The Australian Army Flying Museum, Oakey, QLD.

We made a fast one day trip to Oakey last week. We were on a tight schedule but we've had the Australian Army Museum on our must do list for a while so we managed to fit in a visit while we were there. 

Australian Army Museum, Oakey.

Oakey is about 155 km west of Brisbane. Rotary Park on the bank of Oakey Creek is a nice place to stop for a break while in Oakey; it has picnic shelters, BBQ's and a playground. There is only one toilet in the park but it is quite an interesting one as it is fully automated and has tinkling music for added ambiance. We saw a pair of King Parrots near Oakey Creek and we would have liked to have had the time to stroll along the banks. No camping is allowed here but Jondaryan Woolshed is 18 km north west of Oakey and has paid camping. Bowenville Reserve is a popular free camping area a further 10 km on from Jondaryan.

Rotary Park, Oakey.

Oakey Creek.

The Australian Army Museum is on the outskirts of Oakey at the eastern end of Oakey Airport, on Museum Drive, off Corfe Road. Care should be taken not to enter the Army Base on Orr Road because you will have to turn around when you get to the guard house. There is a large car park at the museum and room to park a couple of RV's on the side near the fence. There is no cafe but there are several picnic tables outside the museum. We were impressed by the well appointed Oakey Civil Terminal, which can be found at the end of the car park and has toilets.

Oakey Civil Terminal

The museum is open Wednesday to Sunday 10 am - 3 pm. Entry is $7 per person or $15 per family. Our entry fee included a free high quality 96 page book, "The Australian Army a Brief History". There is a well stocked gift shop which sells cold drinks and the staff were friendly and helpful.We enjoyed wandering around looking at the planes. Don't miss the moving cutaway model of a Rolls Royce Merlin V12 and the side room containing memorabilia is also worth a look. There is a children's area with a box of army dress-up gear to keep the junior visitors entertained.

Dog Suit inside the memorabilia room.

 Below are some of the planes on display.

Pre World War 1, Box Kite, full scale replica.

Fokker Dr 1 Triplane, 

Pre World War 1, Deperdussin, full scale replica.

Bell 47 - Souix

Iroquois

Kiowa 206B-1

Boomerang CA-19

Outside the museum there are several mothballed Caribou aircraft and a GAF Nomad on the grounds of the army base that can be viewed through the fence. From the car park Army helicopters can be viewed coming and going from the base. 

We are really glad that we made the time to visit the Australian Army Flying Museum and would recommend a visit.