The Australian War Memorial's Places of Pride was launched in 2018 as a National Register of War Memorials; a record of the locations and photographs of publicly accessible memorials across Australia. Over the years these memorials have taken many shapes and forms including buildings, monuments, statues, honour boards, rolls of honour, parks, and tree-lined avenues of honour.
Following WW1, memorials became commonplace in communities large and small in order to commemorate the millions who had died. These memorials have become places of reflection, where family, friends, and communities could gather to mourn and pay their respects.
Memorials continue to be an expression of remembrance, loss, grief and pride, and cover Australia’s involvement in war time and peacekeeping.
The interactive register will become part of the expanded galleries designed for the extended Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
Browse the website to find over 10,000 memorials listed. Many include photos and stories, which have been contributed by individuals and community groups over the years. There are still many gaps, and contributions are invited. You can submit information on a memorial if you find that it is not listed, and so far there have been plenty of gaps and errors identified.
The Memorial is particularly interested in learning more about the 1000s of names listed on memorials all over the country.
For more information about wars and memorials, check out these resources
Victorian War Heritage Inventory
The War Heritage Inventory includes information and images from places related to Victoria’s war history. There are also instructions provided so you can contribute to this database, along with other links to explore.
Departments of Veterans Affairs – War Memorials
The Department of Veterans Affairs offers an excellent overview of war memorials in Australia – describing what a war memorial is, the different kinds of forms and dedications, and links to the major state memorials including the Shrine of Remembrance in Victoria.
War Memorials of Banyule, Nillumbik and Whittlesea
View contemporary photos of local memorials across our region via YPRL's Local History Flickr platform.
Victorian War Memorials and Honour Rolls
A group on Flickr with contributions state-wide.
This website features 18 sites of significance that represent the transformative impact the Second World War had on Victoria. It includes the Heidelberg Military Hospital and the Eltham War Memorial.
Register of War Memorials in NSW
Search by memorial name, suburb, postcode or veteran name.
A private historical and educational research site which records 32,560 public monuments and memorials in every state and territory under various themes.
Imperial War Museum Memorials Search
Search this database from the UK's National War Museum, based in London.
Includes over 40,000 memorials and over 30,000 condition reports of local memorials which people can contribute to.
Further reading
The Australian War Memorial: a century on from the vision by Steve Gower, 2019
A history of the AWM based in Canberra, the brainchild of war correspondent and later historian Charles Bean, which opened in 1941.