the Anzac Parade portion of the National Heritage place, which has its own HMP.2
The AWM also falls within the Parliament House Vista (see Figure 1.4), another Commonwealth Heritage place. The complete CHL citation is included in Appendix F.
Table 1.1 Summary of Statutory Heritage Listings Relevant to the AWM.
Place Location Class Status Place Number National Heritage List Australian War Memorial and the Memorial Parade Anzac Parade, Campbell, ACT Historic Listed Place 105889 Commonwealth Heritage List Australian War Memorial Anzac Parade, Campbell, ACT Historic Listed Place 105469 Parliament House Vista Anzac Parade, Parkes, ACT Historic Listed Place 105466
Figure 1.2 The AWM, showing the CHL boundary in red. (Source: Google Earth with GML overlay, 2018)
Figure 1.3 The NHL boundary shown outlined in yellow, incorporating both the AWM and Anzac Parade, with the CHL boundary of the AWM outlined in red. (Source: Google Earth with GML overlay, 2018)
Figure 1.4 The Parliament House Vista Commonwealth Heritage boundary outlined and hatched in red, showing places of heritage significance within the vista. (Source: Department of the Environment and Water Resources, 2008)
1.5 Heritage Register
The Memorial has prepared a Heritage Register in accordance with Section 341ZB (1)(c) of the EPBC Act and has assessed the heritage values of each place it owns and controls. The Heritage Register is a separate document that was created by GML for the Memorial in August 2020.
The AWM has eight entries in the Heritage Register, as set out in Table 1.2.
Table 1.2 Places Owned and Controlled by the Memorial with Commonwealth and National Heritage Value.
| Location | Element of Place | Register Entry Number | CHL/NHL Status |
| AWM | Entire AWM site | CH100 | CHL Place ID 105469 Within NHL Place ID 105889 |
| Hall of Memory, Courtyard and Roll of Honour | CH101 | Within CHL Place ID 105469 Within NHL Place ID 105889 | |
| Galleries | CH102 | Within CHL Place ID 105469 Within NHL Place ID 105889 | |
| Dioramas | CH102.001 | Within CHL Place ID 105469 Within NHL Place ID 105889 | |
| Landscape | CH103 | Within CHL Place ID 105469 Within NHL Place ID 105889 | |
| Lone Pine | CH103.001 | Within CHL Place ID 105469 Within NHL Place ID 105889 | |
| Sculpture Garden | CH103.003 | Within CHL Place ID 105469 Within NHL Place ID 105889 | |
| Aboriginal site | CH103.004 | Within CHL Place ID 105469 Within NHL Place ID 105889 | |
| AWM Mitchell Precinct | Treloar A (also known as Annex A) | CH104 | Not listed. Identified Commonwealth Heritage values |
1.6 Consultation
GML consulted with the Building and Services Section within the AWM Corporate Services Branch throughout the preparation of the HMP.
Consultation with relevant Indigenous community members was undertaken in the preparation of this HMP in 2018. This consultation was undertaken in accordance with the Ask First Guidelines.3 In the ACT there are four Representative Aboriginal Organisations (RAOs) with whom consultation should be undertaken for heritage related projects. These RAOs are:
Buru Ngunawal Aboriginal Corporation;
King Brown Tribal Group;
Mirrabei (formerly known as Little Gudgenby River Tribal Council); and
Ngarigo Currawong Clan.
Consultation discussion was held on site with Wally Bell of the Buru Ngunawal Aboriginal Corporation. All four groups were invited to participate in the consultation on site. A summary of the consultation is in included in Section 3.2.11 of this report.
1.7 Endnotes
1 Australian War Memorial 2017, Australian War Memorial Corporate Plan, 2017-2021, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, p 5.
2 Geoff Butler & Associates et al., Anzac Parade, Canberra—Heritage Management Plan, report prepared for National Capital Authority, August 2013.
3 Australian Heritage Commission 2002, Ask First: A Guide to Respecting Indigenous Heritage Places and Values, Australian Heritage Commission, Canberra.
2.0
Understanding the Place—Historical Context
This section provides a summary of the history of both the AWM as a place and the Memorial as an organisation. It draws on the historical analysis presented in the 1995 CMP1 and 2011 HMP, supplemented with additional material relating to the recent history of the place.
Further historical information regarding individual elements within the AWM is provided in the Heritage Register.
2.1 Aboriginal Cultural and Historical Context
Tribal boundaries within Australia are largely based on linguistic evidence and it is probable that boundaries, clan estates and band ranges were fluid and varied over time. Consequently, ‘tribal boundaries’ as delineated today must be regarded as approximations only and relative to the period of, or immediately before, European contact. Social interaction across these language boundaries appears to have been a common occurrence.
According to Tindale,2 the territories of the Ngunawal, Ngarigo and the Walgalu peoples coincide and meet in the Queanbeyan area. The AWM probably falls within the tribal boundaries of the Ngunawal people.
References to the traditional Aboriginal inhabitants of the Canberra region are rare and often difficult to interpret.3 However, the consistent impression is one of rapid depopulation and a desperate disintegration of a traditional way of life over little more than 50 years from initial European contact.4 This process was probably accelerated by the impact of European diseases, which may have included the smallpox epidemic in 1830, influenza, and a severe measles epidemic by the 1860s.5
By the 1850s the traditional Aboriginal economy had largely been replaced by an economy based on European commodities and supply points. Reduced population, isolation from the most productive grasslands, and the destruction of traditional social networks meant that the final decades of the region’s semi-traditional Indigenous culture and economy was centered around European settlements and properties.6
By 1856 the local ‘Canberra Tribe’, presumably members of the Ngunawal, were reported to number around 707 and by 1872 only five or six ‘survivors’ were recorded.8 In 1873, one so-called ‘pure blood’ member remained, known to the European community as Nelly Hamilton or ‘Queen Nellie’.
Combined with other ethnohistorical evidence, this lack of early accounts of Aboriginal people led Flood 9 to suggest that the Aboriginal population density in the Canberra region and Southern Uplands was generally quite low.
Frequently, only so called ‘pure blooded’ individuals were considered ‘Aboriginal’ or ‘tribal’ by European observers. This consideration made possible the assertion of local tribal ‘extinctions’. In reality, ‘Koori’ and tribal identity remained integral to the descendants of the nineteenth-century Ngunawal people, some of whom continue to live in the Canberra/Queanbeyan/Yass region.
2.2 Origins and Establishment
The origins of the AWM are integrally associated with CEW Bean, Australia’s official war correspondent during World War I (refer to Figure 2.1). Bean envisioned a national war museum in Australia’s new capital, Canberra, which would house the relics and trophies of battle. At the same time, Bean was actively working towards earning Australia the right to keep and maintain its own war
records, following the success of Canada in this regard in 1916. In May 1917, Lieutenant John Treloar was appointed officer-in-charge of the Australian War Records Section, before serving as Director of the Memorial between 1920 and 1952 (refer to Figure 2.2).
Figure 2.1 CEW Bean, war correspondent and historian who worked towards the founding of an Australian war museum, 1919. (Source: Australian War Memorial, ID number P04340.004)
Figure 2.2 John Treloar, Officer-in-Charge of Australian War Records, and Director of the AWM for 32 years. (Source: Australian War Memorial, ID number 023405)
Earlier in 1917 the Commonwealth had indicated support for Bean’s concept of a national war museum in Canberra and by 1918 Bean had strengthened his vision to link the collected war relics and war records with the idea of a lasting memorial to those who had died in the war. An Australian War Museum committee was established in 1919 and Henry Gullett was appointed first Director of the Museum. Bean and Treloar believed that the memorial and museum functions were philosophically and operationally inseparable and, along with Gullett, they were to guide its creation and operation over a 40-year period.
The existing site of the AWM may have been considered by Bean as early as 1919. Charles Daley, Secretary of the Federal Capital Advisory Committee, claims to have suggested the site where Walter Burley Griffin had located his ‘Casino’—at the terminal of the main land axis of the city plan. In 1923, the Commonwealth finally announced its intention to proceed with this site for the ‘Australian War Memorial’ and in 1925 the AWM was constituted in Commonwealth legislation. The AWM was inaugurated on 25 April 1929 (refer to Figure 2.3).
Figure 2.3 The inauguration of the AWM on Anzac Day 1929. (Source: National Archives of Australia, 3560, 5253)
The competition for the design of the AWM was conducted from 1925–1926. However, none of the entries met all of the competition’s conditions and no winner was announced. Two of the competitors, Emil Sodersten (formerly Sodersteen) and John Crust, were subsequently asked to develop a new collaborative design incorporating the architectural style of Sodersteen and the innovative and cost- cutting approach of Crust. The new joint Sodersteen and Crust design was presented in 1927. The architectural style of the design was primarily Sodersteen’s work and drew upon the then recent development of the Art Deco style from Europe. This architectural styling became popular in Canberra in the postwar period, influencing buildings such as the Institute of Anatomy (now the National Film and Sound Archive) built in 1928–1930. The form of the AWM and design of the main Memorial building was also strongly influenced by Crust’s intention to incorporate a commemorative courtyard for the Roll of Honour, along with CEW Bean’s original concept for a central ‘great hall’, now the Hall of Memory.
