It was a pleasure to welcome Dean Lee CEO of the Shrine of Remembrance as Guest Speaker on the eve of Remembrance Day. Dean was appointed CEO on 13 July 2015.
Dean explained the Shrine was established at the instigation of Sir John Monash to ensure that Victorian Service Personnel involved in World War 1 were never forgotten.
A competition was held for the design of the Shrine. Eighty three designs were submitted and the winning design was awarded to two Melbourne returned soldiers, Architects, Phillip Hudson and James Wardrop.
The Duke of Gloucester, son of King George V officially opened the Shrine before a crowd of 300,000 people in November 1934. As 19,000 Victorians did not return from the war with many buried in graves far from home, the Shrine provides a place where families could remember their loved ones.
The Shrine was constructed in an elevated position in St Kilda Road and has special laws to protect the precinct and vistas. The Shrine is located in an area of 13 hectares which includes 321 individual plaques and trees.
The Shrine Visitors Centre was established in 2003 with the Gallery Of Remembrance opening in 2014 utilising 1,600 square metres of undercroft space beneath the Shrine Monument, the Terrace Courtyard and the Education Courtyard.
Dean outlined the Remembrance day service the next day would be streamed on line because of the restrictions in place due to the COVID virus. The streaming would commence at 10.45am concluding at 11.15am.