The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) is marking the centenary of World War I with a new
exhibition commemorating the role Tasmanians played in the war and the impact it had on the island.
Drawing from the museum’s collections, The Suspense is Awful: Tasmania and the Great War
highlights stories previously untold, including those of Tasmanian Aboriginal servicemen and of the men and women who provided medical
support on the front line.
Thousands of Tasmanian men and women enlisted to serve in WWI, and by keeping diaries, writing home and
collecting souvenirs they created their own memories of the war. Their families found the four years of war awful, as they wondered whether
they would ever see their loved ones again.
The exhibition tells the story of their wait: how they grieved, kept themselves busy, helped the war
effort, were interned as the enemy aliens, argued about conscription, and remembered and made sense of the sacrifices made.
On this website you will find galleries of images and objects featured in the exhibition, as well
as links to a variety of resources further exploring the exhibition’s stories.
This page has been produced by the Department of State Growth.
Questions or comments concerning the contents of the site can be
directed to the webmaster by email to info@stategrowth.tas.gov.au.