Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne

This memorial is dedicated to remembering those men and women of Victoria who served and died in the Great War of 1914-18. It's one of the largest memorials in the world.

Open daily 10am-5pm, closed Christmas Day and Good Friday. Entry is free.

Guided tours are available.

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One of Melbourne's most recognised landmarks the Shrine of Remembrance. It was built in memory of Victorian men and women who lost their lives in World War I and serves as a memorial to all those who have served since. It is one of the largest war memorials in Australia. Services and parades commemorating ANZAC and Remembrance Days are held here.

It is located in the beautiful grounds of Kings Domain and is nearby to Government House.

Great views of Melbourne can be had from the top of the building.

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This memorial is to remembrance of those who served and died during the Great War of 1914-1918. This is the largest and most visited memorial is the state of Victoria.

This is a great memorial to visit. It is located near the Royal Botanic Garden and along the St Kilda Road. It is built on a high ground of a park. You can go up to the second floor to see great views of the city.

Check out their website for tour and visitor information.

Admission Free.

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Perhaps one of the most iconic Melbourne buildings, The Shrine has a prominent position on the skyline and is well worth a visit – even if you are not “into” the history of Australian conflicts.

The highlights of The Shrine are:

Visitors centre: Opened in 2003 the centre has an amazing wall of 4000 medals – each represents 100 Victorians who have served. I would strongly suggest viewing the 10 minute audio/visual presentation on the history of WW1 and The Shrine There is an excellent book/souvenir shop as well as toilets and temporary exhibitions (recent exhibition was a series of photos taken during WW1 and included the lives of French people). The visitors centre is also where volunteer guides start free tours of The Shrine (11am and 2pm, however they will conduct tours for those interested at other times).

Hall of Columns and The Crypt, which contains Changi flag, a poignant statue of Father and Son representing the 2 great wars (WW’s 1 & 2), Regimental Colours, and many informative plaques.

The Sanctuary. This is the most important part of The Shrine and the center has a stone inscribed “Greater Love Hath No Man.” The roof of the Shrine has 2 holes and at the 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month a shaft of sunlight crosses the stone. Every half hour there is a re-creation of the passing of the light and you can view Shrine Video of that ceremony – please excuse the background noise.

The Ambulatory surrounds The Sanctuary and has 42 bronze caskets where the names of 88,000 Victorians who served in The Great War are displayed in beautiful hand written copperplate script.

The view from The Balcony is stunning and looks over the adjacent parkland to the vista of the city as well as excellent views of most of the Melbourne suburban sprawl.

The Shrine is surrounded by commemorative gardens and statues and spectacular views of the city and near suburbs.

Disabled access is available to all but the balcony. Depending on interest, suggest allowing 2 – 3 hours to visit The Shrine. There is no on-site cafe, however the closest good cafe is at the visitors centre of the Royal Botanical Gardens

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The Shrine of Remembrance, located in St Kilda Road, Melbourne, is one of the largest war memorials in Australia, and resides in Kings Domain. It was built as a memorial to the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I, but soon came to be seen as Australia's major memorial to all the 60,000 Australians who died in the war. It now serves as a memorial for all Australians who served in war and it is the site of annual observances of ANZAC Day (25 April) and Remembrance Day (11 November).

Designed by architects and veterans of World War I, Phillip Hudson and James Wardrop, the Shrine is designed in a classical style, being based on the Tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus and the Parthenon in Athens. Built from Tynong granite, the Shrine originally consisted of a central Sanctuary surrounded by the Ambulatory. The Sanctuary contains the marble Stone of Remembrance, upon which is engraved the words "Greater love hath no man".

Once a year, on 11 November at 11 a.m. (Remembrance Day), a ray of sunlight shines through an aperture in the roof to light up the word "Love" in the inscription. Beneath the Sanctuary lies the Crypt, which contains a bronze statue of a father and son and panels listing every unit of the Australian Imperial Force. The Visitor Center was added beneath the Shrine in 2002–2003, and provides direct access to the Crypt.

The Shrine is a great structure centrally located in Melbourne just south of the Yarra River. You can take a quick tour and sometimes catch a military presentation. If you know nothing about ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corp) then you can get a little education there as well.

The Shrine of Remembrance is Victoria’s largest and most visited war memorial and is probably Melbourne’s most recognised landmark.

A special feature of the Shrine is the Ray of Light. "GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN"
The Ray of Light falls on 'LOVE' on the Stone of Remembrance at 11am on the 11th of November. The time and date commemorate Armistice (meaning a stay of armed conflict) which marks the end of hostilities in World War 1.

The Shrine of Remembrance was built between July 1928 and November 1934 in remembrance of the 114,000 men and women of Victoria who served and those who died in the Great War of 1914-1918 - 89,100 of them served overseas and 19,000 did not return.
It is a permanent and lasting memorial to the ANZAC spirit which is confirmed by the number of visitors to the Shrine throughout the year and the many people who attend the more than 120 ceremonies that are held at the Shrine annually.