Collected: Stories from the Australian War Memorial explores the artefacts that make up the museum of the Australian War Memorial. Join journalist Louise Maher and take a closer look at the obscure, popular, strange and wonderful items in the collection.
Louise peels back the past, highlights the history and uncovers the stories that the public don’t always get to hear.
Dec 17, 2020
In 1945, a young Indigenous Australian solider recently released from a German prisoner-of-war camp sat to have his portrait painted by war artist, Stella Bowen. It was nearly 70 years before his identity was discovered. In Episode 24 of Collected, Louise Maher explores the work of the ‘ghost-hunters’ behind the...
Nov 16, 2020
How do you preserve fragile items of clothing that tell remarkable stories about two young women whose lives were transformed by World War Two? Henryka’s cotton frock was made from Nazi curtains to give her something to wear when she finally walked free from a concentration camp. Maud’s satin wedding gown was packed...
Oct 14, 2020
Nearly every town across Australia has its own war memorial. They range from small monuments – perhaps a stained glass window in a church – to community halls and swimming pools. Places of Pride, the National Register of War Memorials, is an Australian War Memorial initiative to record the location and photo of...
Sep 14, 2020
Australia has a proud record of peacekeeping around the world, from the Middle East to Asia, Africa to the Pacific. These operations have often involved ensuring the wellbeing of children. In Episode 21 of Collected, Louise Maher discovers the peacekeeping stories behind toy guns collected in Somalia, an artwork about...
Aug 3, 2020
When the war in the Pacific ended on August 15, 1945, Australians went wild with joy. That day – VP (Victory in the Pacific) Day – was celebrated across the country with street parties and parades. But the day was also marked with sorrow for the tens of thousands of Australians killed or injured. To commemorate the...