On International Women’s Day 2023 (8 March), the Anzac Memorial is holding a series of free special events to commemorate and recognise women who have contributed to the defence of Australia in conflicts and peacekeeping missions.
Women have long played a significant role in Australian military service, from serving in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) then Australian Defence Force (ADF) and carrying out nursing duties on frontlines, to undertaking war work on the home front and making invaluable sacrifices as military spouses.
Starting with a special performance of Devoted Service, a powerful and moving drama filled with insight and poignancy that is derived directly from the true stories of five remarkable women during the Great War, the morning’s program explores the stories of servicewomen from across the decades.
All events are free and take place at the Anzac Memorial.
You can attend the full program or specific events (indicate your attendance preferences as part of the registration process). The morning’s program appears below.
Program
10.00am | Live performance of Devoted Service (Auditorium)
This moving and revealing workshop explores the vital role that the Medical Corps played throughout the First World War. During a powerful, live one-woman performance, the actions and values of three nurses and a matron are conveyed through firsthand written accounts.
10.50am | Star Ceremony (Hall of Memory)
A commemorative service held in the Memorial’s Hall of Memory to commemorate and remember those women who served and lost their lives for our nation. The ceremony is followed by the Daily Service of Remembrance.
11.00am | Break
11.30am | Talk — Women's Wartime Service; Five Stories in Five Objects
In this presentation using objects from the Anzac Memorial’s collection, Dr. Catie Gilchrist will examine the ways in which women’s wartime service has changed and evolved. From the nurses who went overseas during the Great War, to all the women who donned a uniform and served on the home front during the Second World War and to their more recent involvement in peacekeeping missions in the late twentieth century, women have always played an important role in times of war.
