Charles Brand in India c1910, wearing his formal military uniform and campaign medal ribbon showing his South African war service.

Copyright expired - public domain

Shipwrecks around an isolated continent in the southern hemisphere were common. As an imperial settlement, many ships carried troops as well as convicts and goods.

Fragment of World War II Japanese Zero Fighter Plane

Fragment of World War II Japanese Zero Fighter Plane

Location

Australia
R5759
Queensland Museum
23 November 2010

Copyright © Queensland Museum, 2010

Australia
Dimensions
110mm
150mm
65mm

Builder's plate, Ipswich Railway Works, c1945

This Builders plate from the Ipswich Railway Workshops proudly proclaims 'War Finish'.

Location

Australia
R154
Queensland Museum
Ipswich
23 November 2010

Copyright © Queensland Museum, 2010

Australia
Dimensions
77mm
110mm
5mm

Jardine cannon

Jardine cannon

This cannon is thought to have been used by the Jardine family during their conflict with local Aboriginal people at Somerset on Cape York Peninsula. 

Location

Australia
H10505
Queensland Museum
23 November 2010

Copyright © Queensland Museum, 2010

Australia
Dimensions
160mm
865mm
200mm

Chair made by prisoner-of-war, 1942-45

Chair made by prisoner-of-war, 1942-45

Location

Australia
H46835
Queensland Museum
23 November 2010

Copyright © Queensland Museum, 2010

Australia
Dimensions
755mm
650mm
495mm

Civil Defence helmet, World War II

This British-style helmet (presumably an Australian-made example) was used during World War II by Civil Defence, a homefront organisation dealing with the impact (or possible impact) of the war on

Location

Australia
H46832
Queensland Museum
23 November 2010

Copyright © Queensland Museum, 2010

Australia
Dimensions
135mm
285mm
285mm

When thinking of the great battlefields of World War II it is Stalingrad’s rooftops, London’s skyline and the jungles of Burma that come to mind, not the sleepy 'big country town' of Brisbane.

Queensland was a frontline of Allied efforts in the Pacific War of 1941-45, and especially in the crisis year of 1942.

Early in 1948 the Central Highlands of Queensland was abuzz with excitement. An organisation known as the Queensland British Food Corporation (QBFC) had formed to begin farming on a massive scale.

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