Donating Memorabilia
Donations of artefacts, papers and books
What we are looking for
The Museum covers two main areas:• The campaigns of the South West Pacific Area (SWPA) and the personnel involved in those campaigns • Brisbane at War which covers what everyday life was like in Brisbane during World War II. This is also in the context of life in Australia at that time.Items related to these topics are likely to be of interest to the Museum; however, firearms will not be accepted by the Museum. Issues of safety, security and insurance preclude the Museum collecting firearms. If you wish to donate firearms we can recommend Museums which are able to accept them. Please contact executiveofficer@mmb.org.au for this information. Similarly, even if the item(s) are not suitable for our collection we may be able recommend other museums which might be interested in keeping them.
South West Pacific Area
Items of interest include, but would not be limited to:• Uniforms, medals, training manuals, and personal equipment, issued or awarded for service with Australian or Allied forces within SWPA. • Items of specialist equipment used by Allied personnel within SWPA. • Photographs, letters and other forms of communication (private or official) from/or about SWPA. • Items/Souvenirs from SWPA area such as local currency, relics etc.
Ask Us About Donating Memorabilia
Brisbane at War
Items of interest include, but would not be limited to:• Uniforms, training manuals, and personal equipment, issued to auxiliary organisations, home defence, Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD), etc. • Items of specialist equipment used by home forces. • Items related to the rationing of fuel, food and clothing between 1942 and 1946 (Coupons, advertisements, recipe books, government regulations etc). • Items related to disruptions to daily life during 1942 to 1946. • Recreation during 1942 to 1946. • Photographs, letters and other forms of communication (private or official) from/or about wartime Australia.
Books
The Museum operates a small reference library which operates on Tuesday and Thursday during normal opening hours. Donations of books relating to our two main areas of focus are welcome. Some books of a more general nature about WWII may be collected if a significant portion of the work is devoted to SWPA or Australia at war.The list of books in our reference library can be found here in our catalogue.If you think you have a suitable item to donate, please call on a Tuesday or Thursday between 10am and 3pm or email collections@mmb.org.au and discuss it with someone before you bring it in.