Army Museum of Western Australia

06/09/2026

WA party of 32nd Battalion during a reunion in Adelaide, South Australia - 1936.

The 32nd Battalion AIF was raised on 9th August 1915. It consisted of South and West Australian forces, leaving Australia for Egypt in November 1915. The battalion left for France in June 1916, joining forces on the Western Front.

350 returned diggers attended the 21st anniversary dinner, held in the Australia Hall on Angas Street, Adelaide.

02/09/2026

Inside the Grant tank. Check out this video provided by John Rybka. Sound on for John's commentary. This is Fremantle

31/08/2026

29/08/2026

During World War One, the 10 Light Horse Regiment joined as part of the 3rd Light Horse Brigade when sent to Egypt. May 1915 saw the Regiment dispatched to Gallipoli and fought at the Battle of the Nek on 7 August 1915, and Hill 60 on 29-30 August 1915. After Gallipoli, the Regiment was bought up to strength to defend Egypt from the Ottoman Army advancing on the Suez Canal. 

The only Victoria Cross awarded to a Light Horseman was Lieutenant Hugo Throssell at Hill 60.

By the end of the War, Throssell was promoted to Captain and returned to Australia in 1918. He married in 1919 and had one son with wife Katharine Prichard. He fell into financial instability post WWI and took his own life on 19th November 1933 in Greenmount, near Mundaring.

28/08/2026

The Army Museum of Western Australia invites you to Join the authors as they talk about their book GREAT WAR STORIES 1914-1919 LIGHT HORSEMEN & CAMELEERS of SOUTH WESTERN AUSTRALIA on Sunday 20th September from 1.30pm in the lecture room.
This is a free event - booking is essential to reserve your spot.
www.trybooking.com/DOVPG
Amongst these awe-inspiring stories, you will grasp the dedication, devotion to duty, exceptional bravery and inseparable mateship that thrust Australia onto the world stage. You will be consumed by some of the many courageous achievements of our South Western men, including:-
-The Narrogin Dentist accepting the enemy surrender of Damascus,
-The Kirup Farmer/Pastoralist who succeeded in stopping the Battle at The Nek Gallipoli,
-The Cranbrook Brothers who died 30 minutes apart at the Battle of Hill 60 Gallipoli,
-The Brunswick Junction Farmer who fought side by side at Hill 60 with Hugo Throssell VC,
-The Pingelly Farmer who became a leading and vital 10LHR Scout,
-The Bridgetown aboriginal soldier who served in both First and Second World Wars,
-The Denmark Farmer and his miraculous escape at Gallipoli,
-The Mount Barker Farmer who had 2 horses shot from underneath him in the same battle,
-The Harvey Farmer who helped quell the Egyptian Rebellion in 1919,
-The Dumbleyung Farmer who also served in the Boer War with Breaker Morant,
-The Dardanup Rhodes Scholar killed in action during the Battle of The Nek Gallipoli.
Jeff PEIRCE and Chris HANDLEY are honoured to promote the lives of these inspirational men, whilst saluting their service to our Nation.

24/08/2026

On Saturday some of our Curatorial team attended the Northam Army Camp Heritage Association event - Story Telling, Memory, Place and Belonging. As well as presenting a history to the attendees, they put together a display from the camp.

In 1935 the Australian Army selected an area of land about 5km south west of Northam in Western Australia for the Northam Army Camp. It was initially used as a training camp for Citizen Military Forces units.
Plans were developed for the new camp to be able to house a complete Infantry Brigade. A total of 175 huts were erected by October 1939. Some of the larger buildings were relocated from the previous WWI camp at Blackboy Hill. The camp expansion in 1939 was used to accommodate 2/11 Infantry Battalion, 2/16 Infantry Battalion, 2/28 Infantry Battalion and 2/4 Machine Gun Battalion�The camp became the main training camp for Western Australia, almost every soldier recruited in Western Australia trained at Northam.�The 38th Australian Camp Hospital was located in the middle of the Northam Military Camp. After 38th Camp Hospital was disbanded in January 1944, 1st Armoured Division took over the area used by the hospital.
Parts of the Northam Army Camp were used for the Northam POW Camp. There were some 3,600 Italian POW's at the Northam POW camp from January to October 1946 prior to their repatriation to Italy. Between 1949 and September 1951, the camp was used as an accommodation centre by the Department of Immigration. The Camp was used from 1950 to 1953 for training Australian Army personnel involved in the Korean War. In 2004 there were only about 52 of the original 400 buildings remaining on site.�In 2017, part of the former camp site was used for the Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre.

23/08/2026

23 August 1918

Lieutenant Lawrence Dominic McCarthy earned a Victoria Cross for his gallant actions during battle against German forces.

Born in York, Western Australia in 1892, he was orphaned and raised in Perth. As a teenager, he worked on a farm in Northam and enlisted the AIF in 1914, joining the 16th Battalion.

He was awarded his VC by King George V on 12th July 1919 at Buckingham Palace. In the same year, the London Times published Volume 19 of their History of the War publication, commenting on the actions of Australian soldiers. They referenced McCarthy's actions as "the bravest and most resolute description".

He moved to Victoria in 1926 and died in Melbourne in 1975, aged 83.

19/08/2026

Continuing on from Vietnam Veteran's Day yesterday.
The L5 is a pack howitzer designed by OTO Melara of Italy and capable of being broken down into several loads which could be carried on pack mules, man pack or slung from a helicopter. Introduced into service in the Australian Army in 1963, a total of 120 guns were delivered from three purchases. The gun was issued to regular and reserve (CMF) artillery units and saw active service during the Confrontation with Indonesia in Malaysia and in Vietnam from 1965 to 1967, including firing support to D Company 6th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment during the battle of Long Tan on 18 August 1966.

18/08/2026

Today is Vietnam Veteran's Day

This year 18th August also marks the 60th Anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan, one of the most significant battles of Australia’s war in Vietnam.

Originally known as Long Tan Day, 18 August has become a day to remember those who served in Vietnam, those who died, those who returned and those who carried the physical and emotional scars of service.
We also pay tribute to their families who’s lives were shaped by the war.

Lance Corporal Malcolm Campbell who served with D Coy, 6RAR at the Battle of Long Tan.
Malcolm Campbell was born in Western Australia in 1932, he enlisted in the Australian Army in 1950 and served for 32 years.
1953-1954 with 2nd Battalion Royal Australia Regiment in Korea and Japan. 1955-1957 in Malaya during the Malaya emergency.
He served two tours in South Vietnam with 6RAR, 1966-1967 with D Company (Battle of Long Tan) and 1969-1970.
He was then deployed in Singapore from 1971-1973. He retired December 1974.
Medals and Awards
Australian Active Service Medal with clasps, the Korea Medal, the United Nations Medal for Korea, General Service Medal 198-62, Vietnam Medal, Australian Service Medal 1945-75, the Defence Force Service Medal, The Australian Defence Medal, The Australian Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, The Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Pingat Jasa Malaysia Medal.
He also received a United States of America Presidential Unit Citation.
You can see these medals and more, in our Vietnam War display.

16/08/2026

16th August 1945:

Japan's Emperor Hirohito issued a formal cease-fire, ordering all Japanese military forces to stop fighting.

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which killed between 150,000 to 246,000 people, led to Japan's surrender. This surrender offically ended the Second World War in the Pacific.

Australian Prime Minister Ben Chifley addressed the nation on August 15th with a victory speech - "Fellow citizens, the war is over".

Over 39,000 Australians died during World War II.