Shrine of Remembrance The Shrine of Remembrance , located in Kings Domain on St Kilda Road , Melbourne , Australia was built as a memorial to the men and women of Victoria who served in World War I and is now a memorial to all Australians who have served in war . It is a site of annual observances of ANZAC Day ( 25 April ) and Remembrance Day ( 11 November ) and is one of the largest war memorial s in Australia . Designed by architects Phillip Hudson and James Wardrop who were both World War I veterans , the Shrine is 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 only of the 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 soldier father and son , and panels listing every unit of the Australian Imperial Force . In 2002 - 2003 a Visitor Centre was built within the foundations of the Shrine . The visitor centre incorporates an education centre ( including three classrooms and meeting room ) , an audio - visual centre , gallery space , a retail shop and an administration office , as well the Hall of Columns ( in which the Changi Flag is on display ) Gallery of Medals , entry courtyard and Remembrance Garden . The walls of both the entry courtyard and Remembrance Garden have been built to complement the Ray of Light ceremony that takes place on 11 November of every year . The Shrine went through a prolonged process of development which began in 1918 with the initial proposal to build a Victorian memorial . Two committees were formed , the second of which ran a competition for the memorial ' s design . The winner was announced in 1922 . However , opposition to the proposal ( led by Keith Murdoch and " The Herald " ) forced the governments of the day to rethink the design , and a number of alternatives were proposed , the most significant of which was the ANZAC Square and cenotaph proposal of 1926 . In response , General Sir John Monash used the 1927 ANZAC Day march to garner support for the Shrine , and finally won the support of the Victorian government later that year . The foundation stone was laid on 11 November 1927 , and the Shrine was officially dedicated on 11 November 1934 . History . Conception : 1918 – 1922 . A war memorial in Melbourne was proposed as soon as the war ended in November 1918 . In the early 1920s the Victorian state government appointed the War Memorials Advisory Committee , chaired by Sir Baldwin Spencer , which recommended an " arch of victory " over St Kilda Road , the major boulevard leading out of the city of Melbourne to the south . In August 1921 an executive committee was formed , with the former commander of the Australian forces in the war , General Sir John Monash , as its driving force . The committee soon abandoned the idea of an arch and proposed a large monumental memorial to the east of St Kilda Road , a position which would make it clearly visible from the centre of the city . A competition was launched in March 1922 to find a design for the new memorial , open both to British subjects residing in Australia and any Australian citizens who were residing overseas . A total of 83 entries were submitted , and in December 1923 the design offered by two Melbourne architects ( and war veterans ) , Phillip Hudson and James Wardrop , was announced as the winner . Opposition and response : 1922 – 1927 . The winning design had a number of supporters , including publications such as " The Age " and George Taylor ' s Sydney - based trade journal , " Building " , prominent citizens including artist Norman Lindsay and University of Sydney Dean of Architecture , Leslie Wilkinson , and the Royal Australian Institute of Architects ( who had been heavily involved in the competition ) . Nevertheless , the design was also fiercely criticised in some quarters — especially by Keith Murdoch ' s " Herald " , Murdoch reportedly describing the Shrine as " too severe , stiff and heavy , that there is no grace or beauty about it and that it is a tomb of gloom " — on the grounds of its grandiosity , its severity of design and its expense . As part of the campaign against the Shrine proposal , the " Herald " searched for alternative concepts , arguing that the funds could be better spent on more practical projects such as a hospital or a war widow ' s home . Furthermore , some Christian churches also attacked the design as pagan for having no cross or other Christian element . The new Victorian Labor government of 1924 , under George Prendergast , supported the " Herald ' s " view , and pushed for a memorial hospital instead of the Shrine . When the Labor government was replaced with John Allan ' s Country / National coalition , the plan changed once again , leaning towards the earlier suggestion of an arch of victory to be built over St . Kilda Road . As a result of the debate , significant delays postponed the construction of the new memorial , so a temporary wood - and - plaster cenotaph was raised for the 1926 ANZAC day march . The success of the temporary cenotaph led the Victorian government to abandon the earlier project