An artist's impression of the new underground home planned for the Devanha lifeboat used at Gallipoli. Source: Herald Sun
VICTORIA'S most important war memorial will be redeveloped to better honour our fallen soldiers.
The Shrine of Remembrance will be transformed with a new auditorium, education lobby and exhibition space expected to cost $45 million.
To mark Remembrance Day, the Baillieu Government is today expected to announce its plans to breathe new life into the Shrine.
Construction is expected to begin next year.
An artist's impression of the development, obtained exclusively by the Sunday Herald Sun, show for the first time what part of the remake will look like.
The Shrine will be largely untouched from the outside but a southern extension will see the auditorium, education facilities and two new courtyards added along with retail space, an improved visitor centre and a new cafe.
In addition, a permanent purpose-built home for the Devanha lifeboat used in the WWI landing at Gallipoli will be built beneath the Shrine.
The timber troop boat will be moved from the Australian War Memorial in Canberra to Melbourne when the Shrine redevelopment is complete. Veterans' Affairs Minister Hugh Delahunty said the Government wanted to start construction as soon as possible to build on increased recent patronage.
"The aim is to have the new redevelopment in place for the centenary of Anzac in 2015," he said. He said some of the work "will be tough to do given most of it is underground".
Mr Delahunty said the State Government had set aside $22.5 million for the redevelopment and would lobby Canberra for the remaining funds. "There have been discussions between the Prime Minister and the Premier and from minister to minister and those discussions are still ongoing," he said.
"We're hoping for a positive outcome."
The revamp comes after a visitor's centre was added to the Shrine in 2003 and the education centre was added in 2005.
Mr Delahunty said the redevelopment would not damage the spiritual or architectural significance of the Shrine.
"To do anything to it you have to be mindful of that," he said. "The Shrine is the hub of our commemorative ceremonies."
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