Construction at the AWM, which began in 1928–1929, was curtailed and then postponed by the onset of the Depression. In 1934, the ‘Lone Pine’ propagated from seed brought back from the battlefield of Gallipoli was planted within the otherwise denuded landscape (refer to Figure 2.4). Some construction work started again but many details of the building remained unresolved. While the main Memorial building is one of Australia’s earliest major buildings designed and constructed in the Art Deco style, the design was subject to a host of changes and the details of the building were not finally settled until 1936.
Figure 2.4 The Duke of Gloucester planting the Lone Pine, 1933. (Source: National Library of Australia, P583, Album 827)
In 1937 the Memorial’s Board resolved to commission sculpture, stained glass windows and mosaics to complete the Hall of Memory. Napier Waller, a noted Australian artist in large scale murals and mosaics, was invited to submit designs for both the mosaic and stained glass. Leslie Bowles was commissioned to produce designs for the large scale sculpture. Both artists had served in the armed forces in World War I. During World War II, the interiors of the Hall of Memory were reconsidered, and Percy Meldrum collaborated with the artists to help solve the architectural issues of the applied decoration. While Waller was able to proceed with his designs for mosaics, Bowles’ models were rejected. Ray Ewers continued Bowles’ work, with the design for the ‘Australian servicemen’ being accepted in 1955. The installation of the mosaics also commenced in 1955, under the supervision of Aldo Rossi and Severino de Marco (refer to Figure 2.5). The Hall of Memory was finally opened in 1959 (refer to Figure 2.6).
Figure 2.5 Aldo Rossi, Severino de Marco and Mr Napier Waller examining mosaic prior to fixing, 1955. (Source: Australian War Memorial, ID number 042349)
Figure 2.6 Aldo Rossi putting the finishing touches to the dome in 1958. (Source: National Archives of Australia, A1200/18)
Parts of the main Memorial building were occupied by AWM staff and collections as early as 1935, although the main structure was not completed until 1941 (Figure 2.7–Figure 2.8). The official opening on 11 November 1941, Remembrance Day, acknowledged that the building was substantially complete, however, some areas were not finished until many years later.
Figure 2.7 The main Memorial building during construction in 1941. (Source: Australian War Memorial, ID number P0131.002)
Figure 2.8 The main Memorial building prior to completion of the Parade Ground and landscaping. (Source: Australian War Memorial, ID number P01313.002)
Figure 2.9 The cloisters in 1945 before the initial installation of the Roll of Honour. (Source: Australian War Memorial, ID number 085709)
One of the outcomes of the long construction period was the evolution of enhanced display technology for the collection. Another was the advent of World War II. In 1939, the intended role of the AWM—to commemorate those who died in World War I, then known as the Great War—was reviewed. After much consideration, the Board of the Memorial recommended in 1941 that the scope of the Australian War Memorial Act be extended to incorporate the new war and Treloar transferred to the Department of Information as the Head of Military History Section at Army Headquarters to coordinate the collection of relics and records arising from that conflict. As a result, plans for the extension of the main Memorial building were prepared c1947, although not constructed until the 1960s. The Australian War Memorial Act was again amended in 1952 to extend its scope to include Australian involvement in all wars. In 1975 the scope was further broadened to allow commemoration of Australians who died as a result of war, but who had not served in the Australian armed forces.10
2.3 Expansion and Evolution
The AWM is a place that has always adapted by responding to society’s changing need for commemoration and perceptions of the significance of military history generally. The decision to include World War II in the scope of the AWM necessitated extensions to the space available for display (refer to Figure 2.10). In 1961 the Roll of Honour panels commemorating the dead of World War I were installed within the cloisters (refer to Figure 2.9). Supplementary panels commemorating later conflicts have continued to be installed since the 1960s, with the panels updated annually to reflect those involved in ongoing conflicts. In 1968–1971 two wings were constructed to extend the transepts of the main Memorial building. These extensions were entirely in keeping with the original concept of the building, utilising the same design and stonework. The extensions of the transepts
enhanced the symmetry of the design and their scale offset the ‘Byzantinesque’ dome and reinforced the church-like cruciform plan of the building. The first ancillary building to be built was the Outpost Café, constructed in 1960 (refer to Figure 2.11).
In 1988 the Administration Building was the first significant additional structure to be added to the AWM, allowing the transfer of administrative functions from the main Memorial building.
Figure 2.10 Floor plans for the original galleries prior to the construction of the additional wings in the 1960s. (Source: Australian War Memorial)
Figure 2.11 The former ‘Outpost Café’, shortly before its demolition. (Source: GML 2007)
2.4 New Meanings
The installation of the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Solider in 1993 signaled another significant evolution in the meaning of the AWM. The famous speech delivered by the then prime minister, Paul Keating, at the interment signaled that, more than ever before, the sacrifice of ordinary men and women in war was seen as crucial to national identity:11
The Unknown Australian Soldier we inter today was one of those who by his deeds proved that real nobility and grandeur belongs not to empires and nations but to the people on whom they, in the last resort, always depend.
That is surely at the heart of the Anzac story, the Australian legend which emerged from the war. It is a legend not of sweeping military victories so much as triumphs against the odds, of courage and ingenuity in adversity. It is a legend of free and independent spirits whose discipline derived less from military formalities and customs than from the bonds of mateship and the demands of necessity.
It has been suggested that with the interment of the Unknown Australian Soldier the meaning of the Hall of Memory has been clarified and entrenched as a national mausoleum and the heart of the AWM.12 With the growth of the importance of ‘heritage’ through the 1990s, memorials to war have taken on new meanings in Australian society; it has been argued that they provide a mythology or even a sacred component for the secular modern nation.13 This is reflected in a dynamic period of change and development across the AWM, mirroring the rise in the symbolic cultural importance of memorials which commemorate the sacrifice of Australians in war. From the mid-1990s to the present, the Memorial has expanded and upgraded its galleries and exhibitions and also made significant changes to its surrounding grounds. Between 1996 and 1999, the Memorial undertook Gallery Development Stage One. This included redeveloping the Second World War Galleries and Research Centre, relocating and changing the Post 1945 Galleries, the redesign and expansion of the Orientation Gallery and the creation of a temporary exhibition space. These were opened by then Prime Minister John Howard.
This period also included the final stage of development of the Western Courtyard and Sculpture Garden. The Aircraft Hall was completed shortly after. ANZAC Hall, adjoining the rear of the main Memorial building, was completed in 2001. This provided a major new exhibition space where large objects are now presented in an ‘object theatre’ manner. This building was awarded the Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Best Public Building by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) in 2005.
The subsequent stage of redevelopment, Gallery Development Two, centered around the development of the Conflicts 1945 to Today Galleries on the lower level of the main Memorial building and the new Discovery Zone, a hands-on education centre that opened in 2007. To facilitate this development, staff and some of the collection were required to relocate to a new building, constructed on the eastern side of the main Memorial building. Named after CEW Bean, the building was opened in April 2006. It is connected to the main Memorial building by a tunnel. The new offices were opened in February 2008. The Conflicts 1945 to Today galleries display collections from conflicts that Australia has been involved in since World War II, including various peacekeeping missions. They were opened by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. These galleries display major collection items, such as an Iroquois helicopter from the Vietnam War, and have also reinvigorated the Memorial’s use of dioramas by developing one based on the Battle of Kapyong during the Korean War. Nearby a ‘virtual’ electronic diorama was produced on the Battle of Maryang San. Australia’s involvement in conflicts since 1945, including Korea (1950– 1953), Vietnam (1962–1975), the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960) and the Indonesian Confrontation (1962–1966) are interpreted. Also included in these galleries is a link to a display in the bridge of the HMAS Brisbane, which has been installed outside the main Memorial building. This ship saw action in the Vietnam War and the First Gulf War.
In 2004 the Parade Ground, on the southern face of the AWM, was redeveloped to improve access and comfort for spectators and dignitaries at ceremonial events. The design used the same materials as in the main Memorial building, in keeping with the national significance of this site. All of the existing terraces were demolished, leaving only the Stone of Remembrance. Sandstone terraces and a forecourt were created around the stone. The design has successfully enhanced the relationship between the AWM and Anzac Parade and is a fittingly grand, yet simple, design for this significant ceremonial area.
