The Shire of York is proud to announce YORK’S ANZACS – STORIES REMEMBERING THEM, a major ANZAC exhibition which will run from the 25th of April – 25th of July 2018 in York Town Hall.
Created by Shire staff in conjunction with guest curator and military history consultant Neville Browning OAM, this exhibition will commemorate the sacrifices and efforts made by the people of York one hundred years ago.
It will be the largest Anzac exhibition outside the National Anzac Centre in Albany and the Western Australian Army Museum in Fremantle.
It is a family-friendly event, tailored to appeal to a variety of interests.
The focus of the exhibition is upon the stories of the local people of York during WW1.
Hundreds of Shire of York residents and their descendants have contributed information, memorabilia and made stunning painted silhouettes of York’s Anzacs.
Drawing from a range of resources including personal letters, photographs, oral histories and community records, this exhibition builds a picture of life from all angles – from experiences of the servicemen overseas; the role of women, nursing, and volunteering; the role of children; how the servicemen and their families coped after the war; and much more.
Lawrence McCarthy the VC winner, Indigenous servicemen and the hot topics of the day that divided the nation are all included.
The centrepiece of the exhibition is an art installation featuring one hundred life-size cut-outs of York men, women and children.
There will be a variety of figure techniques; life sized photographs and photo-collages.
Many silhouettes were made by local residents in a series of community arts workshops during 2017.
Individual local artists have also contributed and the effect of 100 Anzacs standing there will be intensely moving – as are their stories which are told in the displays and one hundred biographical booklets.
Three theatrical dioramas will set the scene for the Desert campaign, the Western Front and the Home Front, and you can see genuine WWI artefacts and memorabilia in showcased displays.
It is a family-friendly event, with lots of hands-on activities for children and opportunities for learning.
There will be a rest area and a ‘cinema experience’ where never-before- seen photographs taken by a local York serviceman on Gallipoli will be shown; poignant First World war poetry and graphics depicting replicas of some of Australia’s finest works by official war artists.
Entry to the exhibition is free.
The Museum hopes that everyone in York will enjoy i.
It will be a great drawcard for York over the next three months to bring descendants of York families and tourists alike to the town.
YORK’S ANZACS – STORIES REMEMBERING THEM will be open seven days a week during the Visitor Centre opening hours of 9.30am-3.3.30pm with lunch closure of 12.30pm-1.30pm.
The exhibition will be opened at 5pm on 24th April by the Hon. Christian Porter MP, Federal Member for Pearce.
The exhibition has been funded by grants from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Community Arts Network WA, the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries and Lotterywest, the Remembering Them project co-ordinated by the WA Museum, Museums Australia, Lotterywest and the Royal Historical Society of WA, funding from the Shire of York, with in kind support from numerous local sponsors and businesses.