SPARTANS & ANZACS Exhibition Opens.

SPARTANS & ANZACS Exhibition Opens

The "SPARTANS & ANZACS" Exhibition at The Shrine, Melbourne went "live" on Wednesday 15 April 2026. The 2/2nd Field Regiment Association Inc. has played a significant role in promoting, meetings and providing artefacts to The Shrine to assist in the presentation which will be displayed through until April 2027.
Prior to commenting and displaying a few photos, I would like to acknowledge in particular Shrine curator Mr. Neil Sharkey, Association Historian & Life Member Mr. Terry Cole and Secretary & Life Member Mrs. Mel Johnson for their contribution, knowledge and advice to The Shrine over an extended period of negotiations.
A special thank you to contributors of precious family artefacts for loaning to The Shrine their irreplaceable memorabilia for an extended period.
I visited The Shrine the day after the opening and several things immediately were strikingly noticeable. Firstly, the bright orange theme was a standout and made me drawn to it as it must of with others as there was a sizeable gathering forming and viewing the exhibition.
The lead in takes you back to 480 BC and traces through the Spartan war led by King Leonidas at the "Thermopyle Line" right through to 1941 where the 6th Division and our forebears fought at the same location and with Brallos Pass looking over the line.
There is a very well produced audio visual within the exhibition that is well worth taking the time to watch.
Whilst there are many highlights and quite a bit to take in, the original Spartan armour, helmets and daggers dating back 1000 BC are amazing and the donor should be acknowledged for allowing these massively valuable artefacts to be exhibited and loaned for the period of the exhibition.
As a final touch there are 3 original "Dargie" paintings on loan from the Australian War Memorial which are National treasures themselves!
If you are planning a visit, and we hope you will support the work put in, I would recommend you allow a good 90 minutes to view, read the stories, take photos etc. 
Of course, there is much, much more to see in addition to this exhibition that is worth taking in.
There are Shrine volunteers available to answer questions and to point you in the right direction.
Entry is free via the visitor education entrance (to the left facing The Shrine), take the 5-6 steps up through the military medal displays, turn right then at the end turn left and the display is before you.
There is a small cafe and clean toilets and a gift shop as you enter .
Enjoy your visit and please "Blog" and tell us what you thought of the exhibition.

Malcolm Fallon
​President