Figure 2.12 The Sinai and Palestine Gallery in 1944. (Source: Australian War Memorial, ID number 086848)
Figure 2.13 One of the France galleries in 1944 showing the effect of the skylights. (Source: Australian War Memorial, ID number 086859)
| Figure 2.14 Trench mortars displayed in the Gun Gallery located on the lower level, beneath the courtyard in 1945. (Source: Australian War Memorial, ID number 085721) | Figure 2.15 The Pozieres, Semakh and Magdhaba dioramas in their original location, c1947. (Source: Australian War Memorial, ID number XS0375) |
Figure 2.16 Photograph of the AWM and Anzac Parade in 1984. (Source: Canberra, from Limestone Plains to Garden City, National Capital Development Commission, p 72)
Figure 2.17 Anzac Day at the AWM, 1965. (Source: National Library of Australia, nla.obj-143720304)
2.4.1 The Western Precinct—1999 to Present
The Western Precinct of the AWM was remodeled in 1999 for the creation of the commemorative Sculpture Garden—a place to display individual memorials and a range of significant sculptures from the Memorial’s collection. In 1995, Ray Ewers’ monumental ‘Australian Serviceman’ was moved from the Hall of Memory to the Sculpture Garden and other works have subsequently been sited in the area. The sculptures have been linked with commemorative plantings, including the earliest planting on the site, the Lone Pine. Sir Betram Mackennal’s famous bust ‘Bellona’ or ‘War’ was sited near the Lone Pine in 1998. This new location is particularly appropriate because Mackennal is said to have presented the work to the Commonwealth Government as a mark of respect for the valour exhibited at Gallipoli.
Two new memorials were commissioned in 1998 (British Commonwealth Occupation Force) and 1999 (Australian Servicewomen’s memorial). These more architectural memorials contrast with the monumentality and figurative nature of the earlier bronze sculptures which have been relocated to the garden. Since this time, a total of 25 memorials or sculptures have been installed within the formalised grounds of the AWM, and 10 large objects put on display. Over 150 plaques which commemorate individual unit associations have also been located in the garden.
Western Precinct Memorials
Since 1999 a number of memorials have been installed in the Western Precinct.
General Sir John Monash (2018)
Figure 2.18 Sir John Monash sculpture, Australian War Memorial (Source: Australian War Memorial).
A sculpture of Sir John Monash was commissioned in 2016 to commemorate Sir John Monash’s legacy as an outstanding general of the First World War and his dedication to civic duty in the years after the war. It comprises of a larger than life size bronze realist figure of the older Sir John Monash clothed in a suit and displaying his military medals, gazing outward on top of a plinth cast in cement to resemble a large outcrop of striated sedimentary rock.
Monash stands with one foot placed on a rocky rise, signifying his commanding view of Australia’s destiny in its global context. The strength of his gaze and purposeful profile signifies his vision and leadership. His clothes intimate that he was a man of his time, however, the inclusion of the phrase “I am living and moving” asserts Monash’s continuing centrality to Australian cultural life, the way his legacy still lives and moves in us today. He holds a notebook in his right hand, alluding to his great intellectual legacy as a moving and humane chronicler of the war, as well as one of its greatest tacticians and leaders Symbolically, the rock functions both as a testament to Monash’s intellectual strength and fortitude, but also to the burden of responsibility that fell to him during his service and public life. The concrete plinth also gestures towards Monash’s pioneering work as an engineer in introducing reinforced concrete as a material in construction.
The modelling of the figure and fabrication of the plinth was carried out in the Visual Arts Workshops at Queensland University of Technology over a period of 4 months from October 2017. The figure and rings were cast in bronze at Billman’s Foundry, Castlemaine, Victoria in March 2018.
For Our Country (2018)
Figure 2.19 'For Our Country' sculpture (Source: Australian War Memorial).
'For our Country' recognises the military service of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is a space in which to commemorate their service in all conflicts in which Australia's military has been deployed. It is also a place to contemplate the sacrifices that Indigenous Australians have made and continue to make in defence of Country.
The idea for the commission was raised in 2016, following national consultation on the Memorial’s recognition and acknowledgement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service. Boyd and Edition Office’s design was selected from a shortlist of submissions and approved by a group of Indigenous military personnel, curators, and local Elders.
In 2018 artist Daniel Boyd, a Kudjala/Gangalu/Kuku, Yalanji/Waka, Waka/Gubbi Gubbi/Wangerriburra/ Bandjalung man from North Queensland, and Edition Office architects were commissioned to design a new sculpture for the Memorial Sculpture Gardens that recognised and commemorated the military service and experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
For our Country takes the form of a sculptural pavilion that measures 11 meters wide and 3 meters high, set behind a ceremonial fire pit within a circular stone field. From the front of the pavilion visitors see a wall of two-way mirrored glass covered in thousands of transparent lenses that reflect the viewer and the Memorial.
Connection to landscape is important to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture. The memorial contains soil deposited from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nations across Australia. The artist intended that each Nation be commemorated in this place, where the soil of their Country joins the many lands our ancestors have defended and from which they came to serve Australia.
Flanders Field Memorial Garden (2013)
Figure 2.20 Flanders Field Memorial Garden (Source: Australian War Memorial).
The Flanders Fields Memorial Garden is set within a formal grass court in the Australian War Memorial’s Western Precinct. An adjacent bronze plaque includes a dedication listing the Australian divisions that fought in Flanders, their insignia, and the cemeteries in which their members are buried.
The Garden is a commemoration of the Great War and, in particular, the 12,000 Australian lives lost in Belgium in 1917, of whom 6,000 have no known graves and are named on the Menin Gate Memorial in Ieper.
Work on the garden began in 2013, four years after the Flemish and Australian governments signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation between Australia and Belgium to increase community understanding and recognition in their respective countries of their shared history of the twentieth century's World Wars.
The commemorative text of John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders fields” is inscribed atop the Garden’s low stone walls. The overlapping text is designed to encourage visitors to experience the garden from every aspect as they walk around it in commemorative reflection. Much of the soil in the garden has come from areas of Flanders: It was collected in 2015 and 2016 with the assistance of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission from the Tyne Cot Cemetery and many of the battlefields in which Australian soldiers fell. The soil was shipped to Australia for treatment in early 2017 before being mixed with Australian soil and added to the garden. It is within this soil that the poppies will continue to grow.
The Memorial gratefully acknowledges the support of the Flemish government, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Australian Embassy to Belgium and Luxembourg and Mission to the European Union and NATO.
Animals in War (2009)
Figure 2.21 Animals in War memorial (Source: Australian War Memorial).
The Animals in War Memorial is a joint project between the Australian War Memorial and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA).
The memorial commemorates those animals that served alongside Australians in all conflicts. It recognises the practical and psychological roles animals have played during times of war and conflict. The Animals in War Memorial incorporates as its centerpiece a large bronze horse head, the only remaining fragment from the original Desert Mounted Corps memorial. The Desert Mounted Corps memorial was designed by Charles Web Gilbert, temporarily worked on by Paul Montford and completed by Sir Bertram Mackennal. It was installed in Port Said, Egypt and unveiled in 1932 by Australia's wartime Prime Minister Billy Hughes. In 1956 the Desert Mounted Corps memorial was destroyed by rioters during the Suez Crisis. The remaining fragments of this memorial were returned to Australia. A new memorial, made by Ray Ewers and modelled on the original Gilbert design, was installed and unveiled by Sir Robert Menzies at Albany, Western Australia in 1964. A version of this was also installed on ANZAC Parade, Canberra and unveiled by Prime Minister John Gorton in 1968.
Artist, Steven Holland, has positioned the bronze horse head upon a tear shaped plinth made of granite. The height of the plinth allows the memorial to be accessible, encouraging visitors to engage with the horse's head in the same way they might have a personal interaction with animals generally. The horse head is a poignant relic, rich in history, drama and emotion. It provides a tangible link to all animals and in this new setting is a sensitive and symbolic memorial for all animals that have served in war.
Future Memorials
The Site Development Plan (SDP) defines Memorial Placement Principles for the addition of new memorials across the site in the future.14
As at November 2021 the Memorial is engaged with stakeholders to develop new memorial sculptures relating to Australia’s wartime nurses, the ‘sufferings of war and service’ and the impact of war on the
families of those who have served and serve today. Each of these sculptures is being developed in accordance with the SDP and in close co-ordination from the affected communities.
2.4.2The Eastern Precinct
Between 2007 and 2014, the Memorial also undertook major works in the Eastern Precinct, to bring the Eastern Precinct up to the high design standard of the Western Precinct, whilst maintaining the informal woodland character, and visual relationship with Mount Ainslie. The works included the demolition of the Outpost café and construction of a new accessible cafe, Poppy’s; improved outdoor areas and facilities; a new forecourt area containing the National Service Memorial; and improved access and coach and visitor parking. The project won the Canberra Medallion, the highest award at the Australian Institute of Architects (AIA), ACT Chapter Awards, the Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture and the National Award for Urban Design at the National AIA Awards.
