The Army Museum Bandiana facts for kids

The Army Museum Bandiana is a special place that collects and shows military equipment. It has weapons, vehicles, and other items connected to the Australian Army. This museum is the biggest and most varied military museum in Australia.

You can find the museum inside an Australian Army base. It is located at the Gaza Ridge Barracks, near Wodonga South Bandiana. This area is in the state of Victoria. The museum has more than 150 military vehicles. It also displays big guns (artillery), soldier weapons, uniforms, and other military items. Some items were brought back from wars, and others were found on old battlefields.

Museum History

The museum first started in 1972. Back then, it was called the Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps Centre at Bandiana. It began as a collection of army supplies.

Growing the Collection

As more items were collected, the museum needed a bigger space. In 1976, the collection moved to a large shed. This helped it grow even more.

New Name and Items

In 1996, the museum became much larger. It joined with several smaller collections. At this time, it was renamed The Army Museum at Bandiana. Later, in 2009, a special collection was added. This was the collection of John Laffin, who was an Australian military historian and journalist. He had many interesting military items.

Army Units and Collections

The museum holds items from many different parts of the Australian Army. These include collections from groups like the Royal Australian Corps of Transport and the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps. It also has items from the 2/23rd Australian Infantry Battalion. The museum even includes the entire collection from John Laffin. This means you can see a wide range of military history from various army units.