Australian War Records Section
An Australian military unit that collected, documented, and preserved records and material relating to the country's experience in the First World War.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Australian War Records Section was an Australian military unit established during the First World War to gather and preserve evidence of Australia's wartime experience. It was formed on 16 May 1917 under the command of Captain John Treloar, at a time when Australian authorities were increasingly concerned that important operational records, personal papers, photographs, objects, and visual representations of the conflict could be dispersed or lost. The section's work extended beyond the routine preservation of official military paperwork. Its collecting activity encompassed physical objects, documentary records, photographs, and works of art associated with Australian service and the wider social experience of the war. Under Treloar's leadership, the organisation expanded substantially and eventually included more than 600 military and civilian personnel. Its collection reportedly grew to more than 25,000 objects, alongside substantial holdings of paper records and visual material. This breadth reflected an unusually comprehensive conception of national military memory: the section sought not only records useful to historians or administrators, but also tangible and visual evidence capable of communicating the experiences of soldiers, units, medical services, prisoners, civilians, and communities affected by the war. The section's importance increased after the armistice. Rather than treating its wartime collecting programme as a temporary administrative exercise, Australian authorities used its accumulated holdings as the foundation for a permanent national institution. In 1919, the Australian War Memorial was established on the basis of the section's collection. John Treloar became director of the Memorial in 1920, linking the wartime records operation directly to the institution that would later become Australia's principal centre for military commemoration, research, exhibitions, and collections management. The Australian War Records Section is therefore best understood not as a commercial brand or a conventional records office, but as a pioneering state and military collecting organisation. Its principal legacy was institutional: it helped establish the archival, museum, and commemorative foundations of the Australian War Memorial. The section itself no longer operates as a separate unit, but its collecting priorities and surviving holdings continue to shape how Australia's First World War history is documented and presented.
History
The Australian War Records Section emerged from Australia's effort to preserve a national record of its participation in the First World War. It was formally created on 16 May 1917 and placed under the command of Captain John Treloar. Its remit was to collect and safeguard material that documented Australian military service and the country's broader wartime experience. This included official and personal paper records, photographs, physical artefacts, and works of art. The organisation operated in a period when the long-term value of wartime documentation was becoming increasingly apparent. Military records could support administrative and historical work, while objects and images could preserve aspects of service that were not fully captured in official reports. The section consequently developed a collecting programme broader than a conventional military archive. It aimed to assemble a representative national record, combining documentary evidence with material and visual culture. The section expanded during and after the war. Its staff eventually numbered more than 600 military and civilian personnel, and its holdings grew to over 25,000 objects in addition to paper records, photographs, and artworks. The scale of the collection indicates that the unit became a major national memory project rather than a small specialist office. Its activities also established practical and intellectual precedents for later museum, archive, and memorial work in Australia. In 1919, the Australian War Memorial was created using the section's collection as its institutional foundation. This transition converted a wartime collecting operation into a permanent national organisation devoted to commemoration, preservation, research, and public interpretation. Treloar was appointed director of the Memorial in 1920, providing continuity between the section and its successor institution. The Australian War Records Section is consequently regarded as the parent organisation of the Australian War Memorial. Although the section ceased to exist as an independent unit, its collections and collecting principles remain central to Australia's understanding and presentation of the First World War.
- 1920
Treloar appointed Memorial director
[1]John Treloar became director of the Australian War Memorial, carrying the section's leadership and collecting legacy into the new institution.
- 1919
Australian War Memorial founded on the collection
[1]The Australian War Memorial was established on the basis of the section's accumulated collection, making the wartime unit its institutional predecessor.
- 1917
Section established
[1]The Australian War Records Section was formed on 16 May 1917 under Captain John Treloar to collect and preserve records and material relating to Australia's First World War experience.
- 1917
Collecting programme expanded
[1]The section developed a broad collecting remit covering more than official paperwork, including objects, photographs, and works of art.
Products and positioning
A wartime collecting and preservation unit focused on documenting Australia's First World War experience and creating the foundations for a permanent national memorial institution.
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