The Lancers’ Museum Needs Your Help

Lancer Barracks, Parramatta has been the home of the Roual New South Wales Lancers now a light armoured reconnaissance regiment. The largest unit in the Australian Army Reserve and largest unit in the Royal Australian Armoured Corps.

Lancer Barracks is also site of the Lancers’ Museum, open to the public every Sunday. The museum is managed and staffed by volunteers, mostly Regimental alumni. Apart from some help in kind the museum is not funded by the government. Funding comes from visitor fees, a bit of trading and public donations.

The Museum’s historic fighting vehicle collection has since the first vehicle was obtained in the 1970s stood in the open. The vehicles are unique, restored to original state, most are operational except for the weaponry. Paint will protect metal surfaces, however, water will forever enter hulls causing the corrosion that confuses electrics, contaminates fuel and freezes gear wheels and pistons.

So far to protect the valued exhibits volunteers have to use tarpaulins. Tarpaulins that weather easily, are expensive to replace and are difficult for our aging volunteers to remove and replace. Not good when visitors get to stare at the shape hidden by canvas rather than the actual exhibit.

Thus for the past 20 years the Museum has been negotiating with bureaucrats seeking permission to build open sheds to protect our valued exhibits, enabling visitor access at all times and giving cover for our volunteer maintenance crews. We now have that permission. No more 80 year olds risking life and limb to perch on high positioning heavy tarpaulins.

The appeal is for donations. Our initial estimate following an approach to the market is for $85,000 more than the Museum’s accumulated surplus. Any donation large or small would be appreciated donations are tax deductable (over $2) as the Museum is an Australian Taxation Office Designated Gift Recipient.

To donate visit: https://lancers.au/OHP/OHP_Donation.php