Memorials installed in the Eastern Precinct include the ‘Elevation of the Senses’ (2015) memorial.
Figure 2.22 Elevation of the Senses (Source: Australian War Memorial)
This sculpture commemorates the vital role and contribution of Explosive Detection Dogs and their handlers in war.
The tunnel through the base of the sculpture alludes to the rigorous training undertaken by the dogs, while the rocky outcrops atop the columns represent the foreign landscapes to which the dogs and their handlers are deployed. The elevation of the dog on the central column, where it crouches eye-to- eye with its handler, highlights the deep bonds that are forged between the two, as well as the mutual dependence on which their work is based. The configuration of the columns refers to the agility and obstacle courses undertaken by the dogs, as part of their training. Within the main column is a hidden cache of weapons, visible only from the back of the sculpture in order to illustrate the danger of buried
IEDs or hidden weapons that only the dogs can find with their heightened sense of smell. Sitting in the bag, which forms the smallest component of the sculpture, is a tennis ball. The tennis ball is an integral part of the dog’s training, as well as a valuable reward when the animal has located explosives. Ewen Coates (1965- ) is a Melbourne based sculptor and painter.
In 2020 an expansion of the underground parking facility beneath Poppy’s Café was completed as part of the enabling works preceding the Memorial’s Development Project. In addition to delivering an additional 123 permanent parking spaces for visitors the expansion also provides for additional bicycle storage and is plumbed to provide charging stations for electric bicycle and scooters in future.
During the major construction works period of the Development Project a temporary car park has been created on the upper level of the underground car park to the temporary increase in traffic associated with trade works. At the completion of the Project in 2028 this area will be returned to a native bushland state in keeping with the broader landscape heritage values of the Eastern Precinct.
Under the Memorial’s SDP this area is designated as a site for possible future expansion for collection services buildings and the new underground car park structure has been designed to accommodate a two story building above ground if necessary.
2.5 Australian War Memorial Development Project 2019-2028
On 1 November 2018, the Australian Government approved, and committed funding for the Australian War Memorial (Development Project (the Project). This section includes text provided by the Memorial.
The scope of the Project is to construct additional exhibition spaces to enable the Memorial to continue to comply with the Australian War Memorial Act 1980; to equitably tell the stories of all Australian servicemen and women who have served overseas in conflicts and operations. This section provides additional information, prepared by the Memorial, on the background and development of the Project.
2.5.1 Project Development
In 2014 the Memorial identified, through its business planning process, the need to examine how it would tell the stories of recent and then ongoing service in wars and on peacekeeping and peacemaking operations. This was included as a priority in its 2014-17 Corporate Plan and research undertaken into possible ways to meet this need.
In 2017 the Memorial received funds under a New Policy Proposal to Government for an Initial Business Case (IBC) to examine this need.
The IBC was scoped to examine the following four key issues:
·a lack of capacity to provide equitable coverage of conflicts and operations;
·a lack of capacity to describe a broader description of war;
·a lack of circulation space; and
·poor accessibility and access.
2.5.2 Initial Business Case (2017)
The Initial Business Case (IBC) undertook an initial, broad, approach to examining the four key issues presented above before moving to more detailed examination of options
The broad options were considered in five categories. Each of the solutions considered within each category was not a holistic approach to meet the need for the Project, but a measure that could contribute to a holistic solution. The five categories, including the base case option of “do nothing” were:
(a)Do Nothing
This is the current scenario and does not provide for any changes to be made to the function, buildings or operations of the Memorial at the Campbell site.
(b)Managed Based Approaches
Options to define solutions to the Memorial’s existing challenges through minor operational changes, without significant capital expenditure.
(c)Commercial and Leased Space
Options to consider the extent to which the existing constraints of the Memorial could be mitigated, either nearby to, or remote to, the Memorial, through the leasing of exhibition or storage space.
(d)Adaptive Reuse
Options to consider how the existing facilities at the Memorial might be adaptively re-used to allow for additional exhibition space. Allows for minimal capital works expenditure.
(e)Construction
Options to undertake capital works to reduce or eliminate the existing constraints on the Memorial.
Initial Business Case Options Analysis
Within each IBC category, except for the base case of ‘do nothing’, a more detailed series of options were examined.
(a)Management-based approaches assessed were:
i. Restrictions on the number and timing of visitors;
ii. Use of the Memorial’s Mitchell storage facility;
iii. Additional travelling exhibitions/relocatable satellite facility;
iv. Travelling exhibitions to state capital museums, memorials/shrines; and
v. Travelling exhibitions to existing Defence museums.
(b)Commercial and leased space options assessed were:
i. Lease Anzac Park East or West;
ii. Offsite leased exhibition space; and
iii. Offsite leased storage, administration and back of house functions.
(c)Adaptive reuse options assessed were:
i. Refurbishment of Campbell site;
ii. Refurbishment of the Administration Building and Bean Building; and
iii. Refurbishment of the Mitchell site.
(d) Construction options assessed were:
i. Initial redevelopment for the current requirement;
ii. Staged redevelopment onsite for immediate critical constraints;
iii. Develop the precinct for the likely future requirements;
iv. Satellite facility at Anzac Park East and West;
v. Alternative initial redevelopment for the current requirement;
vi. Satellite facilities in surrounding area (Goulburn, NSW; Fairbairn, ACT); and
vii. Satellite facilities in other States/Territories.
Initial Business Case—Conclusion
The conclusion of the IBC assessment was that in order for the Memorial to meet its obligations as defined in the Australian War Memorial Act 1980 and to meet the future needs of the Memorial there was a requirement to undertake construction and refurbishment of existing assets at the Memorial’s Campbell site.
This was primarily based on the requirement for the Memorial to maintain its social significance at the heart of national commemoration, and the belief that all Australian servicemen and women deserve to be commemorated equitably at the Memorial.
2.5.3 Detailed Business Case—Development of Options
As part of the Initial Business Case process the Australian government accepted the Memorial’s recommendation that the option that best met the need for the Project was the construction of additional gallery space on the main Memorial site at Campbell. This led to the development of a Detailed Business Case in 2018.
The Detailed Business Case commenced with the development of a User Requirements Brief which investigated and recorded the specific project requirements through a detailed analysis of each of the Memorial’s three functions. Concurrent with the development of the User Requirements Brief, detailed investigations into the conditions and constraints of both the existing buildings and the site were undertaken.
On completion of the User Requirements Brief and the site investigations, a Functional Design Brief was developed. The Functional Design Brief set down the specific functional and spatial requirements for the Project. This Functional Design Brief included an analysis of the conflicts and operations and the amount of space required to appropriately and equitably tell those stories.
The Functional Design Brief was approved by the Memorial Council which formed the basis of the Project cost and built outcomes proposed to Government as part of the Detailed Business Case submission. The Functional Design Brief also established the requirements to be delivered through the design process.
Design Outcome to be achieved through Detailed Business Case Stage
The design outcomes from the Detailed Business Case process were intended to identify the broad scope and develop, analyze, and assess locations for the additional space to be created for the Project.
Precinct Solution for Additional Gallery Space—Options Development
At the start of the design process, a four-day design charrette was conducted in which five senior architects and ten Memorial staff participated. As part of the design charrette, all possible options to create additional space to meet the User Requirements Brief were considered. The outcome of the four-day charrette was that four design options were selected to be further developed. These were based primarily on four key variables being:
the location of a second entrance;
the location of new gallery space;
whether the Glazed Link was included; and
the location of the additional car parking.
There were a number of project elements that were consistent with all options such as the Main Building Refurbishment, Bean Building Refurbishment and Extension, and the construction of a Research Centre between the existing Bean Building and Poppy’s Café.
The four options and their key elements in summary are:
Option 1 Second Entrance South underground New Gallery Space North underground Glazed Link Yes
Additional Car Parking Above ground to the north
Option 2 Second Entrance East underground New Gallery Space North above ground Glazed Link No
Additional Car Parking Underground to the east
Option 3 Second Entrance South underground New Gallery Space East underground Glazed Link Yes
Additional Car Parking Above ground to the north
Option 4 Second Entrance West above ground
New Gallery Space East underground (in existing car park) Glazed Link Yes
Additional Car Parking Multi-level on existing western car park
Project Elements Consistent Across all Options
The Main Building refurbishment, Bean Building refurbishment and extension, and the construction of a Research Centre between the existing Bean Building and Poppy’s Café were consistent in the development of all options, and therefore were not highlighted in the options selection. These elements
and how they interfaced with the options were considered as part of a holistic option that delivered the full Functional Design Brief.
