AFTER a final rush to the finish line, a World War Two exhibition that has been years in the making has opened at the Bathurst Showground.
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"We worked through until about seven o'clock last night and we started again at seven o'clock this morning and everything was ready for everyone at nine," curator Alan McRae said on Friday.
Postponed a number of times during the recent COVID years, the exhibition features photos, memorabilia and newspapers, among other items, spread across a number of showground pavilions - and military vehicles outside.
"It is a relief to actually finally see it come to fruition two years later than we anticipated," Mr McRae said.
"But all the collectors who originally said they'd come are all here, even though the dates have changed five times.
"And without them we couldn't really put it on because they bring so much to it."
Schoolchildren were wandering among the exhibits on Friday morning and other visitors were examining some of the hundreds of images of soldiers training, on the home front or on the battlefield.
"It's chock-a-block full," Mr McRae said.
"It takes probably an hour for people to get through to this pavilion [the third pavilion].
"And they can sit down and watch the rest of the photos here in three PowerPoint presentation screens.
"Each of them has got a page of information that actually tells you which soldiers are on which screen.
"I think the schoolkids that are coming through are wonderful. It's part of their curriculum, World War Two, so it's really great that the schools are taking the opportunity to come in and view it all."
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Mr McRae said there were about 10 military vehicles at the showground on Friday morning and "another 20 on the way - coming in convoys".
"There is some fascinating stuff," he said.
"There are two displays of model aeroplanes, all relating to World War Two.
"We've got the movie memorabilia, which relates to World War Two and just afterwards.
"We've got three RAAF displays, we've got servicemen from All Saints' College who are represented.
"We've got quite a big display on nurses.
"Then there's another lady, Christine McKenna, who is talking about air-raid shelters and turning your rose garden into a vege garden - all the things that they did during the war; making underwear out of flour bags.
"She's got a number of mannequin models."
The Bathurst Remembers World War Two Exhibition, marking VJ Day and the end of World War Two, will be open from 9am to 5pm daily Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, August 12-15.
Entry is by a gold coin donation.