Travelling roadshow for Gallipoli centenary

Thousands died in the trenches at Gallipoli. Photo / Alexander Turnbull Library

CANBERRA - A travelling museum housed in a convoy of huge semitrailers may criss-cross Australia as part of the nation's commemoration of the centenary in 2015 of the Gallipoli landings.

It could be joined by a new Anzac Centre for the Study of Peace, Conflict and War at the Australian National University in Canberra, a series of special services and a huge restoration of cenotaphs, memorials, honour rolls and avenues of honour.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday announced a new centenary advisory board to finalise the recommendations of the commission established by predecessor Kevin Rudd to plan the commemoration.

The commission's members included former prime ministers Malcolm Fraser and Bob Hawke, cartoonist, historian and TV host Warren Brown, retired Gulf War commander Rear Admiral Ken Doolan, decorated veteran Matina Jewell, a retired army major seriously wounded during peacekeeping operations, and Kylie Russell, a nurse whose SAS husband was killed in Afghanistan.

Their key recommendations included the new study centre and the museum convoy, with the concept of separate walk-through displays including:

* A lesson in early 20th century geopolitics with a mock-up of a World War I recruiting station.

* A view from the deck of a warship of the departure of the first Anzac contingent from Albany in Western Australia, with a replica of the "cramped, fetid" below-deck quarters endured by the Anzacs.

* A Cairo bazaar, followed by the landing on April 25, 1915, including a re-creation of the escarpment troops scaled under fire.

* A walk-though of a Gallipoli trench, another showing the "dark, frightening, claustrophobic" Lone Pine trenches in which 7000 men died, and a depiction of the evacuation, including a replica of the drip-fed rifles whose time-delayed shots hid the withdrawal.

The commission's report, released yesterday, said "Anzac" had come to mean far more than just a military acronym and now encompassed the values of courage, bravery, sacrifice, mateship, loyalty and selflessness.

The report said the Anzac spirit had continued to foster close bonds with New Zealand - demonstrated especially in times of crisis - and its tradition had shaped the development of Australia.

The commission's proposed new Anzac centre would examine the nature of social conflict, causes of violence and the definition of peace, and research new means of resolving conflict.

The report said the centre should work closely with New Zealand institutions.