Announcement
The NSW War Memorials Register has undergone essential maintenance and system upgrades from July 2023 to March 2024. Submissions about war memorials are being accepted from 11 March 2024. Submissions about individual veterans are not being accepted at this time. Read more here.
Overview
The NSW War Memorial Register is a useful resource for students and teachers of history. This page provides links to resources to help students in Stage 2 and Stage 5 explore the commemoration and remembrance of the First and Second World Wars and to understand what war memorials are, and why they are significant.
Stage 2 History
Topic: Community and Remembrance
Key inquiry question: How and why do people choose to remember significant events of the past?
For Students:
Anzac Symbols
Learn about the history and meaning of the Rising Sun badge and the slouch hat with emu plumes, both important Anzac symbols.
Lest We Forget
Learn about the Anzacs and the Gallipoli landing and how Australia’s role in the First World War is remembered.
For Teachers:
Commemorating Anzac through engaging learning – Stage 2 History
A brief guide to helping students research war memorials and honour boards in their local community, and how to consider their significance, including how Anzac Day and Remembrance Day are commemorated in Australia and symbols of remembrance.
Stage 5 History
Topic: Core Study - Depth Study 3: Australians at War; World Wars I and II (1914–1918, 1939–1945)
For Students:
Commemorations, memorials and war graves
War memorials
Learn about what war memorials are and why they are significant, including forms and dedication of memorials, Memorials to the Missing, Australian regional memorials, Australian state memorials and overseas war memorials.
For Teachers:
Commemorating Anzac through engaging learning – Stage 5 History
A guide to helping students investigate how and why Australians commemorate wars and the ways in which specific wars and campaigns are recognised. Using a range of sources, students explore varying perspectives on the Anzac legend, including that of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
In Remembrance – Memorial plans
State Archives material about how the people of NSW commemorated those who fought and died in the First World War, featuring sketches, plans, and blueprints of memorials in NSW.
General learning resources
Anzac Memorial, Hyde Park
The Anzac Memorial, Hyde Park offers a range of education programs for primary and secondary students, which are linked to the NSW Curriculum. They also offer on site and in-school visits, and online learning resources.
The Anzac Portal
The Department of Veterans’ Affairs website, Anzac Portal: Education and Community Awareness for the Anzac Centenary 2014–2018 (the Anzac Portal) was designed to provide an educative focus for the Anzac Centenary. The website provides a range of education resources to support classroom teaching of Australia’s wartime history. The Anzac Portal contains a number of history publications, war history websites, a digital exhibition and veteran interviews, to provide the education and wider communities with a greater understanding of Australia’s wartime experiences, both on the frontline and on the home front.