Architectural History

Australian artists and architects submitted eighty-three designs for the Shrine in 1923. The winning design was by two Melbournian returned-soldier architects, Philip Hudson and James Wardrop.

The inspiration for the external outline of their entry came from one of the seven wonders of the ancient world: the mausoleum at Harlicarnassus to Mausolus, King of Caria in South West Asia Minor, and the Parthenon in Athens. It is a structure of square plan, roofed by a stepped pyramid and entered on the North and South through classical porticoes, each with eight fluted Doric columns supporting a pediment containing sculpture in high relief. The porticos are approached by wide flights of steps, which rise in stages to the podium on which the Shrine sits.

The East and West facing fronts are marked at the corners by four groups of statuary by Paul Raphael Montford, representing peace, justice, patriotism and sacrifice. The Art Deco style and motifs draw on Greek and Assyrian sculpture and the symbolism is Neo-Classical.

The site chosen for this great monument, a low hill on the axis of Swanston Street and embraced by a bend of St. Kilda Road, gives prominence and visibility from all directions and is crowned by the memorial building. High up inside the sanctuary is a small opening contrived so that at the 11th day of the 11th month of each year, a ray of sunlight strikes through to the Stone of Remembrance set into the floor at the centre of the sanctuary.