Oh we do like to be beside the shrine!

Remembrance Sunday in Melbourne

13.11.2011

Remembrance Sunday is quite important to us both having relatives affected by war in different ways so we wanted to go to a service. We had found out about Melbourne’s remembrance shrine from the mythical free-things-to-do-in-melbourne site and saw that they conduct several services on the Sunday so we decided to head along and pay our respects.

It’s not far from Flinders street station in Melbourne’s city centre so we caught the train in. The trains are a really good way to get around as long as you live next to one of the lines. They are very frequent and it’s cheaper than parking in the city centre, especially on a Sunday when prices go down. Once we had arrived at the magnificent Flinders street station (an icon in itself) we crossed the Yarra River and walked down to the shrine. The walk was beautiful with parkland and many statues along the way. Perfect for a lazy day in the sun. Arriving at the shrine the avenue opened up before us...

We made our way to the shrine reading the plaques on the trees as we passed. It is a truly imposing building, solid as it looks over the Melbourne skyline, and unlike any memorial we’ve seen. The shrine itself is incredible inside. It has a massive central chamber surrounded by corridors that contain the Australian military flags and books with the names of those who fought in World War I. Every hour there is a ceremony called the Ray of Light ceremony where an artificial ray of light passes across an inscription reading “Greater love hath no man” set into stone on the floor, pausing on the word love. It was a poignant event. The roof itself is amazing, with a rooftop walk and amazing panoramic views of the city. There are also various exhibitions and a great visitors centre, we would say well worth a visit even if it isn’t a special day.