Gold Coast Light Horse Education Museum

Lest We Forget.

The ‘Timeline of The Australian Soldier at War and Peace’ project has officially commenced.

As Vietnam Veteran’s Day is next week on the 18th of August, and so many school group students also have relatives from the more recent conflicts, that’s where we thought it was best to kick off 🙂

Phase 1 of the project features a Vietnam War display referencing the era of the Battle of Long Tan and a Special Forces Soldier of the Iraq and Afghanistan era.

Phases 2 and 3 will see us add Colonial, WW1, WW2, Korea and Peace Keeping operations displays.

Lots more work to do but we are excited to finally be underway on a project that will genuinely help school and community visitors better understand the service and sacrifice of Australian service men and women through the ages.

Come and have a look when we are open Wednesdays 0900 - 1200 or Sundays 1000 - 1300 at the Mudgeeraba Showgrounds, or by appointment :)

NOTE: All display weapons are NON-FIRING REPLICAS acquired and displayed in strict accordance with the QLD Weapons Act.

One of the great things about the Museum is that we are also custodians of the original Heritage Listed Schmidt Farmouse complex.

This 1800’s farmhouse has great character, houses a small part of the Museum collection, and some say is even haunted 🙂 It is a wonderful part of Mudgeeraba and Gold Coast history.

Come down and have a look around Wednesdays 9am - 12pm and Sundays 10am - 1pm or by appointment for schools and groups at Mudgeeraba Showgrounds.

CELEBRATE OUR FLAG!

AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL FLAG DAY - CELEBRATING 125
YEARS OF THE FLAG – SPECIAL OPEN DAY EVENT AT THE MUSEUM.

OPEN DAY – SATURDAY 5 SEPTEMBER - 10.00 TO 2.00PM

Gold Coast Lighthorse Education Museum - Mudgeeraba Showgrounds

FLAG RISING CEREMONY 11:00am and 1.00pm

LIVE LIGHTHORSE TROOPER LIVING HISTORY DISPLAYS / HORSE SHOE THROWING COMP / TRENCH PERISCOPES / MILITARY VEHICLES ON DISPLAY / TOURS OF THE MUSEUM.

Come down and help to celebrate our flag and the national pride and history that it represents. In an age when the flag, and what it represents, seem to be under constant attack, let us all celebrate the positive attributes that it represents for the history and unity of Australia.

Please help to SPREAD THE WORD!

Faces and Headlines From The Past:

We love to rotate our artefacts and images from the storage bays into the public display cases occasionally. This is to help showcase the faces of our Diggers who deserve to be remembered, and to
engage returning visitors with new things to see.

Today we also uncovered a box of genuine WW2 Newspapers with some quite famous headlines that help to bring the drama and emotion of the era back to life.

The museum features many artefacts, uniforms, de-activated weapons, headgear, ordnance, medals and more.

Come and pay us a visit, Wednesdays 9-12 and Sundays 10 - 1.

On the weekends our volunteer team will often rotate donated artefacts into display cases for visitors and school groups to see. Today we have placed two great items of WW1 ‘trench art’ into the farmhouse display cases.

These are WW1 Trench art pieces, most likely made by local French craftspeople, from fired artillery shells as souvenirs for soldiers.

These feature two Northern French villages Cerny and Craonne that were destroyed at the epicentre of viscous trench warfare in 1917. Both villages were completely levelled. Following the war, authorities prohibited rebuilding the villages on their original sites due to extreme devastation and contamination from live ordnance. Both towns were instead rebuilt on safer, adjacent ground. They were designated as 'Places that Died for France' and memorials now exist on the sites, with he rebuilt villages close by.

The cases being marked 75 DEC indicates that they were fired by a French 75mm rapid fire field gun.

Such characteristic pieces of trench art were often bought or traded by soldiers to send or take home as war souvenirs. Aussie troops were great souvenir hunters. Many such items were made by soldiers in the trenches, hence the term ‘trench art’, or by locals from salvaged shell cases to try and make some income by selling them to passing soldiers.

Fascinating and sombre reminders of the First World War that along with many other great artefacts, can be seen in our museum.

Work continues on the ‘Timeline of the Australian Soldier’ project that will eventually serve as a timeline from colonial troops to modern conflicts. Today we have made a start on the display case that will be dedicated to Private Jack McDowell who was awarded the Military Medal for Gallantry in WW1.

His citation was written by none other than Field Marshall Sir John Monash for his courage in working under intense artillery fire to continue running a field kitchen to provide hot food to frontline troops. Continuing to operate a field kitchen so close to the front was intensely dangerous as the cooking smoke attracted artillery fire.

He was nicknamed ‘The Mad Cook’ and held in high regard for his courage. Sadly, he was killed in action a year later and is buried in France.

His actions working as a field cook and non-combatant in that capacity, speak to one of the messages we leave with school groups when featuring his story, and that is that you don’t need to be carrying a gun to show courage.

Lest We Forget.

A pleasure today to welcome local Principal Clayton McGann from Gainsborough State School to one of our committee meetings, where he presented us with a letter of thanks.

In keeping with tonight’s State of Origin clash, Clayton was proudly dressed in maroon and even managed to remain polite to the small number of "Blues" (or "Cockroaches" 😉) on the committee!

The gratitude is entirely mutual. Clayton and the team at Gainsborough State School have been wonderful supporters of the museum, our education programmes, and the ongoing development of young Australians.

Hosting school groups is one of the most rewarding parts of what we do. Their visits help us continue the important work of preserving history, honouring the ANZAC spirit, and delivering our patriotic education programmes to future generations.

Thank you again for your support, Clayton and the Gainsborough State School community. We look forward to welcoming many more students through our doors in the years ahead.

LAST DAY TODAY FOR OUR FUNDRAISING SALES AT BURLEIGH: The Museum has a stand selling fundraising items at Stockland West Burleigh shopping centre. Stop by for an Anzac Day badge or commemorative item if you are in the area 🙂We are outside the ANZ bank at the Woolworths end of the centre. All proceeds go to museum conservation and to our school education programmes.