Things to do in Albany: National Anzac Centre

These heartfelt and moving words were written by Lieutenant Wilfred Barlow of the 58th Battalion. Sadly, he was not to see the end of World War I for, like countless others, he was killed on foreign shores in May 1917.

The National Anzac Centre in Albany, WA, gives a greater understanding of what life was like for Barlow and hundreds of thousands of soldiers, nurses and civilians during the Great War. Your admission ticket provides the name of one of 32 servicemen and women. As you wander among the multimedia, interactive technology and historical artefacts, you inhabit the world of that person's wartime experience.

For the next hour, I am absorbed into the life of Captain Ferdinand George Medcalf, a 25-year-old licensed surveyor from Claremont in Perth. I learn he attended Scotch College, that he was a sportsman and a school prefect, that he was engaged to be married and that he carried his fiancee's photograph with him as he sailed away to war on HMAT Medic in November 1914.

Medcalf served with the 11th Battalion AIF in both Gallipoli and northern France. His bravery and leadership was mentioned in despatches. He received a Distinguished Service Order in 1916 for conspicuous gallantry when, in leading his company in an attack, he put the crew of a machine gun out of action with a bomb and captured the gun. Wounded in three places and unable to walk, he ordered the stretcher bearers to take up a seriously wounded man and to leave him to crawl to the rear.

I am relieved to discover his story has a happy ending: he came home, returned to surveying, married, raised a family and lived to 80.

The centre was opened 100 years after Medcalf and his comrades sailed off to war. By making every visitor's experience a personal one, it is hoped those who visit will feel a deeper, stronger connection with the past.

The location of the centre and adjoining heritage-listed Princess Royal Fortress site is important because as you walk up Mount Clarence, you look out over King George Sound, the last sight thousands of Australian and New Zealand troops had of a friendly shore. More than 41,000 men and women and 7000 horses left on troop ships from Albany. Many would not return.

Another important monument on the site is the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial, which stands at the summit of Mount Clarence. The original statue was erected at Suez in 1932 but was irreparably damaged during the Suez crisis in 1956. The masonry was able to be salvaged and was brought to Australia and re-erected on this site.

Each year it is where hundreds of people gather for Albany's Anzac Day dawn service. It is believed the first such service was held here in 1930, when Padre White, a serving army chaplain from 1916-18, led a pilgrimage from St John's Church to Mount Clarence.

Phone 08-6820-3500 or visit nationalanzaccentre.com.au for more information.

Drive or take a taxi to the National Anzac Centre or visit as part of an Albany History and Highlights Tour with Busy Blue Bus - www.busybluebus.com.au

The stylish new 108-room Hilton Garden Inn Albany makes the most of its great position on the waterfront - hilton.com and search Albany Western Australia.

Sue Preston was a guest of Hilton Garden Inn Albany and Tourism WA. Click here for more information.