tatura irrigation and wartime camps museum

Having researched and written the story of my father's service in the Australian Army during WW2, I was looking for information about the POW camps in the area. The staff were very helpful. I purchased two books, one written by Lurline and Arthur Knee whose knowledge is outstanding. I was able to complete that chapter of my father's "war journey". The Museum itself is amazing - the amount of information and displays are worthy of a return visit. This is definitely an asset for the town.

Great little spot with heaps of history, well worth a visit. The people at the Tourist centre highly recommended you and they were right.

This museum is very well laid out and the volunteers have an exceptional understanding of part of our history which many would have heard little about. Our group was addressed by a very good speaker, and there was plenty of time to look at all the exhibits. The collections are excellant, and it was well worth a visit-especially for anyone interested in our history

As I local I have driven past this museum many times and like most people planned to visit it one day. Today was that day. I was expecting a small country museum with a couple of displays and to be in and out in 1/2 hour. This is NOT one of those places.The museum is run by local volunteers who are full of amazing information. The museum itself has many areas including the history of the wartime camps, the irrigation history section as well as the local area history.The displays included models of the barracks at the camps, large displays of furniture, timer trays, boxes, seats and other woodwork made by the prisoners/ internees and well as handmade clothing and artwork. It’s believed that up to 13,000 people were held in the 7 camps between 1940 -1947, and each one of them had a story. Some of their stories are at the museum along with personal belongings and sketches.This museum is well worth a visit, the woodwork is amazing, the stories and ingenuity of the prisoners was amazing, and like melting down lead toothpaste tubes so they could make batteries for the radios. With displays including the “History of Barb wire”, as well as amazing aerial photos of the district at the time of the camps, there is something for everyone.When visiting Tatura please stop here you will be glad you did.Price for entry $5 adult.