ABOUT US

ABOUT US

The Queensland Air Museum is a not-for-profit aviation museum located near Caloundra Aerodrome in Queensland, Australia. Its mission is to collect and preserve all aspects of aviation heritage with an emphasis on Australia and Queensland. The museum has the largest and most diverse collection of historic aircraft in Australia as well as aircraft engines, equipment, artefacts, photographs and books. 

HISTORY

On 2 June 1974 the Queensland Air Museum was inaugurated with the official unveiling of a Canberra bomber that had been purchased from a government disposal. The aircraft was displayed at the Pioneer Valley Park, which was a museum at Kuraby in Brisbane's southern suburbs.

The park was eventually closed and the aircraft was moved to a leased site at Nudgee on the north side of Brisbane. The collection began to grow when a Meteor TT20 was donated to the museum by the British Government and a Vampire and two Sea Venoms were acquired.

Due to the construction of the new Brisbane Airport nearby, the collection was forced to move to a temporary holding area on the airport site. Exorbitant rental costs at this location eventually led to the museum being evicted and the resultant publicity resulted in an offer of a permanent home on the Sunshine Coast by the Landsborough Shire Council. On 14 June 1986 the collection was relocated to a site at Caloundra Airport which had a newly built hangar. The official opening of the museum took place on 4 April 1987 by Mrs Ly Bennett, wife of the museum's first patron, the late Air Vice-Marshal Don Bennett. Don Bennett was the Queensland-born founder of the World War II Bomber Command Pathfinder Force and to honour this the road in front of the museum was named Pathfinder Drive.

Now with a permanent home, the collection continued to grow and in 1989 it was bolstered by an ambitious recovery expedition to Singapore where a Sea Vixen, Meteor and Hunter were purchased from a scrap metal dealer just days before their destruction. The aircraft were disassembled and successfully shipped to Australia, where they were restored and placed on display.

The two-hectare museum site has been steadily developed with the construction of a second hangar completed in July 2004 which was later extended in 2006. A library, restoration and storage facilities have also been constructed. In September 2006, Mr Allan Vial, DFC OAM OPR (Pol), became the patron of the Queensland Air Museum; he is also Life President of the Pathfinder Force Association in Australia.














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Our Volunteering Workforce

"The volunteers are brilliant. Very friendly and informative"

From its inception in 1973, the museum has had a 100% volunteer workforce, serving as a social hub for the large population of retirees that this area attracts. QAM also acts as a platform whereby the priceless knowledge of more experienced members can be passed down to new generations. The increase in younger volunteers and working professionals means that this passion and knowledge is re-injected back into the community.


The diverse backgrounds of our passionate volunteers bring an extraordinary range of skills to the organisation. Our volunteer workforce is the backbone of QAM.


The museum also has over 100 active members whose talents combine to ensure visitors have an enjoyable experience.


Our Patrons

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