AuthorBy Norman Cramp, Director of Darwin Military Museum. Alexander (aka: Alex) McKinnon was born at Charlotte Waters, South Australia, in 1889, the son of James McKinnon and an Aboriginal Woman named Cobb. Little is known of Alex’s younger life, but it is known that his father later married a Caucasian woman named Alice, who then became Alex’s step-mother.
1 Comment
Ringkragen12/4/2018 AuthorWritten by Craig Wharton.
A Curiously Named Sword29/3/2018 AuthorBY Norman Cramp, Director Darwin Military Museum This fine 1827 Georgian Naval Officer Presentation Sword is an unusually rare sword. It is characterised by the list of owners inscribed upon the guard. The story is that the weapon was bought or handed on, with owners inscribing their names – or if their predecessor had not, theirs too – inside the guard.
AuthorWritten by Norman Cramp, Director of the Darwin Military Museum. A true Territory manReginald (‘Reg’ to almost everyone who knew him) Hillier was born in Coonaburabran, NSW, on 12th September 1939. He was educated through the NSW Public School system and had spent most of his life on properties and station in rural occupations. He moved to the Northern Territory and was working as a station hand in the Adelaide River area prior to enlisting in the Australian Army in 1961 for a six-year term. His family says he loved the Territory, so much so that he was nicknamed ‘Territory’ and had a tattoo of the NT on his arm. James Bond’s Guns9/3/2018 AuthorBy Dr. Tom Lewis. The exploits of the British spy have now been famous for over 60 years, with Ian Fleming’s first novel, Casino Royale, appearing in 1953. The book series featured 12 novels and two short-story collections, and the films have now reached 24 productions. But one of the most enduring features of Bond’s popularity were his many, and often quite exotic, guns.
AuthorWritten by Norman Cramp, Director of the Darwin Military Museum. Ernest Edward Jolly was born in Adelaide, South Australia (SA) in 1892 and was educated in that city prior to moving to Melbourne and then Darwin. His parents were Alfred and Ada. Alfred Jolly arrived in Australia in 1877 with 17 shillings in his pocket but by 1883 he was able to start the firm of Jolly and Luxton in Bennett Street, Darwin.
The Ross rifle. It loaded five rounds rather than ten. The bayonet fell off during firing. It was heavy, long, and prone to jamming because of dirt, of which there was plentiful supply on the trench warfare-dominated battlefields of the war. It was truly one of the worst guns to grace the battlefield.
AuthorWritten by Norman Cramp, Director of the Darwin Military Museum. James Michael McDONALD was born at Gladesville, NSW, on 7th June 1889. He was the son of James and Kate McDonald; however, he was orphaned by the age of eleven and nothing is known of his upbringing between the time he was orphaned and his arrival in the NT. It is known that he became a qualified Carpenter during that period and sought work in the Northern Territory, being employed for a time by the Public Works Department of the Commonwealth government. AuthorPaul Huard is an educator, analyst and historian, who writes about the military, foreign policy and U.S. political history. The M3 was born out of the necessity to put inexpensive sub-machine guns in the hands of American soldiers and Marines quickly and cheaply.
Dubbed the ‘Grease Gun’ by GI’s, the M-3 developed a reputation that kept it in the U.S. military inventory from World War II all the way through to Desert Storm in 1991. Authorby Jared Archibald The Age of the Machines By the end of World War I, machines had changed the face of warfare. Motor lorries replaced animals as a means to transport men and war material to and from the battlefront. Tanks traversed ‘no man’s land’, and aeroplanes brought war to the skies. Machine guns, mortars, and quick-firing artillery were now integral to arsenals, and machines were used to move them quickly and efficiently.
This mechanisation of armies continued into the 1930s. The British developed a range of small, tracked, armoured and soft skin vehicles that could be used for a range of purposes including, artillery tractors, machine gun carriers, and armoured observation posts. Australia was closely aligned with British military doctrine and developed its own mechanisation policy that mandated acquiring locally designed and built machines for defence usage. Judgement in Darwin24/1/2018 Japanese War Crimes Trials, Darwin 1946. Authorby Norman Cramp It is not commonly known that shortly after the cessation of hostilities in World War Two, 19 Japanese military personnel were tried in Darwin for war crimes perpetrated against Allied service personnel. The trials, conducted in the Officers’ Mess, Larrakeyah Army Base between March and April 1946, covered war crimes carried out on the island of Timor between 1943 and 1945 and were the only such trials conducted on Australian soil. AMF Military Tribunal members at the ‘Bench’ during the trials.
Catching a kip, Navy style17/1/2018 By Dr. Tom Lewis Dr. Tom Lewis OAM is a military historian. His latest work is The Empire Strikes South, the story of the Japanese aviators who died across the Top End in WWII. Sailors in hammocks, probably circa WWI or before. (Lewis Collection) For centuries, the sailor’s hammock was the usual method of getting sleep at sea for sailors.
They were first used in Christopher Columbus’s ships when his sailors observed natives using them in the Caribbean Islands slung between trees. The name ‘hammock’ actually comes from the Caribbean word hamorca.
Darwin Military Museum
|
How to Contact and find the Darwin Military Museum
Click on Address: LOT 5434 Alec Fong Lim Dr, East Point NT 0820
|
Check out Facebook!
|
Find out more |
Darwin Military Museum
OPENING TIMES & TICKETS
Please note we are closed on the following days:
Sun 24th - Tues 26th Dec 23 (inclusive)
Sun 31st Dec - Mon 1st Jan 24 (inclusive)
Closed: Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Christmas, Boxing and New Years days.
- Please note we will be open from 10 - 3 on Easter Saturday
OPENING TIMES 7 days a Week
(refer above for exceptions)
9.30am - 4pm Monday - Saturday
10.00am - 3pm Sunday and public holidays
We recommend you allow at least 1.5hrs for your visit.
ADMISSION FEES & ONLINE TICKETS
(Proof of id/concession required for Pensioner (65+), Uni/TAFE student, Veteran, Serving Military Member and Disability/Carer)
ADULTS (16 years +): $20.00
CHILDREN (5 - 15 years): $10.00
CHILDREN (under 5 years): FREE
FAMILY PASS (2 ADULTS, 3 CHILDREN U16): $45.00
PENSIONER (65 years +): $15.00
UNIVERSITY/TAFE STUDENT: $15.00
COMPANION CARD HOLDER AND PERSON WITH A DISABILITY: $20.00
VETERANS: $15.00
SERVING MILITARY MEMBERS: $15.00
SCHOOL GROUPS: Northern Territory students on excursion Students 16 years and under during school hours: $5.00 per student. Students must be supervised at all times. 1 adult per 10 students: $20.00
SCHOOL GROUPS: Non-NT students on excursion
Students 16 years and under during school hours: $10.00 per student. Students must be supervised at all times.
1 adult per 10 students: $20.00
Please note we are closed on the following days:
Sun 24th - Tues 26th Dec (inclusive)
Sun 31st Dec - Mon 1st Jan (inclusive)
For hotels nearby, check with HotelsCombined