An exhibition which recalls the peace celebrations and life following World War I in Geelong and Barwon Region will be on display at the Geelong Heritage Centre, before touring to branches across the Geelong Regional Library network.

Remembering the End – Peace celebrations and life after World War I in Geelong and the Barwon Region, will open to the public on Tuesday 13 November in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice on 11 November 1918.

The creation of the exhibition was made possible by funding received through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Armistice Centenary Grants Program. The application for the grant was personally endorsed by the Hon. Richard Marles MP, Federal Member for Corio and Shadow Minister for Defence, who visited the Geelong Heritage Centre today to view the exhibition and meet with staff.

Featuring local stories and images, Remembering the End explores eight themes: Armistice 1918, Peace Celebrations 1919, Welcome Home, Memorials, Starting Again, Supporting Returned Soldiers, Absence and Grief, and The Spanish Flu. Images in the display were sourced from the Geelong Heritage Centre archive, the Australian War Memorial collection and the Geelong Advertiser News of the Week collection.

The project to develop and create the Remembering the End exhibition was undertaken by Geelong Heritage Centre Reading Room and Archives Officer, Caroline Stok, with assistance from the Museums Australia Victoria Roving Curator Program.

Remembering the End will be on display to the public at the Geelong Heritage Centre from Tuesday 13 November 2018 until Thursday 28 February 2019, before touring to library branches across the region. For Geelong Heritage Centre opening hours, please follow this link. 

The first three libraries in the tour are: 

1. Highton Library 11th March – 7th April
2. Ocean Grove Library 15th April – 19th May
3. Belmont Library 27th May – 23rd June