After nine months, more than 2380 hours of delicate work by five full time weavers, a highly anticipated tapestry to commemorate Sir Keith Murdoch and his Gallipoli letters has gone on display at the Australian War Memorial.
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The Australian Tapestry Workshop and the Geoff and Helen Handbury Foundation celebrated the completion of Avenue of Remembrance, the first large-scale tapestry commissioned by the Australian War Memorial, in an unveiling ceremony on Thursday.
The work, designed by celebrated Australian artist Imants Tillers, was created to honour the memory of Mr Handbury's late father-in-law Sir Keith Murdoch, with whom he shared a very close relationship.
Sir Murdoch was a war correspondent in Gallipoli, who described the conditions of the 1915 campaign in a letter of more than 8000 words, sent to then Australian prime minister Andrew Fisher and British prime minister Henry Asquith.
The letter is said to have played a large part in the removal of troops from Gallipoli.
"It brought about the withdrawal from Gallipoli and the cessation of this terrible slaughter in a campaign that couldn't be won," Mr Handbury said.
Mr Handbury's foundation made a sizeable donation towards the tapestry, due to a family affiliation with tapestry and the lasting nature of such art.
"I can't think of a better memorial for what he had done than a long-lasting tapestry," he said.
"We're in the centenary of the beginning of World War I. I suggest the tapestry will survive for several more centuries and that's the idea. It is a lasting memorial in honour of Keith Murdoch."
Dame Elizabeth Murdoch, Sir Murdoch's wife, was instrumental in setting up the Australian Tapestry Workshop 39 years ago.
Australian Tapestry Workshop director Antonia Syme describes the connection as a "delightful confluence".
"Interestingly, there is a tapestry portrait of Dame Elizabeth in the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra, and I am told it is a public favourite" she said.
The tapestry itself is huge, measuring 3.3 x 2.8 metres, and displays a peaceful avenue, with words taken from the Gallipoli letter and the names of places where Anzac soldiers have been buried.
Mr Tillers has been working with landscapes and themes of desolation and loss for the last few years and has likened this work to a "spatial poem".
"The idea was to have an image that was not confrontational or violent, but yet was a commemoration of the First World War and Australia's involvement in it," he said.
"It's an avenue of remembrance where trees have been planted to commemorate or remember young dead men who fought."
Mr Handbury was overjoyed at the end result.
"It's just perfect - it's peaceful, a lovely avenue of honour, but there's no sign of war - it's all about the aftermath and how we go up the avenue in a future of peace."
Australian War Memorial director Brendan Nelson expects the tapestry to be one of two works permanently displayed in the gallery.
