Australian War Memorial bricklayer remembers building monument

The 99-year-old former bricklayer humbly describes working on the Australian War Memorial as just another job – albeit a big one.

"It doesn't matter where you went and what you done, you're still laying bricks," the Weston man said.

"There was four of us all together at the most, that's all, a couple of labourers.

"I tell you what, I laid a lot of bricks here. There's a lot in there."

The Byzantine Revival-style museum was designed in 1928 and built between 1934 and 1941 after delays caused by the Depression.

Emil Sodersteen and John Crust were commissioned to jointly design the original building after separately entering a design competition in 1925.

Mr McJannett recalled an architect from Sydney throwing a tantrum upon inspecting the building as the copper dome was "the wrong colour".

Another story involved a group of mosaic specialists from Italy: "When the mosaic people from Italy came up and they put this mosaic all around the wall (in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier), went home, then when they were away it all fell off," he said.

"So they had to turn around and send another lot of mosaics to be placed on the wall. Tiny little pieces that had to be glued on the wall."

Mr McJannett – described by others as Canberra's best bricklayer – said his work could be found throughout the museum.

"Where they've got the Unknown Soldier building in there, I did all the work up the top of the dome, all the way up around in there," he said.

"A lot of work up top.

"Technically, [I was involved in] every part of it, doing a bit here and a bit there."

The building has changed significantly since Mr McJannett wrapped up his work on the site.

The Hall of Memory was completed in 1959 and the Roll of Honour finished in 1969.

The eastern and western wings were added in 1971 and Anzac Hall built in 2001.

The museum is commemorating 75 years in 2016.

"I did my little bit," Mr McJannett said.