CURATOR Alan McRae hopes the wait will be worth it for an upcoming World War Two exhibition at the Bathurst Showground.
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Having had its date changed five times during the recent COVID years, the four-day exhibition is now just over a month away from starting.
Mr McRae, vice-president of the Bathurst District Historical Society, says the early signs are very promising.
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"We certainly are getting a good response from all the emails we're sending out," he said.
"A number of RSL clubs plan to bring up their buses and have a day of it or a couple of days - stay overnight. So they'll certainly be bringing in quite a number of people."
The Bathurst Remembers World War Two Exhibition 2022, marking VJ Day and the end of the war, will fill three pavilions at the Bathurst Showground as it is held from August 12.
Mr McRae said 35 people will be bringing collections of war memorabilia, including items related to prisoners of war, the RAAF, and World War Two servicemen who went to All Saints' College.
"And then we've got just general bits and pieces in relation to war memorabilia. There are over 4000 items, at the moment, that have been promised," he said.
"The three main pavilions [at the showground] will be chock-a-block full of displays.
"We've got newspapers of the day and I've been lent over 2000 images from people from Bathurst and the Central West and then even around the world; we've had a couple of photos from Europe."
Even without the postponements, Mr McRae said there had been a lot of time put in to the exhibition.
"It started four-and-a-half years ago now," he said.
"I had to start that early because, of those 2000 photos, 730 have been enlarged to A4 and then they've got a caption on them, often a couple of hundred words, so there's an awful lot of research.
"And then the other 1200-odd [photos] have been put on to three Powerpoints. So, there'll be three mini theatres showing the Powerpoints.
"And then we are going to recreate a New Guinea outdoor theatre that they used to have."
Another highlight, he said, would be Stannies showing a number of photos taken by an ex-pupil, Damien Parer.
Mr McRae said he is one of about 12 on the committee that has been putting the exhibition together.
"We have had good support from the Australian War Memorial," he said.
"They have loaned us a memorial box, which is a container full of relics that kids can look at and handle. It will be there all weekend."
Bathurst Remembers World War Two Exhibition 2022 will be held from Friday, August 12 to Monday, August 15 from 9am to 5pm daily.
Entry will be by gold coin donation.
A Last Post ceremony will be held on the Sunday afternoon.
