Milne Bay Military Museum

IT IS now three years since Toowoomba lost part of its significant military history with the closure of the Milne Bay Military Museum.

From time to time articles appear in the local press suggesting that there is a new museum in the pipeline either at Highfields or on land currently in dispute with Defence housing on the site of the old rifle range.

Neither of these projects have any affiliation with the incorporated body of the Milne Bay Military Association – the body which ran the former facility situated at the corner of Anzac Ave and O’Quinn St.

Currently there still exists a management committee for the former museum which is still working towards a restoration of the facility.

Some background information on the former museum is relevant in stressing the importance that the facility had, not only to the military history of Toowoomba, but to the wider community of the Darling Downs area.

The museum was established after a public meeting in November 1987 saw a need to store, display and preserve a large number of memorabilia which were housed in the old drill hall of the 25th Battalion located, at the time, on the corner of Margaret and Kitchen Sts.

The hall was relocated to Defence land in O’Quinn St in December 1990 – the third location for this historic building originally constructed in 1915 as a training facility for the 11th Light Horse.

There were various up and downs in the intervening years, but from December 2007 the museum became a wholly volunteer operated museum and established its unique position as an important part of not only local history but also as a tourist destination.

The comprehensive collection was a record of all conflicts in which not only Australian Defence Forces have participated but, pre-federation, the contributions of the Queensland Imperial Bushmen in the Boer War.

Emphasis was given to the involvement of the 25th Battalion (the DD regiment) at the Battle of Milne Bay in 1942 and while there were surviving members of that battle they gave generously of their time to speak to all visitors to the museum – school groups, senior citizens, former defence personnel and the general public.

In 2017, the Defence Department forced the closure of the museum. The management committee tried very hard to have this decision reversed, including initiating a petition asking Defence to consider donating the site to the Toowoomba Regional Council to preserve the facility in perpetuity.

Unfortunately even though some 16,000 signatures were obtained, the petition was not successful and the committee was given a very short time frame to pack up the contents of the museum and remove them to storage, before the Defence department claimed ownership and disposed of the contents as they thought fit.

The committee could not entertain the idea of having Toowoomba’s heritage permanently “sold off” so it went into “mothballs” where it remains.

Since 2017, the committee has continued to operate and to pursue various options hoping that the TRC will find a new home for the collection so it can, once again, be available to its citizens.

Unfortunately, the association does not have sufficient funds in reserve to purchase a new site or building. Services provided by the museum, such as medal mounting, continue bringing in a small amount of income and persons wanting to avail themselves of this service should phone the president on 0407 113 870. In the meantime the committee continues to persevere in the hope of a suitable outcome. PAM WEDGWOOD, secretary