Development Options Considered
Option 1 – Gallery Space Underground to the Immediate North of the Main Building
Option 1 included the following key locations of additional space:
·Second Entrance South underground
·New Gallery Space North underground
·Glazed Link Yes (between New Gallery Space and rear of Main Building)
·Additional Car Parking Above ground to the north
Option 1 originated as the JPW Masterplan 2017 and was amended to the assessed design solution through the early design process. The basis of this design was a desire to keep development on the site as compact and easy to navigate as possible, with new galleries close to the heart of the Main Building whilst maintaining the north-south axis.
Figure 2.23 Option 1 Additional gallery space to the immediate north of the Main Building, with Glazed Link included (Source: Australian War Memorial).
Option 2 – Gallery Space Underground to the East of the Main Building
Option 2 included the following key locations of additional space:
Second Entrance South underground
New Gallery Space East underground
Glazed Link Yes
Additional Car Parking Above ground to the north
The basis of this design option proposes a subterranean development of the site that is primarily below ground to the east of the Main Building. A southern entry is provided in a similar way to what is proposed in Option 1. The basis of the design was to test a fully subterranean option using the rising land to the east, therefore minimising visual impact across the site and maintaining the primacy of the Main Building. This provided galleries in close proximity to the Main Building, but on a parallel north- south axis rather than along the main north-south axis.
Figure 2.24 Option 2 – Additional gallery space to the east and west of Anzac Hall (Source: Australian War Memorial)
Option 3 – Gallery Space to the North to be connected to the East and West of Anzac Hall
Option 3 included the following key locations of additional space:
·Second Entrance East underground (in existing car park)
·New Gallery Space North above ground
·Glazed Link No
·Additional Car Parking Underground to the east
The basis of this design option proposes that additional gallery space required to achieve the Functional Design Brief is achieved via gallery extensions through eastern and western connections to Anzac Hall. The new northern galleries were repositioned within the Memorial’s precinct to reduce environmental impacts and planning and approval risks
Figure 2.25 Option 3 – Additional gallery space underground to the east of the Main Building (the only above ground change is the glazed link between the Main Building and Anzac Hall) (Source: Australian War Memorial).
Option 4 – Above Ground Western Entrance and Gallery Space to the East of the Main Building
Option 4 included the following key locations of additional space:
Second Entrance West above ground
New Gallery Space East underground (in existing car park)
Glazed Link Yes
Additional Car Parking Multi-level on existing western car park
The basis of this design option proposes the use of the underground car park space directly adjacent to the east of the Main Building as gallery space, and an alternative entry to the west of the Main Building that is related to a new above ground car park structure at the western end of the site. This option uses the fall of the land to the west to enable the top of the western extension to be set to the existing ground level of the existing underground car park to the east which results in the two sides of the Memorial being symmetrical as viewed from Anzac Parade
Figure 2.26 Option 4 – New entrance pavilion to the west and gallery space underground to the east
Assessment of the Options
Each of the four options was evaluated using a multi-criteria assessment to facilitate a comparable evaluation of each option. This approach was based on the following core principles that each option must satisfy the requirements of the Functional Design Brief. All options considered included an equal amount of additional gallery space, to enable a direct comparison between preliminary designs on the
basis of value for money. The assessment comprised of 57 individual criteria which assessed each of the shortlisted options on its technical merits, financial impacts and capacity to support the Project objectives as follows:
·Technical (30 per cent weighting)
·Financial (30 per cent weighting)
·Project Objectives (40 per cent weighting)
Heritage was considered in both the technical evaluation and in the Project objectives related to Objective 1 – Maintain the National Significance of the Memorial.
Heritage Considerations of Options Assessment
Heritage was considered from a relative perspective with the aim of understanding and assessing how all options would impact physical and social heritage values. Overall Options 1 and 3 had the least above ground physical scale as Option 3 included a new entrance and gallery space both underground whilst retaining Anzac Hall, and Option 1 replaced Anzac Hall with a building of similar above-ground scale with a new second entrance underground as well. Options 3 and 4 had an increase in above ground structure with Option 3 including above ground space to the north to form an arc between the Administration Building and the Bean Building with Anzac Hall in the middle of the arc, and Option 4 included a new Western Entrance pavilion at a similar distance from the Main Building as Poppy’s Café. Whilst physical scale is not itself a heritage assessment, it has a direct impact on the ability to manage the overall heritage outcomes. The specific comparisons of key heritage impacts are:
·Views of the Building in-the-round
Three of the options included the Glazed Link which allowed a greater appreciation of the Main Building from the north, due to the immediately adjacent placement of occupied space. The option with the highest impact was Option 2 as it both prevented a clear view of the Main Building from Treloar Crescent due to the new gallery structures, and the absence of a Glazed Link meant the adjacent space would remain unoccupied by visitors. Option 4 shrouded a greater extent of the Main Building with the entry pavilion located to the west, although the link gallery between the western entry pavilion and the Main Building was below the lower level of the Main Building so the majority of the Main Building remained visible in-the-round.
For the three options that included the Glazed Link, the intent was that the viewing in-the-round requirement would be met as the Main Building would be able to be viewed through the glazed walls from a distance, while benefiting from the immediate adjacent space being occupied by the public.
·Parliament House View
All four options had minimal impact on the front of the Main Building; however, there were differing impacts from the south closer to the Memorial. Option 4 included a western entry pavilion, however due to the fall of the land this would not have been visible until a person was on the Main Building forecourt however, it did add to the built form along the line of the front of the Main Building.
Stakeholder Identification
Key heritage stakeholder groups include:
· AWM visitors;
· AWM staff and volunteers;
· Department of Defence and Department of Veterans Affairs;
· Veterans associations and advocacy groups;
· Veterans and families;
· Indigenous bodies (national, regional and local);
· Registered Aboriginal Organisations (local to the ACT);
· Heritage authorities (Commonwealth and ACT) and interest groups, such as Australia ICOMOS, National Trust of Australia (ACT and the National Council);
· Heritage experts and Academics;
· Government;
· Neighbours;
· Community Action Groups;
· Media;
· Partners and sponsors; and
· General Public—the local community, and the national community.
Stakeholder & Community Consultation Guidelines, May 2020 Page 1
Appendix K
EPBC Referral 2019-8574 Approval Conditions
VARIATION OF CONDITIONS ATTACHED TO APPROVAL
Australian War Memorial Redevelopment, Campbell, ACT (EPBC 2019/8574)
This decision to vary conditions of approval is made under section 143 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
Person to whom the approval is granted
Australian War Memorial
ABN: 64 909 221 257
Approved action
To undertake the Australian War Memorial Redevelopment works, Campbell, ACT. The works are to increase display space and improve visitor amenity and include a new Southern Entrance below the existing forecourt, expansion of the Parade Ground, demolition and reconstruction of Anzac Hall and a new Glazed Courtyard between the rear of the Memorial and the new Anzac Hall, extension and refurbishment of the C.E.W. Bean Building, a new Research Centre and Public Realm improvement works [as described in EPBC referral 2019/8574, the final Preliminary Documentation dated September 2020 and subject to the approved variation dated 17 March 2020].
Variation
Variation of conditions attached to approval
The variation is:
Delete conditions 3, 5, 6, 10, 14, and 15 attached to the approval and substitute with the conditions specified in the table below
Delete Appendix A1 and substitute with the Appendix A1 specified in the table below.
Date of effect
This variation has effect on the date the instrument is signed
Person authorised to make decision
Name and position
Kim Farrant Assistant Secretary
Environment Assessments (Vic, Tas) and Post Approvals Branch
Signature
Date of decision
27 May 2021
Date of decision ANNEXURE A – CONDITOINS OF APPROVAL Part A – Conditions specific to the action Original
dated 10
Removal and reinstatement of Main Building fabric December
2020
1. To minimise the impact of the action on protected matters, the approval holder must:
a. Implement a process of conserving and reinstating original stone in accordance with Appendix A1 as advised by a suitably qualified expert
b. Document the as-built condition of the existing handrail, forecourt, entry stairs, entry paving and sandstone bastions and provide this documentation to the Minister at least 2 months prior to commencement of construction
c. Ensure stone requiring removal from the Main Building forecourt, entry stairs and sandstone bastions is catalogued and tagged to identify its original location and orientation, safely stored and maintained until required for reinstatement in accordance with Appendix A1
Original 2. To minimise the impact of the action on protected matters, the approval holder must:
a. Reinstate the original flagpoles and ensure at least 90% of the original stone removed from the entry paving, entry stairs and sandstone bastions are reinstated.