in 1926 , and propose instead to build a permanent cenotaph in a large " ANZAC Square " at the top of Bourke St in front of Parliament House . While this would have involved demolishing the Windsor Hotel , one of Melbourne ' s favourite hotels , the new plan won the support of the " Herald " , the Returned Soldiers League ( RSL ) and the Melbourne City Council . Nevertheless , both Monash and Legacy still supported the Shrine . After a vote in favour of the Shrine by their executive council , Legacy started a public relations campaign , gaining the support of much of the media — although the council , state government and the " Herald " continued to oppose . In 1927 , with the then Duke of York , Prince Albert , visiting the country , Monash spoke on the eve of ANZAC day at the RSL dinner , arguing for the Shrine . The audience had been seeded with supporters , who provided a standing ovation at the conclusion of his speech , which helped to produce a groundswell of support . When a vote was called for , the majority voted in favour of the Shrine proposal . The next day , with Monash leading 30 , 000 veterans in the 1927 ANZAC Day march , and with the new support of the RSL , The " Age " , and the " Argus " , the Shrine proposal had gained " new momentum " . Faced with such support , and with Monash ' s arguments that the ANZAC Square would be prohibitively expensive , Edmond Hogan ' s new Labor government decided in favour of the Shrine . Another early point of contention ( although not explicitly related to the nature of the memorial ) concerned the possibility of incorporating a " Tomb of the Unknown Soldier " into the memorial — an approach that was championed by the St . Kilda RSL , who revealed plans to bury a soldier from either Gallipoli or France on ANZAC day , 25 April 1922 . This proposal received considerable debate , and was countered by the argument that the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey represented all of the dead of the British Empire . Monash was on the side of those against such a burial , as while he could see a place for an Unknown Soldier in a national memorial , he did not feel that it would be suitable at the Victorian Shrine . The Stone of Remembrance was later placed in the position where an Unknown Soldier might have been laid . An Australian Unknown Soldier was eventually interred at the Australian War Memorial by Prime Minister Paul Keating on 11 November 1993 . Construction and dedication : 1927 – 1934 . The foundation stone was laid on 11 November 1927 , by the Governor of Victoria , Lord Somers . Although both the Victorian and Commonwealth governments made contributions , most of the cost of the Shrine ( £160 , 000 out of a total of £250 , 000 ; equating to about £ out of £ in 2018 ) ) was raised in less than six months by public contributions , with Monash as chief fundraiser . Monash , who was also an engineer , took personal charge of the construction , which began in 1928 and was handled by the contractors Vaughan & Lodge . Monash died in 1931 , before the Shrine was finished , but the Shrine was the cause " closest to his heart " in his later years . Work was finally completed in September 1934 , and the Shrine was formally dedicated on 11 November 1934 by the Duke of Gloucester , witnessed by a crowd of over 300 , 000 people — a " massive turnout " given that Melbourne ' s population at the time was approximately 1 million , and , according to Carl Bridge , the " largest crowd ever to assemble in Australia to that date " . Post World War II : 1945 – 1985 . After World War II it was felt necessary to add to the Shrine an element commemorating the Australian war dead of the second great conflict . Once again a competition was run , with A . S . Fall and E . E . Milston as the joint winners . Milston ' s design was eventually chosen as the one to go ahead , and the result was the World War II Forecourt , a wide expanse of stone in front of the Shrine ' s north face ; the Eternal Flame , a permanent gas flame set just to the west of the north face ; and the World War II Memorial , a 12 . 5 - metre - high ( 41 ft ) cenotaph a little further west . The Forecourt replaced a reflecting pool that had previously stood in front of the Shrine . These enlargements were dedicated by Queen Elizabeth II on 28 February 1954 . Australia ' s involvements in later wars , such as the Korean War , the Borneo campaign ( 1945 ) , the Malayan Emergency , the Indonesian Confrontation in North Borneo and Sarawak , the Vietnam War and the Gulf War , are commemorated by inscriptions . In 1951 the body of Field Marshal Sir Thomas Blamey , Australia ' s military commander during World War II , was held at the Shrine for three days for public viewing followed by a State funeral on site . 