Contact Us

The Army Museum Puckapunyal has a monetary donation box located at the front counter.

For larger sums, please contact us.

To holistically represent both the military experience and history of the Royal Australian Armoured Corps and the Royal Australian Artillery Corps, the Army Museum Puckapunyal is reliant on the donations of military objects and personal memorabilia to convey what it means to be a part of these corps and their proud traditions. 

However, occasionally the Museum must decline a donation, due to collection policies or the limitations of storage space and staffing. 

Before contacting us to offer an item for donation, please read through the Donation Checklist and Things To Consider lists below. 

To donate an object, contact us by sending an email to aahu.amp@defence.gov.au. Please include in the email the following details:

• You're answers to the Donation Checklist questions

• An itemised list of the objects up for donation

• A photo of each item to show its condition

Note: The Army Museum Puckapunyal is not accepting loans at this point in time. 

Donation checklist:

1. Can you describe the item?

2. Do you know who it relates to, including their full name or other biographical details?

3. Are there any stories related to it? Why do you think the Army Museum Puckapunyal is the most appropriate place for your item? 

4. Where did you get it?

5. Can you confirm you are the legal owner,* and would be happy to transfer permanent legal ownership to the Army Museum Puckapunyal?

6. If you have multiple items, can you describe the quantity and volume of the material?

7. Can you provide a digital image of it for assessment purposes?

*Legal ownership means having ownership of the physical item. Copyright is a separate issue altogether. 

Things to consider:

• Unfortunately, we are unable to accept everything that is offered to us. We have particular collecting priorities, and some areas of our collection are already well-developed. If we already hold good examples of an object we are unlikely to accept more.

• We cannot accept material where current ownership is unknown or might be disputed.

• We strongly recommend you talk with your family before you offer material to the Army Museum Puckapunyal. Their wishes may need to be considered before you proceed.

• A donation is finalised by the donor signing a Transfer of Ownership. This is a legal document that transfers ownership of the item to the Army Museum Puckapunyal. Once a donation is finalised, it cannot be returned.

For a basic overview of object care, see the Australian War Memorial's information about conservation and collection care.

For further reading on in-depth care and conservation of objects, see the reCollections website and the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) website.

While the Army Museum Puckapunyal may not have enough staff to research family records, here's a little nudge in the right direction. Below you will find links to several institutional databases which deal with the personal files of Australian Defence Force members. 

Note: Knowing the family member's full name, date of birth and Service/PmKeys number will improve the efficiency of a search. These can be found on the individual's military documents or stamped into the rim/back of any medals awarded to the member. To identify medals, please see the University of Melbourne's Medal Identification chart.

A PMKeyS/Service number is the personnel number used by the Department of Defence to identify individual soldiers. Military personnel who enlisted prior to the 2000s will have a service number, while military personnel who enlisted after the 2000s will have a PMKeyS number. 

(>1870) Army Museum Ogilby Trust (UK)

Until 1870, British Infantry Regiments garrisoned the Australian colonies. After 1870, many British soldiers continued to support or joined the various colonial units, which is why colonial or Australian Army records will refer to an individual's prior British service. Such personal files must be sought from British records. See the Army Museum Ogilby Trust website.

(>1901) State Archives

Prior to Australia's federation, each colony maintained their own military forces. The records of soldiers who served in these forces will be found in the appropriate state archive. 

Victoria State Library website

Museum's Victoria website

• Naval Brigade (1859-1901) 

• Victorian Volunteer Forces (1854-1884) 

• Permanent Naval Forces (1867-1901) 

• Victorian Artillery (1870-1901)

• Victorian Militia Force (1884-1901) 

• Victorian Mounted Rifles (1885-1901) 

• Victorian Rangers (1888-1901) 

(1899-1945) National Archives of Australia

The National Archives of Australia holds the personal files of soldiers who served between 1899 to 1945, some of which have been digitised and are available online. See the National Archives of Australia website for more details. 

• Australian Military Force (AMF)

• Citizen Military Forces

• Australian Imperial Force (AIF)

(<1953) Defence Archives

The Defence Archives holds the personal files of soldiers who served in the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) and all conflicts since 1953. Furthermore, the Defence Archives also holds records for members who enlisted or were commissioned into the Regular Army from 1948 onwards, including those who did not see active service. 

Please direct your enquiries to

Defence Archives 

GPO Box 225 

QUEENSCLIFF VIC 3225

ADF.records@defence.gov.au.