Thousands of people have gotten up close and personal with some of the Australian military’s biggest relics at the War Memorial's warehouse in Mitchell.
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00:00 From big shots to big birds. Size certainly mattered for thousands of people today who
00:07 descended on the Australian War Memorial's storage hub in Mitchell for a rare look at
00:12 the military relics that don't fit in the Campbell Building.
00:16 Today is a really great way for people to get really close to these big things and see
00:22 things that they wouldn't normally see every day.
00:24 We're able to tell the stories of that service through an object to allow people to see it
00:28 through effectively a different lens.
00:30 Some 121,000 items used by or against Australians during conflict and peacekeeping that make
00:36 up the memorial's back catalogue were on show and in demand, including a Bushmaster damaged
00:43 by IEDs in Afghanistan and the G for George Lancaster bomber which carried out almost
00:48 90 bombing missions during World War II.
00:51 I am interested in a lot of aviation stuff and I'm very interested in fighter planes.
00:57 Just to have the history and be able to show your children this and have access, it's what's
01:02 great about living in Canberra isn't it?
01:03 It's not just vehicles and machinery stored here, there are plenty of smaller, big items
01:08 too. Everything from bomb removal robots and sea mines to munitions and even a sewing machine
01:15 used by the Light Horse.
01:17 And far more than storage, this is where items are restored and preserved, ready to go on
01:23 display when there's room.
01:25 For some items, like the Chinook helicopter, that won't be until late 2025 when the expanded
01:31 memorial's new galleries open.
01:33 But there's plans for more big things more often then too.
01:37 I would like to think that once we get through the development there is an opportunity to
01:41 have this facility open more regularly because there's clearly a demand for it.
01:46 A new perspective on Australia's service and sacrifice.
01:49 [BLANK_AUDIO]