Army Museum Fremantle Open Day 2024

n
The Army Museum in Burt Street, Fremantle was constructed in the early 1900s to house artillerymen manning the gun emplacements on the piers at the end of Fremantle harbour. Although the buildings are a considerable distance from the gun emplacements, they make logistical sense in that the site is close to the Old Fremantle Traffic Bridge, allowing the artillerymen to reach both sides of the harbour from this point. The only alternative arrangement would have been to build two barracks and given that Fremantle is very far from just about every other place on Earth, building two barracks to defend against attacks that would never come, would have been somewhat insane.

The grand old buildings now house the Army Museum of Western Australia. Every year they hold an open day with free entry. At other times the museum is open at limited times during the week. It's best to check the museum's website as hours and open days are limited. https://armymuseumwa.com.au/

We had long wanted to visit the museum (it is only five minutes drive from our house), so this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Several military vehicle collectors in our car club were also attending. This is our friend John's 1944 KdF Kubelwagen. This car had been used in the movie "The Eagle Has Landed."

Volvo military jeep

Light Horse Great War re-enactors put on an excellent display. This reminded me of the filming of "Before Dawn" in Esperance a few years ago. Several of the attendees also participated. The film is now available on Netflix. https://militarymuseum.blogspot.com/2024/03/before-dawn-2024-australian-first-world.html

Great War field tent

Red Cross post

Get on your bike!

Or on your horse

WW2 field gun

One of the 100 tracked carriers (known colloquially as 'Bren Carriers') built at the Midland Railway Workshops (we visited the workshop museum only the day before: https://heinkelscooter.blogspot.com/2024/10/old-midland-workshops-and-powerhouse.html )

Jeep with recoilless rifle (aka bazooka)

Chevrolet Blitz truck

M3 Grant tank

M2 Stuart light tank

These were mainstay tanks for the Australian army during the Second World War

Armoured personnel carrier

M113A Medium Reconnaissance Vehicle

Leopard Tank (you could probably pick up a few of these for scrap in Ukraine right now)

Saracen armoured car

Greyhound armoured car

Ferret armoured car

I can remember when these were 'a dime a dozen' on the second hand car market. You could pick up a disarmed Ferret for as little as $500 Australian dollars. When we were kids, my dad teased my brother and I about buying one. We were keen, but he was only joking.

Willys Jeep the ubiquitous American military vehicle

Centurion Tank.

The galleries - lots of hats

Hat box for a pith or ceremonial helmet

Colonial uniforms and equipment from the 1880s.

The age of Redcoats

Ceremonial dress and the uniform of a local militia officer 1890s

West Australian army uniform 1890s (before Federation)

Uniforms around the turn of the century. Red is replaced with a less conspicuous deep blue.

Commemorative plate with the Allied national flags during the Great War (1914-18).

German Great War helmets

Great War flying uniform

Turkish uniform from the Great War

Australian Light Horse

Japanese bombing attacks on Australia. Note that Darwin was bombed 82 times!

Motorized one man canoe. These were used by special services to infiltrate harbours and lay mines. They were used in Singapore.

Afterwards we had a wander through the George Street Precinct of Fremantle. Very nice area.

The Army Museum in Fremantle is actually quite excellent with an interesting collection of artifacts and well put together displays. I expected we would spend an hour or so there but it took us at least two and half to three hours to visit. It does suffer from not being open very often however so do check the website for opening hours. https://armymuseumwa.com.au/ This all reminds me that I still have to finish my posts about the National War Memorial and Museum in Canberra https://militarymuseum.blogspot.com/2023/10/national-war-memorial-canberra.html and the Albany War Museum. So little time....

Before Dawn - 2024 Australian First World War Movie

In 2021 my wife referred me to a call for extras to participate in a movie being filmed in the West Australian seaside town of Esperance. The film was about the experiences of West Australian soldiers in the Great War (1914-1918) on the Western Front. It sounded exciting so I signed up and shipped out to the Front!

"Before Dawn" was touted as the biggest independent movie production undertaken in Western Australia and - surprisingly - this was not hyperbole. Director, Jordan Prince-Wright, had raised the funds through sponsorship and received abundant support from local communities and businesses, as well as military enthusiasts, re-enactors and museums. Arriving on set - a farm outside Esperance - I was amazed at what had been done. Two trench systems had been built across a muddy field. Other fields had been converted into sets, with WW1 tents and buildings constructed. It was like stepping back in time. Every morning - literally before dawn - the extras would arrive at the farm gates, be bused to the set and spend the next several hours dressing in period correct uniforms before being hustled through make-up, we'd have coffee and breakfast and then we'd be marching and drilling. I'm no soldier, but there were a lot of ex-servicemen in the ranks, and I must admit we all quickly became hardened veterans, bound by bonds only achieved via military service. I cannot explain how incredible this experience was.


This looks like a contemporary photograph from 1916, but it highlights the lengths the production team went to for authenticity.

I was a only served a short time on the Front - one week. Others were to serve through the entire campaign - six weeks. It was however, action packed service, including four scenes that would appear in the finished film. Regretably I missed the main attack scene, which was filmed the day after I left.

That was three years ago, now the film has been finished and on Friday 22 March 2024 the world premiere was held in Reading Cinema, Belmont. We attended along with the many hundreds of actors, crew, sponsors, and extras. It was an excellent experience.

The film will be in cinemas in Australia from 4 April 2024. Check out the details for your area here:
https://umbrellaent.com.au/movie/before-dawn/

The story follows the adventures of a young farmhand from Western Australia who joins his mates on the great adventure of the First World War and all its horrors. Check out the promo here:



Carry on chaps!