“The Last Shilling” Exhibition by Queensland Military History Society (QMHS) gives a glimpse of the intimate, personal details of the horrors, hopes and uncertainties experienced by the men and women serving their military duty far in the Great War.
As a country of less than 5 million people, Australia contributed close to 420,000 men who enlisted during the First World War. Around 60,000 of them did not make it back home. But through their correspondence, donated to the QMHS over the years, as well as selected documents, photographs, memorabilia and personal possessions, we can appreciate the humanity, the strength of the family bonds and the courage of the Australian people in the face of the tragedy of war.
Curated by Helen Gramotnev, ‘The Last Shilling’ exhibition focuses on letters and personal correspondence of Queenslanders. The handwritten letters sent by the soldiers home to their parents, wives, brothers and sisters give an insight into the hardships they experienced, the longing to see their wives, their young children, and their parents. Their hopes for a life after the war can be seen cut short by the notices of death or pictures of their graves sent to their loved ones.
The personal stories set on the backdrop of the contribution of Australia in WW1 evoke the full sense of loss experienced by Australians. “To the last shilling” was a courageous and ambitious call to arms that became the ultimate price paid by the Australian families through their torn families, lost sons, brothers and fathers, and through the physical and mental price paid by those who returned affected by the horrors of the war.
This QMHS exhibition is held at Fort Lytton – a historic military precinct and Queensland’s foremost military exhibit with regular military re-enactments.
Exhibition opens 22nd April 2018 (official opening from 11am to 1pm), and will be open all day Anzac Day the 25th April.