Australian military history has become more accessible with the Werribee RSL’s new memorabilia cabinets.
Formally unveiled on Friday 30 January, the new glass cabinets will replace old wooden ones and allow for more items to be displayed.
Werribee RSL president Daryl Ryan said artefacts were used by Australian armed forces from across more than 150 years of combat.
“What we have got is what the Australian Defence Forces used from the Boer War to Afghanistan, Iraq and all the conflicts in between,” Mr Ryan said.
“One of the rifles on the war was used in the Zulu campaign and it gives the young ones a bit of an insight into what the soldier carried and what he lived on.“
Mr Ryan said it was important to display the items for the community to see.
“They see things on TV and war movies, and all that sort of stuff, but this way they get to see the real thing,” he said.
“You also get to see what the Diggers did in their spare time.”
Some of the more interesting pieces on display are firearms and mortar shells, but the displays extend well beyond lethal arms.
The cabinets were funded through grants from the federal and state governments.
