Designed by architects Phillip Hudson and James Wardrop, both World War I veterans, the Shrine is in classical style, based on the Tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus and the Parthenon in Athens, Greece.

[4][5] Beneath the sanctuary lies the crypt, which contains a bronze statue of a soldier father and son, and panels listing every unit of the Australian Imperial Force.

[8] In the early 1920s the Victorian state government appointed the War Memorials Advisory Committee, chaired by Sir Baldwin Spencer, which recommended an "arch of victory" over St Kilda Road,[6] the major boulevard leading out of the city of Melbourne to the south.

The committee soon abandoned the idea of an arch and proposed a large monumental memorial to the east of St Kilda Road,[9] a position which would make it clearly visible from the centre of the city.

A total of 83 entries were submitted,[9] and in December 1923 the design offered by two Melbourne architects (and war veterans), Phillip Hudson and James Wardrop, was announced as the winner.

As part of the campaign against the Shrine proposal, the Herald searched for alternative concepts, arguing that the funds could be better spent on more practical projects such as a hospital or a war widows' home.

When the Labor government was replaced with John Allan's Country/National coalition, the plan changed once again, leaning towards the earlier suggestion of an arch of victory to be built over St Kilda Road.

As a result of the debate, significant delays postponed the construction of the new memorial, so a temporary wood-and-plaster cenotaph was raised for the 1926 Anzac Day march.

[18] In 1927, with the then Duke of York, Prince Albert, visiting the country, Monash spoke on the eve of Anzac Day at the RSL dinner, arguing for the Shrine.

[20] Faced with such support, and with Monash's arguments that the Anzac Square would be prohibitively expensive, Edmond Hogan's new Labor government decided in favour of the Shrine.

[22] This proposal received considerable debate, and was countered by the argument that the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey represented all of the dead of the British Empire.

[33] During World War II, the Shrine housed an air raid shelter and zig-zag trenches were dug on the grounds to protect civilians from bomb blasts.

[35] Milston's design was eventually chosen as the one to go ahead,[36] and the result was the World War II Forecourt, a wide expanse of stone in front of the Shrine's north face; the Eternal Flame, a permanent gas flame set just to the west of the north face; and the World War II Memorial, a 12.5-metre-high (41 ft) cenotaph a little further west.

[17] In 1951 the body of Field Marshal Sir Thomas Blamey, Australia's military commander during World War II, was held at the Shrine for three days for public viewing followed by a State funeral on site.

[17] At a planned cost of $5.5 million, the new development was intended to provide a visitor centre, administration facilities and an improved access to the Shrine's crypt, as many of the remaining veterans and their families found the stairs at the traditional ceremonial entrance difficult to climb.

[52] On 22 September 2021, during the sixth lockdown associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 1,000 demonstrators amassed at the Shrine of Remembrance as a place to gather and peacefully protest against mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations.

If any individuals or groups choose to express their political views, positions or ideological theories in the grounds of the Shrine at any time, they are completely disrespecting the sanctity of this time-honoured space.

[2] It is a structure of square plan roofed by a stepped pyramid and entered on the north and south through classical porticos, each of eight fluted Doric columns supporting a pediment containing sculpture in high relief.

[30] The east and west facing fronts are marked at the corners by four groups of statuary by Paul Raphael Montford, representing Peace, Justice, Patriotism and Sacrifice.

[61] These represent the battle honours granted by King George V and commemorate Australia's contributions to the following battles: Landing at Anzac (Gallipoli), Sari Bair, Rumani, Gaza-Beersheba, the North Sea, the Cocos Islands, Megiddo, Damascus, Villers-Bretonneux, Amiens, Mont St Quentin, the Hindenburg Line, Ypres, Messines, Pozieres and Bullecourt.

A simple entablature is carried on sixteen tall fluted Ionic columns and supports a frieze with twelve relief panels sculptured by Lyndon Dadswell, depicting the armed services at work and in action during World War I.

[23] The inscription on the eastern wall, not written by Monash, reads: The Sanctuary is surrounded by an ambulatory, or passage, along which are forty-two bronze caskets containing hand-written, illuminated Books of Remembrance with the names of every Victorian who enlisted for active service with the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) or Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force in World War I or died in camp prior to embarkation.

Casting was due to begin in 1938, but the onset of World War II delayed work, and thus it was not installed until 1950,[72] and, as with Simpson and his donkey, was located away from the shrine.

Most of the trees which line the approaches to the Shrine bear plaques commemorating individual Army units, naval vessels or Air Force squadrons, placed there by veterans' groups.

[71] The bronze soldiers are the work of the British sculptor Charles Sargeant Jagger and originally stood outside the Museum and State Library of Victoria in Melbourne.

The other bronze, the "Wipers" figure, is a British infantry soldier standing guard with standard issue .303 rifle, bayonet fixed, a German helmet at his feet.

[77] A Lone Pine (Pinus brutia) was planted in 1933 near the north-east corner of the Shrine by Lieutenant-General Sir Stanley Savige, founder of Melbourne Legacy at a formal ceremony.

Later, the Anzac Day March approaches the Shrine via St Kilda Road and the forecourt, before being dismissed at the steps and is followed by a commemoration service held between 1 and 1:30pm.

[84] On Remembrance Day, Victorian leaders and community members gather "to remember those men and women who have died or suffered in all wars, conflicts and peace operations".

[89] During the hours the Shrine is open to the public or in use for any ceremony, they wear a uniform representing an Australian Light Horseman of World War I, with Victoria Police insignia.