4 Field Regiment (SVN) 'Old Boys' Newsletter - June 2021 Edition

From RAA Association of South Australia This year the RAA commemorates the 150 th Anniversary of its formation, and units and associations around Australia are planning a variety of events to celebrate the occasion. Today I attended a meeting chaired by the CO 16 Regiment, LTCOL Michael Squire, and at this stage the ‘outline plan’ is to hold a significant Community Open Day at Woodside Barracks on Sat 18 th September, hosted by the Regiment, and involving a wide range of community organisations. Please enter the date in your diary NOW, and I will advise the details when they evolve. Kind regards Laurie. Puckapunyal Combined Arms Heritage Learning Centre The initial design for the Puckapunyal Combined Arms Heritage Learning Centre (CAHLC) has been prepared by the design consultant, HDR Australia, and approved by Estate & Infrastructure Group (as the project lead), the Australian Army History Unit (AAHU), as well as representatives of the Head of Corps, Royal Australian Armoured Corps (HOC RAAC) and Head of Regiment, the Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery (HOR RAA). This is an important step, as it allows Defence to present a costed design for consideration by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works in 2022. If approved by Government, Defence will proceed with construction with an estimated completion date of December 2024. Subject to Government approval, the CAHLC will be a purpose-built, modern museum facility to house the RAAC and RAA heritage collections. The CAHLC will support training and development of RAAC and RAA personnel as well as personnel across Army and Defence more broadly. It will also provide direct public access to the collections for veterans and their families and the wider Australian community. As the location is a ‘greenfield site’—immediately west of the Puckapunyal Base main gate on Blamey Road—public visitors will not have to enter the Puckapunyal base to access the CAHLC. HOC RAAC and HOR RAA agreed to an equal split of the approximately 4000 m2 of exhibition space and share the approximately 3000 m2 of storage space. CAHLC’s design is flexible to allow expansion if that is required at some future point. As with any museum, much discipline is required to ensure the RAAC and RAA heritage collections can be safely and securely housed within the facility. This is an ongoing challenge as new items are regularly added to the collections and the more modern equipment is often larger and heavier than the systems they replace. Consistent with standard museum practice, only a portion of artefacts will be on display at any one time. A challenge for museums like the CAHLC is that Large Technology Objects, such as armoured fighting vehicles (AFV) and guns, naturally draw visitor focus. So the inclusion of an environmentally-controlled gallery for smaller artefacts, that require humidity and temperature controls in excess of that needed for AFVs or artillery systems, will allow for exhibits that emphasise the people who operated those systems. This will be complemented by the use of large-scale imagery as well as touch-screens and other displays in the main exhibit hall. Again, consistent with standard museum practice, exhibits in both the main and small galleries will be rotated from time to time, and special exhibits will be mounted to support major RAAC and RAA events. Those artefacts not routinely on exhibit, will be stored under cover and protected from the environment. This will include the RAAC technical collection, which includes AFVs that have technical value, but are not part of the Australian Army’s story. These artefacts will continue to be available to support training at corps schools, the Combined Arms Training Centre, as well as technical programs like the Capability and Technology Management College. AAHU will work with HOC RAAC and HOR RAA to determine the CAHLC’s exhibition themes. The focus will be on the history of the Australian Army and its soldiers but some themes will include some artefacts representative of adversaries and allies as they relate to Army’s story.