In late 1914, over 41,000 Australians and New Zealanders left Albany, bound for the First World War. This is their story.

The National Anzac Centre is dedicated solely to honouring the Anzacs of the First World War. Set within Albany Heritage Park, Western Australia, the Centre offers visitors a deeply personal connection with the Anzac legend revealed through interactive multimedia displays, unique artefacts, rare images and film, and audio commentary.

The National Anzac Centre was opened by the Prime Ministers of Australia and New Zealand and the Premier of Western Australia on 1 November 2014: the centenary of the first Australian and New Zealand convoy’s departure for war from Albany’s King George Sound.

Within the Centre, the key phases and events of the First World War are told through the stories of the Anzacs themselves. Through its unique content developed by the Western Australian Museum and the Australian War Memorial, the Centre allows visitors to assume the identity of one of 32 Anzac-related characters, and follow their personal experience of the Great War: from recruitment, through training and embarkation, ship-board life on the convoys, and on to the conflicts on Gallipoli, in the Middle East and on the Western Front, and post-war - for those who returned.

As the story of conflicts within the Centre draws to a close, the names of the 41,265 servicemen and servicewomen who left Albany in the first and second convoys are revealed: scrolling beneath a Pool of Reflections. The experience concludes with the discovery of each Anzac character’s fate and a Tribute Wall where visitors may document their own feelings and messages to the Anzacs. These appear within the National Anzac Centre, and are then shared with the world via the web.

The National Anzac Centre sincerely thanks our supporters: