A $32 million dollar project is underway to transform the WW1 galleries in time for the ANZAC centenary in 1915.

Lying on their stomachs and crouched in confined places - busy with power saws, hammers or tiny paint brushes - teams of people are currently hard at work on a major project to redevelop the First World War galleries at the Australian War Memorial.

The ambitious project is due to be completed early in 1915 - in time for the ANZAC centenary.

It includes the restoration of the much loved dioramas depicting key battles in the war and the Ascot bullet-ridden boat that landed troops at Gallipoli.

Immensely proud

The original galleries date from the 1940s and the 1970s. Memorial director Brendan Nelson says the First World War exhibition was in its original condition and the only area that had not been redeveloped.

"We're immensely proud of proud of it," he says. "But ...it had a kind of a tired flavour to it...I'd sort of think of the '60s when I'd walk into it, albeit inspiring to go through it."

Under the changes, the First World War story will be told in chronological order and new technologies such as interactive touch screens will help give younger generations a better understanding of Australia's involvement.

Do even more

The Commonwealth has contributed more than $27 million to the project and the Memorial is funding the rest. But Dr Nelson is still hoping to attract a significant donation from a private benefactor.

"What we are doing now will be stunning," he says. "But if we can get a little bit more support from one single person or company in Australia then we can do even more."

The First World War galleries are closed to the public for the duration of the project though a temporary exhibition ANZAC Voices will open in late November.

Iconic building

James Grierson from the construction company Built is senior project engineer. He says it's amazing to be working on such an iconic building.

"Alongside Parliament House this [building is] the big reason why people come to Canberra. "It's just such a public space, there's a lot of emotion in it...we try and do our noisy work out of hours, before the public come.

Clear vision

Katherine McMahon is head of exhibitions and project manager. Though the gutted galleries are now a noisy and messy construction zone she has a clear vision of what will emerge.

"We look at Australia in 1914, then we go to 1915 and we follow it all the way through to the conclusion of the war, the aftermath and then we finish in the present day...what does this story mean to us today."

One of the major challenges is the restoration of the iconic dioramas. It's being done on site - preferable to cutting them up for removal.

Really exciting

While carpenters work in cramped quarters shoring up the wooden supports, conservators including Jocelyn Evans clean and mend the tiny models, including reattaching miniature bayonets to miniature rifles.

"It's really exciting," she enthuses. "Physically it's really demanding but I think at the end of the day to be working on such significant pieces of Australia's cultural heritage just makes it so worthwhile... and we're seeing pretty good results from what we've been able to achieve as well."

Dr Nelson says the project is tracking well - on budget and on time - and he's looking forward to the day the new galleries are unveiled.

"I'm very confident that people coming through it, when they get to the end, will have a sense of the pride Australia felt in what had been achieved but also a deep sense of the immense cost," he says. "62,000 dead, another 60,000 died within 10 years of coming back, 155,000 wounded . Certainly not a sense of triumphalism."