Spirit of Anzac centenary exhibition to launch in Wodonga in early September

The experience will be rolled out on Wodonga Sports and Leisure Centre basketball courts between September 4 to 10 as the first of 23 stops around the country.

It will be attended by prime minister Tony Abbott and was launched on Friday by member for Indi Cathy McGowan, member for Farrer Sussan Ley, via a pre-recorded video link, Wodonga mayor Rod Wangman and Brigadier Alison Creagh.

Cr Wangman hosted the launch at The Cube, but he said the venue was too small for the experience and acknowledged the support of the regular lesiure centre users to hand over the venue.

"Everyone understands this is a one off event," he said.

The gym and pool will remain open during the experience.

A convoy of B-Double trucks will bring display items to Wodonga from Canberra with more than 30 people involved behind the scenes.

Brigadier Creagh said for Wodonga to be selected as the first location for the experience and even be chosen as one of the host cities was an achievement in itself.

"The reason why we had constraints on going to 23 locations is because the size of the experience is so big there are only a finite number of venues around Australia able to accommodate it," she said.

"We've got canon and artillery pieces, which are very heavy, coming in.

"These artefacts are a century old and have been through a world war and need to be handled with a lot of care."

The experience follows a timeline spanning pre-war Australia to the present day using a mix of visuals, artefacts, audio and film.

Entry is free, but visitors must pre-book with information on tickets available at www.spiritofanzac.gov.au

Ms McGowan said there would be a local flavour to the experience.

"It focuses on how the war impacted on Australia and how the people from Wodonga, Tallangatta and Wangaratta got involved," she said.

Her grand-father Gladston McGowan and uncle Alex Chapman fought in the war.