VETERANS are ready to celebrate the 100th birthday of one of Bendigo's most beautiful and important buildings.
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The Bendigo Soldiers Memorial Institute was founded a century ago this Monday to honour those who paid the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefields of World War One and today records the stories of veterans from Australia's other wars and peacetime missions.
Historian Peter Ball said the institute had carefully preserved items donated as far back as day one of its existence.
It even has some of the original cupboards and furnishings built for veterans to meet and discuss new ways to help each other and their families, he said.
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"We have a room with some of the original desk, chairs and cabinets with all sorts of bits and pieces going right back," Mr Ball said.
The Bendigo RSL is running a two-page spread on the institute's enthralling history in this weekend's Bendigo Advertiser.
The Addy is publishing a separate story on some of the experiences of World War Two veterans during the tragic fall of Singapore in 1942 - an event that directly endangered Australia and shaped the lives of 10s of thousands of sailors and soldiers.
It is the second article in a two-part special inspired by the institute's historical collection.
The first part, published last weekend, followed Bendigo soldier Colin Odlum through nine days of intense fighting at the Siege of Tobruk in northern Africa during World War Two.
The story is based on Colin's own observations and reflections, which he wrote down in a diary in 1942.
It is one of the many vitally important documents the institute is entrusted with.
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