A time for remembrance

AUCKLAND MUSEUM presents

The War Memorial Programme

Following the rededication of the Cenotaph, attended by HRH Prince Andrew, the Duke of York on March 18, the Auckland Museum presents its War Memorial Autumn season with a full programme of exhibitions, services and commemorative events to honour those who fought in the first and second world wars.

Auckland Museum was built in 1929 as a Memorial to the 12000 people from the Auckland province who died in the First and Second World Wars.

"The Museum's third floor housing the Halls of Memories and Scars on the Heart tells an unashamedly emotional story. Laugh, cry, grieve. It is the story of our people discovering something about the human condition - a story of ordinary New Zealanders doing their best for other New Zealanders and for their children's future".

Every year, Auckland War Memorial Museum, Auckland City Council and the RSA marks ANZAC day with a series of services and commemorative events. This year the museum will open immediately after the dawn service, enabling Aucklanders to further commemorate the day - no donation will be asked for.

Visitors have opportunity take part in a host of free activities including live music, performance, tours, kid's activities, film screenings, talks and readings. Running through until 4pm this action packed programme offers a range of activities for the whole family.

As well as the free acitivties, visitors are able to journey through galleries and memorials that tell the compelling story of New Zealand's emergence as a nation through the loss and suffering of war. The permanent gallery, Scars on the Heart tracks the history of New Zealand at war from the mid-19th Century to the present day and the Holocaust Gallery tells the personal story of New Zealand's Jewish refugees.

The Museum also houses two halls of memory within which the names of all those killed in major conflicts of the 20th Century are recorded and it is these Halls that Aucklanders gather to remember their family and friends and Auckland's fallen.

In addition to the permanent exhibitions, records and monuments, the 2007 War Memorial programme features two extraordinary exhibitions, which capture climate of war Running until 17 June, Lee Millers War showcases a selection of powerful and moving photographic images taken during WWII. Portraitist and fashion photographer Lee Miller was the first female photojournalist to report from the front lines at the siege of San Malo. A war correspondent for Vogue and Life Magazines, Miller is one of the most celebrated photographers of the twentieth century.

Opening on April 20 the second exhibition in the War Memorial programme comments on the messages and designs created to drive the masses into action. Towards the Precipice: Propaganda posters collected by WB Sutch; is a bold showcase of Spanish, German, British and Soviet propaganda posters from 1935 to 1942. Posters such as these were used as propaganda tools in WWII as they were inexpensive, easy to produce and reached a wide spectrum of society in an immediate medium. With slogans like "Keep it under your hat!" — "Careless talk costs lives", these graphic poster images capture the tumultuous energy of countries on the precipice of war.

ANZAC DAY celebrations commence at 6am on Wednesday 25th of April with a Dawn Service at the Cenotaph. The Museum will open immediately after the dawn service, closing at 5pm. For the full programme of ANZAC day events visit http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/?t=958

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