b. Where Main Building forecourt paving or other original stone cannot be reinstated due to its damaged condition, replaced it with stone of a similar colour and textural profile sourced from one or more of the following sources, subject to the following order of precedence:
i. stone recovered from the removal of the stone enclosure around the air-coolers at the north-east corner of the Main Building must be used where stone profile, colouring and weathering matches the original stone unless no suitable piece is available, in which case;
ii. stone from the Australian War Memorial's stock held at the Mitchell facility must be used unless no suitable piece is available, in which case;
iii. new stone sourced from the same quarry(ies) used to source the stone for the existing Main Building and forecourt must be used, unless this option is unavailable, in which case;
iv. stone sourced for the works must have a visual and textural appearance consistent with the existing stone.
dated 10 December 2020 As varied on
the date this
Managing Construction Impacts instrument
was signed
3. To minimise the impact of the action on protected matters, the approval holder must implement protection measures to ensure that fabric of the Main Building is managed and monitored during construction works to ensure no structural damage occurs in accordance with Appendix A1. These measures must include as a minimum:
a. Engaging a suitably qualified expert to:
i. Oversee and inspect the demolition and removal of building material to ensure there is no unapproved removal of Main Building fabric or elements other than the impacts identified in Appendix A1;
ii. Advise on procedures to handle and monitor impacts to Main Building fabric;
iii. Provide ongoing advice throughout the construction period including measures to manage traffic and laydown areas to reduce the risk of accidental impacts to the heritage values of the site;
Date of decision ANNEXURE A – CONDITOINS OF APPROVAL iv. Undertake regular inspections (on a daily basis or continuously during critical stages) throughout the construction of the new Southern Entrance to minimise impacts to the Main Building fabric.
b. Installing appropriate vibration sensors in the Main Building with threshold limits and alarms to detect any structural movement during bulk excavation and construction works and cease work if threshold limits are exceeded and/or structural impacts are detected;
c. Establishing a minimum 1.5 meter heritage buffer zone along the Main Building southern facade in accordance with Appendix A1 to reduce the risk of structural impacts to the fabric of the Main Building. The heritage buffer zone must be clearly marked and façade physically protected.
d. Underpinning of the towers consistent with Appendix A1 to ensure structural integrity of the Main Building is maintained throughout the new Southern Entrance works;
e. Identifying and implementing contingency measures approved by a suitably qualified expert (structural engineer) in the case that structural impacts to the Main Building are detected during the construction phase.
These measures must be established prior to the commencement of construction and maintained throughout the duration of construction activities.
Original dated 10 December 2020 4. To minimise the impact of the action on protected matters during the construction phase, the approval holder must document prior to commencement of construction and implement appropriate measures to: a. Protect all onsite mature trees that are not planned for removal (i.e. exclusion fencing). b. Clear only one hollow bearing tree in accordance with Figure 1.
c. Prevent soil erosion and stormwater contamination and implement contingency measures in the event of an impact being detected.
d. Monitor and manage any underground storage tanks to prevent soil and groundwater contamination.
e. Prevent any impacts to known Aboriginal Cultural Heritage sites in accordance with Figure 2.
f. Quickly detect any previously unknown items of Aboriginal Cultural Heritage that are encountered during construction, and immediately stop any works that could cause impacts until consultation with Registered Aboriginal Organisations results in agreement to resume works.
g. Induct construction personnel so that they are aware of the National and Commonwealth Heritage values and the Aboriginal Cultural heritage values of the site.
These measures must be established prior to the commencement of
construction and maintained throughout the duration of construction activities.
As varied on
the date this
Archival Recording of Australian War Memorial Site instrument
was signed
5. To minimise the impact of the action on protected matters, prior to the commencement of construction, the approval holder must:
a. Prepare a photographic archival record of the existing landscape and built features of the whole Australian War Memorial (Memorial) site prior to
Date of decision ANNEXURE A – CONDITOINS OF APPROVAL commencement of construction and throughout the development process in accordance with the document Photographic Recording of Heritage Items Using Film or Digital Capture (NSW Heritage Office, 2006). The archival record must be made available to the public by being permanently published on the website as a minimum.
b. Commence a research project prior to commencement of construction to document the public's interpretation of historic elements of the site to allow the interpretation of the architectural development of the site and complete within 12 months of commencement of construction.
c. Commence a research project prior to commencement of construction to document record and archive the memories that designers, veterans and visitors have of Anzac Hall and make the archive publicly available on the website within 12 months of commencement of construction.
As varied on the date this instrument was signed Specific Building Design Requirements
6. To minimise the impacts of the action on protected matters, the approval holder must ensure all detail design is consistent with the requirements of:
a. National Heritage values of the Australian War Memorial and the Memorial Parade.
b. Commonwealth Heritage values of the Australian War Memorial.
c. Commonwealth Heritage values of the Parliament House Vista.
d. National Heritage Management Principles and
e. Commonwealth Heritage Management Principles
A Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) evaluating the final design against the above requirements must be conducted by a suitably qualified person prior to the commencement of construction. The HIA must be submitted to the Minister for approval prior to commencement of construction. The approval holder must not commence construction unless the HIA has been approved by the Minister in writing. The approval holder must implement the approved HIA. The approved HIA must be made publicly available on the website prior to commencement of construction and remain published on the website for the duration of this approval.
The HIA must be updated in accordance with conditions 14 and 15 and then submitted to the Department within 20 business days following any National Capital Authority (NCA) approval, to document any landscape and/or public realm design and any detailed design changes required by the NCA.
Original dated 10 December 2020 7. To minimise the impacts of the action on protected matters, the approval holder must ensure that the apex of the Glazed Link and the roof of new Anzac Hall do not exceed RL 602.700m as shown in Appendix B1. Original dated 10 December 2020 8. To minimise the impacts of the action on protected matters the approval holder must:
a. Design, engineer and install a Glazed Link that can be removed without damage to the existing Main Building stone facade in the future if necessary, in accordance with Appendix B4.
b. Ensure the Glazed Link roof is only attached to the Main Building's 1990's metal roof addition and the existing roof slab/structure underneath.
c. Ensure the outline of the Glazed Link roof is installed to allow the parapet shape of the Main Building to be visible from Mount Ainslie.
Date of decision ANNEXURE A – CONDITOINS OF APPROVAL d. Maximise the transparency of the Glazed Link roof to promote the view of the northern façade of the Main Building in accordance with Appendix B2 and Appendix B3. Original dated 10 December 2020 9. To minimise the impacts of the action on protected matters the approval holder must:
a. Ensure the Oculus dome is constructed of low reflectivity glass (maximum external reflectivity of 10%).
b. Ensure the Oculus dome height does not exceed 530mm above the
forecourt ground level.
c. Ensure the angled flat bronze handrail surrounding the Oculus does not exceed 750mm in height from forecourt ground level and does not contain glass infill.
d. Ensure the surrounding stone kerb is 250mm in height from forecourt
ground level.
As varied on 10. To minimise the impacts of the action on protected matters the approval holder must:
a. Ensure that the external glass lift is constructed of low reflectivity glass (maximum external reflectivity of 13%) with a frameless glass facade as shown in Appendix A2.
b. Ensure that the lift is designed, specified and operated to automatically return to below forecourt level position when not in use so as to minimise visual impact along the Parliament House vista
c. Ensure that landscape screening between Anzac Parade and the southern façade of the Memorial's new external glazed lift is implemented and maintained to minimise the visual impacts of the external glass lift on the Parliament House Vista and maintains the character of the Eastern Precinct.
the date this instrument was signed Original
dated 10
Other Measures to mitigate Heritage Impacts December
2020
11. To minimise the impacts of the action on protected matters, the approval holder must, in time for the completion of construction, and for the remainder of the duration of this approval, train staff and volunteers to assist visitors to understand and appreciate the importance of the ability to view the Main Building northern facade when viewed within the Glazed Link in relation to the National Heritage values of the Australian War Memorial and the Memorial Parade and the Commonwealth Heritage values of the Australian War Memorial. Original dated 10 December 2020 12. To minimise the impact of the action on protected matters the approval holder must retain the access to the existing Main Building heritage entrance and promote its importance as recognised in the National Heritage values of the Australian War Memorial and the Memorial Parade and the Commonwealth Heritage values of the Australian War Memorial, the approval holder must: a. Retain the use of the existing main entrance to the Main Building at the
completion of construction for all visitors.
b. Retain modest cloaking/security services at the existing entrance to ensure visitors can still access this entrance directly.
c. Erect signage in time for the completion of construction to include an option for visitors to proceed directly between the carparks and the existing Main Building entrance;
Date of decision ANNEXURE A – CONDITOINS OF APPROVAL d. Ensure visitor engagement technology at the new Southern Entrance supports the understanding of the history and importance of entering the Commemorative Area through the existing Main Building entrance.
e. Train staff and volunteers in time for the completion of construction, and for the remainder of the duration of this approval, to assist visitors to understand and appreciate the importance of the existing Main Building entrance.
