A Bowral woman’s knitted works will be a part of a national display this October.
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Bowral House resident Margrett Salter presented bags of hand-knitted poppies to Australian War Memorial director Dr Brendan Nelson AO on Friday.
The poppies will be a part of a Remembrance Day installation at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. The installation will feature 62,000 hand-knitted poppies, to represent the 62,000 Australians killed in World War I.
I’m not just knitting a poppy, I’m knitting a poppy for a soldier.
- Bowral House resident Margrett Salter
Mrs Salter said she was proud to contribute to the installation. “As I knitted a poppy, I used to think ‘I wonder who this soldier is’. It really touches you,” she said. “I’m not just knitting a poppy, I’m knitting a poppy for a soldier. It’s given me a purpose in life.” Dr Nelson said the installation was designed to have a lasting impact on visitors to the Australian War Memorial.
“If you say to someone ‘Australia had 62,000 young Australians killed in the First World War’ people will think ‘that’s a lot’,” he said.
“If you actually present that [number], in this case with poppies which is an emblem and a symbol of commemoration, and they can physically see a poppy for each Australian that was killed, that has an impact that’s very difficult to describe. It hits you and it’s very emotional.”
The installation will be on display from Friday, October 5 to Sunday, November 11.
Details: www.awm.gov.au
