Monday, 27 July 2026

ST ANDREWS A VISIT TO THE SHRINE OF REMEMBRANCE

Somewhat to my surprise, when Neil offered to arrange a visit to the Shrine of Remembrance on St Kilda Road, I said I would go. It is not something I do on a regular basis. In fact, I have only been to one Anzac Day service in the 37 years I have been in Victoria.

As a former National Serviceman who arrived at Puckapunyal on April 23, 1969, I discovered two days later that the regular army did not regard Anzac Day as anything particularly special. That puzzled me, given that my Dad and I had gone to every Anzac Day parade in Woomera where I grew up. My father was born in Burma and joined the British Army at the outbreak of World War II, so Anzac Day meant something in our household.

Our visit to the Shrine fell on a cold and miserable autumn morning. After a surprisingly quick and quiet train trip into the city we made our way underground and emerged at a station I did not even know existed. A short uphill stroll along the eastern side of St Kilda Road and we found ourselves at the locked visitors entrance at 09:45, waiting in good military fashion until exactly 10:00.

Once inside, friendly staff and warm beverages awaited us before our tour guide arrived. Mr Daryl Bolton is a volunteer at the Shrine of many years standing and an absolute font of knowledge. If you visit on a Monday, Thursday or especially Anzac Day, you are likely to encounter Daryl, and I can strongly recommend the experience.

The displays are very well done and the building itself is fascinating and well worth the stairs that must be traversed. Among the highlights was seeing an actual Victoria Cross for the first time, and the boats used at the Gallipoli landings, which serve as a sobering reminder of what those men faced as they were rowed toward the shore under heavy fire, with more than 50 pounds of kit on their backs.

I could have easily stayed for the whole day. I strongly recommend a visit to anyone who has not been, or who has not been for some time. You will not regret it.

I leave you with the last verse of Laurence Binyon’s poem For The Fallen, published in 1914:

They shall not grow old,

as we that are left grow old,

Age shall not weary them,

nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.

Submitted by Steve Jenkinson