The Australian War Memorial opened a new storage building, called the
Treloar Centre, in April 1994. We really wanted a building to enable us to
display our collection of large technology items, but we desperately needed
some decent storage room, so we reached a compromise in which our new
storage area has an enclosed elevated walkway for the public to view the
stored collection.

The Treloar building is about 10 kilometres from the main Memorial
building, and does not have any commemorative function. We charge a modest
entry fee, and have an Information Assistant in the walkway to answer
queries etc., and there are photographs, paintings small displays and text
panels adjacent to major items. For a larger fee guided tours are conducted
on the floor, but these are usually reserved for special interest groups,
and we insist on group bookings to make it financially viable for us.

After a relatively slow start due to poor street signage & lack of P.R. the
attendance figures have become large enough for us to make it worthwhile to
be open to the public. We currently open the building to the public on
Wednesdays and Sundays, and Monday to Thursday during school holidays. If
visitor demand increases then we will consider opening more frequently. The
feedback that we have had from visitors has been excellent, with many
suggesting that they would still come if the admission fee was higher than
it is.

George Bailey
Objects Conservator
Australian War Memorial
Treloar Centre for Conservation
4 Callan St, Mitchell, A.C.T. 2911
Australia
Phone: +61 6 241 6122
fax:   +61 6 241 7998
email: [log in to unmask]