20 , 000 people visited the Shrine as he lay in state . During the Vietnam War the Shrine became a centre of conflict when anti - war demonstrators protested during ANZAC Day services against Australia ' s involvement in the war . In 1971 the Shrine was defaced when the word was painted in large white letters on the pillars of the north portico . Despite vigorous cleaning , the porous nature of the stone used in the Shrine ' s construction meant that the slogan remained faintly visible for over 20 years . In 1985 the Remembrance Garden was added beneath the western face of the Shrine to honour those who served during post - World War II conflicts . Redevelopment : 2002 – present day . Restoration work on the terraces surrounding the Shrine during the 1990s raised once again the possibility of taking advantage of the space under the Shrine : as the Shrine had been built on a hollow artificial hill , the undercroft ( although at the time filled with rubble from the construction ) provided a large space for development . At a planned cost of $ 5 . 5 million , the new development was intended to provide a visitor ' s centre , administration facilities and an improved access to the Shrine ' s crypt , as many of the remaining veterans and their families found the stairs at the traditional ceremonial entrance difficult to climb . In redeveloping the site , special consideration was given to the positioning of the new entrance . The original plan was to use a tunnel from the east , but this was discarded as it had " no sense of ceremony " . Instead it was decided to develop two new courtyards , and place the new gallery under the northern steps . Construction commenced in 2002 , with the design by Melbourne architects Ashton Raggatt McDougall , and the new areas were opened in August 2003 . The completed project was awarded the Victorian Architecture Medal by the Royal Australian Institute of Architects in 2004 . After this construction was complete , there were still more calls to further develop the site , and especially to provide facilities for education about the wars . A $ 62 million proposal was presented in 2006 , incorporating a museum and an underground carpark . Designed once again by Ashton Raggatt McDougall , the proposal was opposed by local residents and some council members , and ran into significant funding problems when the Federal Government decided not to provide funding . In 2012 the Victorian Government announced that $ 22 . 5 million would be allocated to redevelop the Shrine ’ s undercroft space and extend it to the south to create the " Galleries of Remembrance " . A lifeboat from the ship SS " Devanha " , deployed during the landing at Anzac Cove at the start of the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915 , will be a centrepiece of the new development . Architecture and features . Materials for building the Shrine were sourced from within Australia : the chosen building stone was granodiorite quarried from Tynong ; the internal walls use sandstone from Redesdale ; and the black marble columns used stone from Buchan . This raised some concerns when redeveloping the Shrine , as the Tynong quarry was no longer in use , and it proved to be prohibitively expensive to reopen the site . Fortunately another quarry in the area was available and was able to provide the necessary stone . Exterior . The design of the Shrine is based on the ancient Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus , one of the Seven Wonders of the World , and the Parthenon in Athens . It is a structure of square plan roofed by a stepped pyramid and entered on the north and south through classical portico s , each of eight fluted Doric columns supporting a pediment containing sculpture in high relief . The porticos are approached by wide flights of steps which rise in stages to the podium on which the Shrine sits . The east and west facing fronts are marked at the corners by four groups of statuary by Paul Raphael Montford , representing Peace , Justice , Patriotism and Sacrifice . The Art Deco style and motifs draw on Greek and Assyrian sculpture . The symbolism is Neo - Classical . Around the outer stone balustrade that marks the Shrine ' s external boundary are the 16 stone " battle honours " discs . These represent the battle honours granted by King George V and commemorate Australia ' s contributions to the following battles : Landing at Anzac ( Gallipoli ) , Sari Bair , Rumani , Gaza - Beersheba , the North Sea , the Cocos Islands , Megiddo , Damascus , Villers Bretonneux , Amiens , Mont St Quentin , the Hindenburg Line , Ypres , Messines , Pozieres and Bullecourt . Interior . Inside the Shrine is the Sanctuary , a high vaulted space entered by four tall portals of Classical design . A simple entabulature is carried on sixteen tall fluted Ionic columns and supports a frieze with twelve relief panels sculptured by Lyndon Dadswell , depicting the armed services at work and in action during World War I . At the centre of the Sanctuary is the Stone of Remembrance . This is a marble stone sunk below the pavement , so that visitors must bow their heads to read the inscription on it : The inscription is part of a verse from the Bible ( John 15 : 13 ) " Greater love