The Australian War Memorial (AWM) has reopened its First World War galleries in time for the centenary of the Gallipoli landing.

The refurbishment cost $32 million and has refreshed parts of the AWM that had remained largely untouched for decades.

The new permanent exhibition, titled Australia in the Great War, is 1,750-square metres in size and occupies the west wing of the AWM building's ground level.

It presents the story of Australia's experience in World War I chronologically, featuring dioramas, personal items, artillery and firearms.

The newly refurbished galleries were unveiled by the AWM 100 years on from WWI which claimed 62,000 Australian lives.

"You don't strike centenaries very often in Australia's history, but this is the Australian War Memorial's gift to the nation," senior historian Peter Burness said.

"This is us telling the story that we were created to tell, but we're telling it in a modern and up-to-date manner.

"Of course we're dealing with a very different audience from the time when the dioramas were built and we've catered for those requirements and the way that people do approach information these days."

War Memorial must preserve stories into new century

The dioramas had always been among the most popular items at the War Memorial, but work had been done to digitise them, blending the history of 100 years ago with modern technology.

Australian War Memorial director Brendan Nelson said the dioramas had been part of the AWM's collection since its inception.

Sorry, this video has expired World War I dioramas

"We've had staff lying on their stomachs for months with tiny little vacuums, little brushes, carefully and lovingly restoring these dioramas," Dr Nelson said.

"In three cases we've painted new backdrops, in two dioramas the backdrops have been painted digitally, so you can see the landscape change through the course of the day.

"In one of the dioramas the smoke moves in, you can hear the sounds of battle behind you.

"We've brought life to these original pieces of magnificent artwork."

Historian Aaron Pegram said an interactive map of Gallipoli was painstakingly created using surveillance photos.

"Over 150 aerial photos of the Gallipoli peninsula have been put together, digitised at high resolution and draped over a three dimensional terrain model," he said.

"What were encouraging visitors to do is come and explore Gallipoli from those original photos from 1915.

"What we're able to do is drill down into gullies and ravines, down into the Gallipoli peninsula as it was how the soldiers were fighting there."

Sorry, this video has expired Interactive display at First World War Galleries

Dr Nelson said it was the Australian War Memorial's job to ensure the stories of WWI lived on for future generations.

"History is history and facts are facts but we need to constantly remain true to the vision of the founder of the memorial Charles Bean," he said.

"Here is their spirit, in the heart of the land they loved and here we guard the record which they themselves made.

"But as we move into a new century, we need to make sure this history lives and the power of it is in the story.

"Those Australians who are able have not only an opportunity but a responsibility to see the First World War galleries. Every nation has it's story - this is our story."

Items from mass grave at Pheasant Wood on display

On display for the first time are items from a mass war grave at Pheasant Wood, where hundreds of Australians were buried after the Battle of Fromelles.

Authorities only excavated the grave in 2010 and among the items found were religious tokens, a woollen sock - even a tram ticket.

Senior curator Nick Fletcher described the objects as some of the most moving items in the galleries.

"To know these items were in the pockets of men who went in to battle many for the first time and many of them for the last as well," he said.

Senior historian Peter Burness said objects like those excavated from Pheasant Wood helped tell the individual stories of war.

Objects excavated from a mass grave at Pheasant Wood. ( ABC News: Elise Pianegonda )

He said straight after the war, history was told in terms of battles and commanders, but it was now the stories of ordinary diggers that the public wanted to hear.

"What seems to appeal to people today is to know something about what individuals went through and perhaps put themselves in the same circumstance," he said.

"Many young people today would have never met anyone who served in World War I."

Despite the passage of a century, the stories of the Great War remain emblematic of the glory and the cost of war.

But the updated galleries act as more than a modern display of precious items, they reflect the way the history of World War I has seeped into the Australian consciousness and the Australian identity over the past 100 years.