‘Look at me! Look at me!’ The Sir John Monash Centre at Villers-Bretonneux: a Frenchman’s reflection on his visit

There is something Kath and Kim about Australia’s newest interpretation centre in Northern France, the
Sir John Monash Centre (SJMC). Something that screams with a broad and nasal accent, ‘Look at me!
Look at me!’ Unveiled on Anzac Day 2018, Australia’s largest extraterritorial commemorative site came
with a $A100 million price tag. The project deserves a close look for what it says about how Australia – or
at least the Australian ‘commemorative industry’ – treats the nation’s past. And for other reasons as well.