Review of 'Conflicts 1945 to Today': Australian War Memorial, Canberra

Although I am a reasonably regular visitor to the Australian War Memorial (AWM), I always duck the exhibitions and scoot through the bookshop to find refuge in the Research Centre. Indeed it has been a while since I spent time wandering through the core business of the AWM – its galleries and exhibitions that commemorate Australia’s involvement and sacrifice in war. I actually
find the AWM a profoundly depressing place, given the subject matter. Yet I am drawn to the place – like a moth to light – as are the hundreds of thousands of Australian and international visitors who, year after year, flock to this award winning museum. Visitors will not be disappointed with this latest offering. Part of the result of a $11.6 million upgrade, the Conflicts 1945 to Today gallery opened in February 2008. Moving from the origins of the Cold War and the Berlin airlift through to the Korean War, Malayan Emergency, Indonesian Confrontation, and Vietnam War, the exhibition concludes with a colourful and visually appealing display of Australian peacekeeping post-1945 and post-cold war conflicts of the 1990s, including the two Gulf Wars and the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan