©Commonwealth of Australia 2018
©Commonwealth of Australia 2018
Center of Sir John Monash,Villers-Bretonneux
The Sir John Monash Centre tells Australia’s story of the Western Front in the words of those who served. Set on the grounds of the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery in northern France, and adjacent to the Australian National Memorial, the Sir John Monash Centre is the hub of the Australian Remembrance Trail along the Western Front, and establishes a lasting international legacy of Australia’s Centenary of Anzac 2014-2018.
This cutting-edge multimedia centre reveals the Australian Western Front experience through a series of interactive media installations and immersive experiences. The SJMC App, downloaded on each visitor’s personal mobile device, acts as a ‘virtual tour guide’ over the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, the Australian National Memorial and the Sir John Monash Centre.
The experience is designed so visitors gain a better understanding of the journey of ordinary Australians — told in their own voices through letters, diaries and life-size images — and connect with the places they fought and died. A visit to the Sir John Monash Centre will be a moving experience that leaves a lasting impression.
About the Sir John Monash Centre
The SJMC has been established by the Australian Government as a tribute to the more than 295,000 Australians who servedon the Western Front frm 1916 to 1918 and the more than 46,000 who died there.
It is an enduring legacy of Australia's Anzac Centenary 2014-2018. The Centre stands alongside the Australian National Memoria, widely regarded as the most important Australian military memorial on foreign soil.
It offers an introduction to the Australian Remembrance Trail along the Western Front, which is a series of significant sites including former battlefields, cemeteries, museums and memorials streching from Ypres in Belgium to Bellenglise in France.
The Centre is named after General Sir John Monash, the commander who led the Australian Corp with outstanding success on the Western Front in 1918, including the famous 4 July victory at Le Hamel.
At the Centre
The 1000 square metre building, in the Somme region nothern Paris is a cutting-edge multimedia centre that immerses visitors in the Australian story of the Western Front. It is not a traditional museum that focuses on objects, rather than an interpretative hub to the Australian Remembrance Trail on the Western Front, designed to engage people of all ages and nationalities.
Emotive, informative, and interactive multimedia displays explore Australia before the war, the reasons the young nation went to war, the experience of those Australians who served, and the impact on those they left behind.
Using a series of interactive media installations and a striking array of film - archival, contemporary and computer-generated - soldiers' stories are bought to life.
Through these stories visitors gain a better understanding of the journey of ordinary Australians in extraordinary circumstances, and a deeper connection with the places where they fought and died.
Planning your visit
The Sir John Monash Centre is 90 minutes' drive north of Paris. It is located 20km east of Amiens and halfway between Villers-Bretonneux, Fouilloy and Corbie.
Visitors interact with the exhibits via the Sir John Monash Centre app, available for free download to visitor's own iOS and Android devices via the on-site Wi-Fi network. The app is a virtual tour guide that allows visitors to experience the site at their own pace.
IMPORTANT : visitors should bring earphones and have their mobile devices fully charged.
Group bookings are essential and individual bookings are encouraged.
