Look back on Summer 2024 at the Sir John Monash Centre

5 June 2024: Visit from the Governor General of Australia – His Excellency, the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC

At the beginning of June, the Sir John Monash Centre was delighted to welcome His Excellency General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC, Governor-General of Australia, and Her Excellency Mrs Linda Hurley to the Australian National Memorial and the Sir John Monash Centre. Their Excellencies had travelled to France to mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings

4 July 2024: The Olympic Torch Relay at the Australian National Memorial

On 4 July, as the Olympic Torch Relay completed its 33rd leg in the Somme region, it passed through the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery and the Australian National Memorial. Four torchbearers carried the flame in front of an audience of over 1,600 people, including more than 750 school children.

17 July, 7 August and 14 August 2024: Summer workshops at the Sir John Monash Centre

Many local children attended the annual summer workshops organised at the Sir John Monash Centre. The programme included workshops for baking Anzac biscuits (which were sent to Australian troops from Australia during the war) and the creation of remembrance brooches, decorated with cornflowers, poppies and koalas.

13 August 2024: Visit from the Governor of Queensland – Her Excellency the Honourable Dr Jeannette Young AC PSM

Another distinguished guest this summer was the Governor of Queensland, Her Excellency the Honourable Dr Jeannette Young AC PSM, who visited the Sir John Monash Centre and the Australian National Memorial during her stay on the Western Front. She also visited the Victoria School and the Franco-Australian Museum in Villers-Bretonneux, and the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme and Museum at Thiepval.

29 August 2024: Visit from the Governor General of Australia – Her Excellency the Honourable Mrs Sam Mostyn AC.

We were delighted to welcome Australia’s new Governor-General, Her Excellency the Honourable Mrs Sam Mostyn AC, and her husband, His Excellency Mr Simeon Beckett, to the Sir John Monash Centre and the Australian National Memorial. Among those present during her visit were the Australian Ambassador to France, Her Excellency Mrs Gillian Bird, the Director of the Sir John Monash Centre, Ben Daetwyler, the President of the Somme Departmental Council, Mr Stéphane Haussoulier, and the Prefect of the Somme, Mr Rollon Mouchel-Blaisot, the Mayor of Fouilloy, Yves Ducrocq, and the Deputy Mayors of Villers-Bretonneux.

While visiting France for the Paralympic Games, Their Excellencies took the opportunity to discover the Centre’s interpretative gallery, the starting point of the Australian Remembrance Trail.

3 September 2024: Australian Paralympians on the Western Front.

After their competitions, several Australian Paralympic athletes took the opportunity to visit the Australian National Memorial and the Sir John Monash Centre while they were in France. Welcomed and accompanied by the Director, Ben Daetwyler, they also visited the Franco-Australian Museum and the Victoria School in Villers-Bretonneux, where they were greeted by a crowd of jubilant young pupils. 

15 September 2024: ‘Towards the Rising Sun’ lecture by one of the architects of the Sir John Monash Centre, Timothy Williams.

More than 6 years after the inauguration of the Sir John Monash Centre, one of its architects, Timothy Williams, gave a presentation in the Patrick Simon AO room on the creation of the Centre.

With many locals in attendance, including the mayors of the towns of Fouilloy and Le Hamel, Mr Williams recounted the various stages that led to the construction of the interpretative centre, and its aim to share the experience of Australians who served on the Western Front.

21 September 2024: Filming of a documentary by French Youtuber Rivenzi

We were delighted to welcome French history Youtuber and streamer Rivenzi, who came to the Somme battlefield sites to film a documentary. He visited the Australian National Memorial and the Sir John Monash Centre to discover the history of Australians who served on the Western Front. This visit was organised in partnership with Somme Tourisme, the Chapelle du Souvenir Français and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. However, you’ll have to wait a little longer for the documentary to be released!

21 and 22 September 2024: The European Heritage Days

Many visitors came to the Sir John Monash Centre as part of the 41st European Heritage Days. Activities included guided tours of the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery and the Australian National Memorial, giving the local community the opportunity to rediscover the history of this site and the day-to-day work of the CWGC in all of its cemeteries on the Western Front and around the world.

On the morning of 22 September in the courtyard of the Sir John Monash Centre, the atmosphere was filled with music! The Amiens Brass Band performed some of the most emblematic songs of the Australian musical landscape to a large audience who had come for the occasion. The orchestra also played Graham Lloyd’s world premiere ‘Villers-Bretonneux. A homage’, as well as revisited classics such as Groov’n Mathilda.

19 and 26 September 2024: Singers in the foyer of the Centre

We also welcomed a number of Australian choir members who filled the site with singing and music. Among them, the Southport Band of Brothers on their European tour and the Australian Girls Choir on their international tour. Each group chose the Picardy countryside to pay their respects and commemorate in song the commitment of the 295,000 Australian soldiers who served on the Western Front.