War memorial launches WWI gallery makeover THE $32 million makeover of the World War I galleries at the Australian War Memorial has begun, with Director Brendan Nelson promising the end result will be truly stunning. The redevelopment, regarded as one of the most significant modernisations of any gallery in the memorial in recent decades, will coincide with The Great War's centenary when it opens late in 2014. The Sinai and Palestine galleries have now closed to visitors, with the Gallipoli galleries set to close mid-year. A temporary WWI exhibition will open later in the year. Dr Nelson said like any major renovation, there would be some inconvenience, but in the end it would be worth it, with the memorial's architects, historians, archivists and curators putting together what would be a stunning exhibit. Modern lighting would be installed and new exhibition material, some of which had never been on display, would be on show. One item to be displayed would be the battledress of Private George Giles, still featuring mud from the battle of Morlancourt, which was collected by historian Charles Bean in 1918 and was one of the initial exhibits when the memorial opened in 1941.