HERstory exhibition: Remembering Australia’s Military Women.

Women have long played a significant role in Australian military service, from serving as nurses in the Boer War, to the formation of the women’s auxiliary forces during the Second World War and their current roles on the front lines.

The HERstory: Remembering Australia’s Military Women exhibition is artist Carla Edwards’ personal thank you to the women who have served in the Australian Defence Force. The exhibition at the Anzac Memorial in Sydney’s Hyde Park features 24 women from New South Wales whose military service spans from 1942 up to the present day.

The women served, in the Air Force, Army and Navy as well as the Australian Army Medical Women’s Service, Australian Women’s Army Service, Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force, Women’s Royal Australian Air Force, Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps and the Women’s Royal Australian Naval Service.

Read their personal stories of service through the decades

Carla started this project in 2022 with a request to photograph seven ex-service women on the NSW Central Coast. The overwhelmingly positive response to this initiative prompted Carla to broaden the reach. Fourteen months later, Carla has now driven 20,000 kilometres and interviewed and photographed 93 women across five states and one territory.

The exhibition is located in the Memorial’s Auditorium on Lower Ground level. The Memorial is open every day, 9 am to 5 pm. Please note that access to the exhibition is dependent on the Auditorium’s availability, so you are to call the Memorial in advance on (02) 8262 2900.

The exhibition closes on 1 April; entry is free. Find out more on the Memorial’s website