Exhibition – Callan Park's Veterans: a century of connections.
Friends of Callan Park are presenting their 9th exhibition at Callan Park for the National Trust's Heritage Festival.
Callan Park's Veterans: a century of connections highlights the scale of the Repatriation Department's (now Department of Veterans Affairs) investment in infrastructure at Callan Park.
Callan Park and Broughton Hall became military hospitals during WWI—the 28th and 13th Australian Auxiliary Hospitals, respectively. This began a century of veteran care and an enormous investment in infrastructure and services by the Repatriation Department, which was formed during WWI.
The exhibition is on display outdoors until 9 June 2024, allowing free access 24/7.
One part of the exhibition is installed at the 1925 Callan Park War Memorial, designed by the siblings Raymond and Eileen McGrath, who have connections to the ANZAC Memorial; at the 1931 Sydney Harbour Bridge War Memorial, designed by Douglas Grant; and at Broughton Hall, which was offered to the government as a place for shellshocked soldiers within a fortnight of the announcement of war.
Today all memories of Anzac Day or Remembrance Day services at Callan Park have vanished, yet a new and deeply significant, personal form of remembrance has begun spontaneously as the children in nearby childcare centre makes beautiful paper poppies, and community members leave flowers and reflect upon the impact of war.