Original 13. To minimise the impacts of the action on protected matters, the approval holder must use materials sympathetic in colour, finish and design to the Australian War Memorial's existing built heritage fabric and vistas for all new buildings and extensions. dated 10 December 2020 As varied on the date this instrument was signed 14. To minimise the impacts of the action on protected matters, the approval holder must:
a. Finalise the building design for each of the following elements prior to commencing construction of that element:
i. C.E.W Bean Building extension and Research Centre building finishes and heights
ii. New Anzac Hall building and roof finishes
iii. Glazed Link roof material and finish
iv. Handrail design and finish at Main Building front entry stairs
v. Glazed link attachment to Main Building
vi. Oculus detail design and handrail finish
vii. Glass lift detail design
viii. Final Parade Ground layout
ix. Final design of any other currently unresolved detailing
The approval holder must notify the Minister in writing of the final design and/or finishes of each of the above listed elements prior to, and as submitted for, NCA approval. The final design of the above listed elements must be included in the Heritage Impact Assessment required by condition 6.
The approval holder must provide written evidence that the design and/or finishes are supported by the NCA prior to commencing construction of each element detailed above.
Any specific detailed design changes required to satisfy NCA requirements must be fully documented and an updated HIA prepared in accordance with condition 6 and provided to the Department prior to construction of that element.
b. Finalise the building design for the two new spiral staircases within the Main Building that form part of the Southern Entrance portion of work prior to the commencement of construction of that element and submit the final design to the Minister. The Heritage Impact Assessment required by condition 6 must include an assessment of the final design of the internal stairs. As varied on the date this 15. To minimise the impacts of the action on protected matters, the approval holder must:
Date of decision ANNEXURE A – CONDITOINS OF APPROVAL instrument was signed a. Seek the advice of a suitably qualified heritage landscape architect to undertake a heritage impact assessment of the landscape and public realm design at 'detailed design' stage to ensure the landscape character of the site is maintained.
b. Include in the heritage impact assessment of the landscape and public realm works an assessment of any commemorative unit memorial plaques that require relocation as a result of landscape and public realm works.
c. Update the Heritage Impact Assessment required by condition 6 to include the heritage impact assessment of commemorative unit plaques and the landscape and public realm design prior to commencement of these works.
Original 16. To minimise impacts on protected matters the approval holder must re- use and repurpose as much of the original Anzac Hall building material as practicable consistent with the National Waste Action Plan 2019. dated 10 December 2020 Original dated 10 December 2020 17. To minimise impacts of the action on protected matters, the approval holder must:
a. Ensure that all works to the Australian War Memorial maintains the nature of commemoration identified In Criterion (b) of the National Heritage values of the Australian War Memorial and the Memorial Parade and the Commonwealth Heritage values of the Australian War Memorial. This is recognised in equal parts in the relationship between the building, the collection of objects and records and the commemorative spaces.
b. Update the Heritage Impact Assessment required by condition 6 within 18 months of the commencement of construction to demonstrate how the finalised site and gallery plan will maintain the nature of commemoration identified in Criterion (b) of the National Heritage values of the Australian War Memorial and the Memorial Parade and the Commonwealth Heritage values of the Australian War Memorial. The updated Heritage Impact Assessment must be submitted to the Minister for approval. The approval holder must implement the approved Heritage Impact Assessment. The approved Heritage Impact Assessment must be made publicly available on the website for the duration of this approval.
c. Provide in writing to the Minister in each report required by condition 23, any significant changes to the commemorative spaces (i.e. removal or addition of commemorative spaces) undertaken during or proposed in the period that is the subject of the report and how the relationship between the elements of criterion (b) is being maintained.
Original 18. To minimise the impacts of the action on protected matters, the approval holder must implement the revised Parade Ground layout with an area of gravel consistent with the existing Parade Ground area and stone terraced seating not exceeding the lengths shown in Figure 3. dated 10 December 2020 Part B – Standard administrative conditions Original
dated 10
Notification of date of commencement of the action December
2020
19. The approval holder must notify the Department in writing of the date of
commencement of the action within 10 business days after the date of
commencement of the action. Original dated 10 December 2020 20. If the commencement of the action does not occur within 10 years from the date of this approval, then the approval holder must not commence the action without the prior written agreement of the Minister.
Date of decision ANNEXURE A – CONDITOINS OF APPROVAL Original dated 10 December 2020 Compliance records
21. The approval holder must maintain accurate and complete compliance records.
Original dated 10 December 2020 22. If the Department makes a request in writing, the approval holder must provide electronic copies of compliance records to the Department within the timeframe specified in the request.
Note: Compliance records may be subject to audit by the Department or an independent auditor in accordance with section 458 of the EPBC Act, and or used to verify compliance with the conditions. Summaries of the result of an audit may be published on the Department's website or through the general media.
Original dated 10 December 2020 Annual compliance reporting
23. The approval holder must prepare a compliance report for each 12-month period following the date of commencement of the action, or otherwise in accordance with an annual date that has been agreed to in writing by the Minister. The approval holder must:
a. publish each compliance report on the website within 60 business days
following the relevant 12-month period;
b. notify the Department by email that a compliance report has been published on the website and provide the weblink for the compliance report within five business days of the date of publication including documented evidence of the date of publication;
c. keep all compliance reports publicly available on the website until this approval expires;
d. exclude or redact sensitive data from compliance reports prior to publishing them on the website; and
e. where any sensitive data has been excluded from the version published, submit the full compliance report to the Department within 5 business days of publication.
Note: Compliance reports may be published on the Department's website.
Original dated 10 December 2020 Reporting non-compliance
24. The approval holder must notify the Department in writing of any: incident; or non-compliance with the conditions. The notification must be given as soon as practicable, and no later than two business days after becoming aware of the incident or non-compliance. The notification must specify:
a. any condition which is or may be in breach;
b. a short description of the incident and/or non-compliance; and
c. the location (including co-ordinates), date, and time of the incident and/or non-compliance. In the event the exact information cannot be provided, provide the best information available.
Original dated 10 December 2020 25. The approval holder must provide to the Department the details of any incident or noncompliance with the conditions as soon as practicable and no later than 10 business days after becoming aware of the incident or non- compliance, specifying:
Date of decision ANNEXURE A – CONDITOINS OF APPROVAL a. any corrective action or investigation which the approval holder has already taken or intends to take in the immediate future;
b. the potential impacts of the incident or non-compliance; and
c. the method and timing of any remedial action that will be undertaken by the approval holder.
Original dated 10 December 2020 Independent audit
26. The approval holder must ensure that independent audits of compliance with the conditions are conducted as requested in writing by the Minister.
Original dated 10 December 2020 27. For each independent audit, the approval holder must:
a. provide the name and qualifications of the independent auditor and the draft audit criteria to the Department;
b. only commence the independent audit once the audit criteria have been approved in writing by the Department; and
c. submit an audit report to the Department within the timeframe specified in the approved audit criteria.
Original dated 10 December 2020 28. The approval holder must publish the audit report on the website within 10 business days of receiving the Department's approval of the audit report and keep the audit report published on the website until the end date of this approval. Original dated 10 December 2020 Completion of the construction
29. Within 20 days after whichever is the earlier of:
a. the completion of construction, or
b. 60 business days before the end date of the period for which this approval has effect,
if construction of the action has been completed within the period for which the approval has effect, the approval holder must notify the Department in writing of the date of the completion of construction and provide completion data; or
if the completion of construction is unlikely to occur before the end date of the period for which the approval has effect, the approval holder must submit to the Department, before the end date of the period for which the approval has effect, a request, in accordance with the requirements of section 145C of the EPBC Act, to extend the period of effect of the approval.
Date of decision Part C - Definitions attached to approval
In these conditions, except where contrary intention is expressed, the following definitions are used:
Original dated 10 December
2020
Approval Holder means the person to whom this approval is granted, or the person as transferred under section 145B of the EPBC Act.
Date of decision Part C - Definitions attached to approval
In these conditions, except where contrary intention is expressed, the following definitions are used:
Original dated 10 December
2020
Australian Heritage Council means the Australian Heritage Council as established under section 4 of the Australian Heritage Council Act 2003. Original dated 10 December
2020
Business day(s) means a day that is not a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday in the state or territory of the action. Original dated 10 December 2020 Clearing/Clearance means the cutting down, felling, thinning, logging, removing, killing, destroying, poisoning, ringbarking, uprooting or burning of vegetation (but not including weeds- see the Australian weeds strategy 2017 to 2027 for further guidance) Original dated 10 December 2020 Commemorative Area means the area at the top of the main stairs of the original front entrance to the Main Building consisting of the Men in Gate Lions, the Commemorative Courtyard, Pool of Reflection, the Eternal Flame, the Roll of Honour and the Commemorative Roll. Original dated 10 December 2020 Commencement of the action/commence the action means the first instance of any activity associated with the action including final design phase, clearing and construction. Commencement of the action does not include minor physical disturbance necessary to:
a. undertake pre-clearance surveys or monitoring programs;
b. install signage and /or temporary fencing to prevent unapproved use of the project area;
c. protect environmental and property assets from fire, weeds and pests, including erection of temporary fencing, and use of existing surface access tracks;
d. install temporary site facilities for persons undertaking pre-commencement activities so long as these are located where they have no impact on the protected matters; and
e. undertaking geotechnical investigations if it causes only minor physical ground disturbance and is required well in advance of most site works to inform design.
