Scott Lester visits the Western Australia Aviation Heritage Museum
A decade of hard work, fundraising and negotiation was rewarded in the summer of 1979 when the Royal Australian Air Force Association opened the doors of its Aviation Heritage Museum at Bull Creek in the suburbs of Perth. The RAAFA branch’s predecessor had been gathering airframes from the early 1960s, with a Lancaster as the founder member. Since then the collection has developed and expanded and spans a century of national aviation history.
It would take days to read and absorb all the information panels – it really is a museum with depth. There are always guides walking around, all having served with the armed forces at some stage and it is these guys that bring the Bull Creek exhibits to life.
In September 2001, A$67,000 was spent on installing an elevated walkway to provide an excellent panorama. It features more than 90 plaques commemorating and celebrating individual servicemen and women.
There are two main halls, plus smaller buildings and a workshop. Specialist exhibitions include one devoted to the Women’s Royal Australian Air Force. With women denied combat roles, they fulfilled a vital range of services, including maintenanc…