hath no man than this , that a man lay down his life for his friends " . The Stone is aligned with an aperture in the roof of the Sanctuary so that a ray of sunlight falls on the word on the Stone of Remembrance at exactly 11 a . m . on 11 November , marking the hour and day of the Armistice which ended World War I . Since the introduction of daylight saving in Victoria , the ray of sunlight is no longer in the right place at 11 a . m . A mirror has been installed to direct sunlight onto the Stone at 11 a . m . During the rest of the year , a light is used to simulate the effect . Monash , with the advice of Professor T . G . Tucker and the assistance of Bernard O ' Dowd and Felix Meyer , reworded Phillip Hudson ' s inscription which appears on the western wall of the Shrine : This inscription again aroused criticism , according to Taylor , " for having no Christian , ( or , indeed , religious ) , element " , but was considered to fit the Australian tradition of " stoic patriotism " . The inscription on the eastern wall , not written by Monash , reads : The Sanctuary is surrounded by an ambulatory , or passage , along which are forty - two bronze caskets containing hand - written , illuminated Books of Remembrance with the names of every Victorian who enlisted for active service with the Australian Imperial Force ( AIF ) or Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force in World War I or died in camp prior to embarkation . Crypt . Beneath the Sanctuary is the Crypt containing a bronze statue of a father and son , representing the two generations who served in the two world wars . Around the walls are panels listing every unit of the AIF , down to battalion and regiment , along with the colours of their shoulder patch . The Crypt is hung with the standards of various battalions and regiments , listing their battle honours . Visitor Centre . Visitors approach the shrine through the Entrance Courtyard , with " Lest We Forget " inscribed on one wall and a quote from former Governor - General Sir William Deane on the other . The Garden Courtyard , on the same alignment , features the Legacy Olive Tree and a seating area . Both courtyards are finished in Tynong Granite . The gallery of Medals has a 40 - metre - long ( 130 ft ) wall displaying around 4000 medals , each symbolically representing 100 Victorians who have served in war and peacekeeping operations , and six who have died . A feature of the gallery is the Victoria Cross awarded to Captain Robert Grieve during the Battle of Messines in 1917 . The Cross was lent to the Shrine by Wesley College , Melbourne . World War II Forecourt . The cenotaph is a tall pillar constructed of Harcourt Granite . Inscribed on its surface are the names of the defence forces , together with the theatres of war they served in . Atop the cenotaph is a basalt sculpture of six servicemen carrying a bier with a corpse , draped by the Australian flag . The sculpture symbolises " the debt of the living to the dead " . The Eternal Flame is placed nearby , representing eternal life . The flame has burned continuously with few interruptions since it was first lit . At the other side of the forecourt are three flagpoles . The usual arrangement comprises the Australian flag on the left , the Victorian flag in the middle and one of the flags of the three defence forces on the right . Other flags may be flown on special occasions , arranged according to strict protocols . Remembrance Garden . The Remembrance Garden features a pool , waterfall and Harcourt granite wall bearing the names of the conflicts and peacekeeping operations in which Australia participated following World War II , such as Kuwait ( Gulf War ) and East Timor . Shrine Reserve and environs . Although the original architects had proposed including four statues of war leaders , Monash rejected this plan . Instead there were to be no statues representing individual members of the Australian Defence Force at the shrine itself , although a number of statues were to be added in the surrounding parklands . The first of these was " The Man With The Donkey " , representing John Simpson Kirkpatrick , although he was not named on the statue . Officially the work is said to represent the " valour and compassion of the Australian soldier " . The statue , by Wallace Anderson , was installed in 1936 on the initiative of women who had funded a " Mother ' s Tribute " . A statue of Monash was also commissioned and was designed by Leslie Bowles . Casting was due to begin in 1938 , but the onset of World War II delayed work , and thus it was not installed until 1950 , and , as with Simpson and his donkey , was located away from the shrine . The Shrine is set in a large expanse of parkland officially called Kings Domain . Over the years many other war memorials have been built in this area , including the Australian - Hellenic Memorial to Australian and Greek dead in the Battles of Greece and Crete in 1941 , and statues of Monash and Blamey . Most of the trees which