Original dated 10 December 2020
Commonwealth Heritage Management Principles means the guiding framework for excellence in managing heritage properties. They set the standard and the scope of the way places should be managed in order to protect heritage values for future generations. These principles should be used when preparing and implementing management plans and programs. In the absence of a management plan, they should guide the management of heritage values of a property: Commonwealth Heritage Management Principles.
Original dated 10 December
2020
Commonwealth Heritage values of the Australian War Memorial means the Commonwealth Heritage listed values of the place: Commonwealth Heritage values of the Australian War Memorial. Original dated 10 December 2020
Commonwealth Heritage values of the Parliament House Vista means the Commonwealth Heritage listed values of the Parliament House vista: Commonwealth Heritage values of the Parliament House Vista.
Date of decision Part C - Definitions attached to approval
In these conditions, except where contrary intention is expressed, the following definitions are used:
Original dated 10 December 2020 Completion data means a report and spatial data clearly detailing how the conditions of this approval have been met. The Department's preferred spatial data format is shapefile. Original dated 10 December
2020
Completion of construction means all activities associated with construction have permanently ceased. Original dated 10 December 2020 Compliance records means all documentation or other material in whatever form required to demonstrate compliance with the conditions of approval in the approval holder's possession or that are within the approval holder's power to obtain lawfully. Original dated 10 December 2020 Compliance report(s) means written reports:
i. providing accurate and complete details of compliance, incidents, and non- compliance with the conditions;
ii. consistent with the Department's Annual Compliance Report Guidelines
(2014 ); and
iii. that include a shapefile of any clearance of any protected matters, or their habitat, undertaken within the relevant 12-month period.
Original dated 10 December 2020 Construction means the erection of a building or structure that is or is to be fixed to the ground and wholly or partially fabricated on-site; the alteration, maintenance, repair or demolition of any building or structure; preliminary site preparation work which involves breaking of the ground (including pile driving); the laying of pipes and other prefabricated materials in the ground, and any associated excavation work; but excluding the installation of temporary fences and signage. Construction does not include geotechnical studies. Original dated 10 December
2020
Department means the Australian Government agency responsible for administering the EPBC Act. Original dated 10 December
2020
EPBC Act means the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth). Original dated 10 December
2020
Fabric means all the physical material of an item which contributes to its heritage significance. Original dated 10 December
2020
Forecourt refers to the paved area at the base of the main stairs leading to the original Main Building entrance. Original dated 10 December
2020
Glazed Link means the glass walled structure between the rear of the Main Building and the new Anzac Hall. Original dated 10 December 2020 lmpact(s) (verb) means to cause any measurable direct or indirect disturbance or harmful change as a result of any activity associated with the action. Impact (noun) means any measurable direct or indirect disturbance or harmful change as a result of any activity associated with the action. Original dated 10 December
2020
Incident means any event which has the potential to, or does, impact on one or more protected matter(s) other than authorised by this approval.
Date of decision Part C - Definitions attached to approval
In these conditions, except where contrary intention is expressed, the following definitions are used:
Original dated 10 December 2020 Independent audit(s) means an audit conducted by an independent and suitably qualified person as detailed in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 Independent Audit and Audit Report Guidelines (2019). Original dated 10 December 2020 Landscape and Public Realm means the works to the surrounding landscape of the site including modifications to pathways and plantings, external seating and small shade structures and changes to onsite road layout. Original dated 10 December
2020
Main Building means the original sandstone Memorial building built in 1941. Original dated 10 December
2020
Minister means the Australian Government Minister administering the EPBC Act including any delegate thereof. Original dated 10 December 2020
National Heritage Management Principles means the guiding framework for excellence in managing heritage properties. They set the standard and the scope of the way places should be managed in order to protect heritage values for future generations: National Heritage Management Principles.
Original dated 10 December 2020
National Heritage values of the Australian War Memorial and the Memorial Parade means the National Heritage listed values of the place: national heritage values of the Australian War Memorial and the Memorial Parade.
Original dated 10 December
2020
New Southern Entrance means the proposed works at the front, within and below the existing Main Building entrance. Original dated 10 December
2020
National Waste Action Plan 2019 means the targets and actions to implement the 2018 National Waste Policy: National Waste Action Plan 2019. Original dated 10 December 2020
Parliament House Vista means the Commonwealth Heritage listed views from Parliament House: Commonwealth Heritage values of the Parliament House Vista.
Original dated 10 December 2020 Photographic Recording of Heritage Items Using Film or Digital Capture (NSW Heritage Office, 2006) means the publication providing guidelines for making a photographic record of sites, buildings, structures and movable items of heritage significance, published by the NSW Government: Photographic Recording of Heritage Items Using Film or Digital Capture (NSW Heritage Office, 2006. Original dated 10 December 2020 Protected matter(s) means a matter protected under a controlling provision in Part 3 of the EPBC Act for which this approval has effect. For this approval protected matters are:
· The national heritage values of the Australian War Memorial and the Memorial Parade (National Heritage Place - Section 15B and 15C of the EPBC Act).
· The whole environment of the site due to the action by a Commonwealth Agency (S28 of the EPBC Act), this includes Commonwealth Heritage
Date of decision Part C - Definitions attached to approval
In these conditions, except where contrary intention is expressed, the following definitions are used:
values of the Australian War Memorial and the Commonwealth Heritage values of the Parliament House Vista. Original dated 10 December
2020
Sensitive data includes locations of sensitive heritage items, names and addresses of people consulted on heritage matters unless permission is sought from the parties consulted. Original dated 10 December 2020 Shapefile means location and attribute information of the action provided in an Esri shapefile format. Shapefiles must contain '.shp', '.shx', '.dbf' files and a '.prj' file that specifies the projection/geographic coordinate system used. Shapefiles must also include an '.xml' metadata file that describes the shapefile for discovery and identification purposes. Original dated 10 December 2020 Suitably qualified expert means a person who has professional qualifications and at least three (3) years of work experience designing and implementing heritage renovation and restoration of masonry buildings, and can give an authoritative assessment and advice on the methods for recording prior to disassembly, safe storage of components and successful reinstatement using relevant protocols, standards, methods and/or literature. Original dated 10 December 2020 Suitably qualified heritage landscape architect means a person who has professional qualifications and at least three (3) years of work experience designing and implementing landscape designs for heritage places, and can give an authoritative assessment and advice on the heritage value of the landscape design using relevant protocols, standards, methods and/or literature. Original dated 10 December 2020 Suitably qualified person means a person who has professional qualifications, training, skills and/or experience related to the nominated subject matter and can give authoritative independent assessment, advice and analysis on performance relative to the subject matter using the relevant protocols, standards, methods and/or literature. Original dated 10 December
2020
Towers are the two sandstone columns that form part of the Main Building,
standing either side of the original Main Building entrance.
Original dated 10 December
2020
Website means a set of related web pages located under a single domain name attributed to the approval holder and available to the public.
Date of
decision
APPENDICES As varied on the date this instrument
was signed
APPENDIX A1- Underpinning methodology and stone removal and reinstatement description Original dated 10 December 2020 APPENDIX A2- Visual Representation and description of proposed external glass lift (from Attachment G4 of the final Preliminary Documentation, September 2020) Original dated 10 December
2020
APPENDIX B1- Drawings showing maximum height of Anzac Hall roof and Glazed Link roof (from Attachments H1 of the final Preliminary Documentation, September 2020). Original dated 10 December
2020
APPENDIX B2- Description of technical issues received (from Attachment H2 of the final Preliminary Documentation, September 2020). Original dated 10 December
2020
APPENDIX B3 - Architectural response to technical issues received (from Attachment H3 of the final Preliminary Documentation, September 2020). Original dated 10 December 2020 APPENDIX B4- Details of design improvements to Glazed Link attachment to Main Building (from Attachment H4 of the final Preliminary Documentation, September 2020)
Date of
decision
Figure 1: Hollow bearing tree to be removed (in red box) Original dated 10 December 2020 Date of decision Figure 2: Known Indigenous Heritage site (unlisted) to be protected during construction– marked as AWM 1 Original dated 10 December 2020
Date of decision Figure 3: Parade Ground design changes – removed areas in red, added areas in green Original dated 10 December 2020
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