line the approaches to the Shrine bear plaques commemorating individual Army units , naval vessels or Air Force squadrons , placed there by veterans ' groups . An older memorial to Victorians killed in the Second Boer War of 1899 – 1902 is also located nearby on the corner of St Kilda and Domain Roads . The Driver and Wipers Memorial , also in the Shrine reserve , commemorates the thousands of Australian lives lost during the fighting at Ypres ; " Wipers " is the way servicemen pronounced " Ypres " during World War I . The bronze soldiers are the work of the British sculptor Charles Sargeant Jagger and originally stood outside the Museum and State Library of Victoria in Melbourne . They were transferred to the Shrine in 1998 . The Driver is a soldier holding a horse whip and bridles , wearing breeches , a protective legging , spurs , and a steel helmet . The figure is a recasting of one of the figures from the Royal Artillery Memorial in Hyde Park , London , UK . The other bronze , the " Wipers " figure , is a British infantry soldier standing guard with standard issue . 303 rifle , bayonet fixed , a German helmet at his feet . This too is a recasting , taken from the Hoylake and West Kirby War Memorial in Merseyside , UK . On 19 July 2008 , being the 92nd anniversary of the Battle of Fromelles , a replica of the 1998 sculpture by Peter Corlett in the Australian Memorial Park , Fromelles was unveiled . This depicts Sergeant Simon Fraser , 57th Battalion , ( a farmer from Byaduk , Victoria ) , rescuing a wounded compatriot from " no man ' s land " after the battle . Near to the Shrine entrance is the Legacy Garden of Appreciation , which was established in 1978 . This cross - shaped garden is outlined by hedges . Red Flanders Poppies , planted from seed originating from Villers - Bretonneux in France , flower in late spring . A sculpture by Louis Laumen , " Widow and Children " , was commissioned to mark the 75th anniversary of Legacy Australia in 1998 . The Women ' s Garden , to the north of the shrine , incorporates concrete memorial violets within a grove of jacaranda s . The focus of the garden is The Ex - Servicewomen ’ s Memorial Cairn ( 1985 ) which was relocated from the King ' s Domain in 2010 . A Lone Pine ( " Pinus brutia " ) was planted in 1933 near the north - east corner of the Shrine by Lieutenant - General Sir Stanley Savige , founder of Melbourne Legacy at a formal ceremony . It was one of four seedlings planted in Victoria from seeds of a cone brought back from Gallipoli by Sgt . Keith McDowell . The tree was removed in August 2012 having succumbed to disease caused by the fungus " Diplodia pinea " . A " grandchild tree " was planted nearby in 2006 . Commemorative services . For the past 70 years the Shrine has been the centre of war commemoration in Melbourne . Although Remembrance Day ( 11 November ) is the official day for commemorating the war dead , it has gradually been eclipsed in the public estimation by ANZAC Day ( 25 April ) , which unlike Remembrance Day is a specifically Australian ( and New Zealand ) day of commemoration . ANZAC day at the Shrine is observed through a number of ceremonies . The first of these is the Dawn Service , an event that attracted a record crowd of more than 35 , 000 in 2007 . This is followed by an official wreath - laying service where officials march to the Shrine and lay wreaths in the Sanctuary . Later , the ANZAC Day March approaches the Shrine via St Kilda Road and the forecourt , before being dismissed at the steps and is followed by a commemoration service held between 1 : 00 and 1 : 30 p . m . On Remembrance Day , Victorian leaders and community members gather to commemorate " the sacrifices made by Australians in all wars and conflicts " . A minutes silence is observed at 11 a . m . as the Ray of Light illuminates the word LOVE on the Stone of Remembrance . Throughout the rest of the year , ceremonies and wreath laying services are held by Victorian unit associations and battalion s in the Sanctuary , around memorials in the Shrine Reserve and near remembrance trees specific to various associations . Management . The Shrine is managed by the Shrine of Remembrance Trustees , ten individuals appointed by the Governor in Council , on the advice of the Minister for Veterans ' Affairs in the Victorian Government . The Trustees are responsible for the care , management , maintenance and preservation of the Shrine and Shrine Reserve . Traditionally , security for the Shrine has been provided by the Shrine Guard , whose members were men with a military background . All of the original twelve members of the Shrine Guard had won bravery medals during World War I . When the Shrine Guard merged with the Victoria Police Protective Service , some civilians began to serve . During the hours the Shrine is open to the public or in use for any ceremony , they wear a uniform representing an Australian Light Horse man of World War I , with Victoria Police Force insignia . See also . Other ANZAC articles