Nungarin Museum

Lynn Eades · #1 12-08-10, 22:50

As part of my trip through the Canning Stock Route, I visited Nungarin, to visit Phillip Hastings. Nungarin is about 40km from Merredin (about 300km north east of Perth)
Phillip asked me to post a few pictures for him, so here they are.
Phillip you might like to make some comments about the vehicles.

Lynn Eades · #2 12-08-10, 22:57

A nice example, a few 37mm barrels, the original, and lastly Phillips very tidy, unrestored Landrover.

Philliphastings · #3 13-08-10, 04:55

Thanks for posting these pics up. It's very frustrating not being able to post up images of what I'm involved in.

Nungarin was the site of 5 Base Ordnance Depot during WW2 and was built so far inland as to be out of range of Japanese carrier borne aircraft. At that early stage of the war our western Coast was under sporadic attack by japanese Naval air forces and even visited by small parties of Japanese soldiers on reconassance. There were at the peak of activity 4000 troops stationed here (600 female personnel). There were vast equipment warehouses, a small hospital, fire station power station Tank and armoured vehicle rebuild production lines and a vehicle park containing more than 2000 wheeled and tracked military vehicles! The museum is housed in the original Wheeled vehicle workshop building and it is considered one of the larget standing timber buildings of it's type in the southern hemisphere.

The first two pics show the museum's M3 White Scout Car under restoration. I started the tear-down two years ago, safe in the belief that apart from having to re-manufacture the armour sides at least it was driveable. Well we were wrong and it is now having a full (albeit slow) ground up rebuild - and still need the rear armour remanufactured. We have the steel plate on hand but persistent problems with my plasma cutter misbehaving have seen a big delay in completing it.

Nest image is of the Museum's Australian Dingo Scout Car. It's nearly complete and was running and driven into it's current location. I have been adding small fitting and it will soon receive a set of appropriate tactical markings and hopefully a No19 Wireless set. The 18' tyres on this machine are completely shot and crumble to the touch but no replacements are available anywhere that we can find.

Finally for th first series is the Museum's unrestored M3 Stuart Light tank. It was used, in conjunction with a General Grant Tank for land clearing on a local farm and eventually given to the museum more or less complete about 16 years ago. Over the years though a number of small and vital parts have been removed and 'lost' so it's not likely to be going again anytime soon. I have spent many hours trying to get the turret free and have managed to swing it only about 2 or 3 feet before it jams solid. A heritage appraisal has deemed the vehicle should not be restored as such but preserved in this 'off the farm' condition. I'm not sure how I feel about that...

Cheers

Phill

Philliphastings · #4 13-08-10, 05:06

In the second sequence of shots we can see our beautiful Staghound Armoured car. This was purchased in perfect order from the former Military Collection at Dizzy Lamb Park north of Perth. At the time it was in perfect running condition and missing only the No 19 Wireless set to make it 100% complete. - Even the cre members headsets are plugged in and dangling from their hooks ! Unfortunately when I began a major service on the Stag last year I discovered that the cooling system had corroded out in the ten years it had been standing in the museum - it's a big job and I admit to shelving it until further notice...

The 37mm barrels and mountings which are not shown are individual masterpieces of reverse engineering created by our museum curator Bill Hewitt. We are reproducing mountings, complete for M3 Stuart Tank and M3 General Grant tank. These mountings include the 37mm barrel, slide, recuperator, breech ring, breech guard, cradle, co-axial .30 Browing mounts etc and bolt straight in to the vehicles. Proceeds of the sale of these replica gun mounts help keep the museum going.

Lastly for now is my own 1963 Landrover Series 2A 109 four stretcher Ambulance. I had to do a lot of horse-trading to get hold of this vehicle as I always wanted one. It is is near perfect and complete condition having been untouched since it was disposed of. Complete in every way except the morphine and drip bottles it lives in the museum on display but comes out once a year for a veterans reunion. I also own privately the series 2A 88 soft top 2 stretcher version and a Landrover 101 Forward control heavy ambulance.

hope this is of some interest and thanks again Lynn

Cheers for now

lynx42 · #5 13-08-10, 10:13

Phil,
Will you please say hello to Bill Hewitt for me. I sent quite a few bits over to the museum a few years ago for the White Scout Car after talking to Bill per the phone.

Are you able to supply me with the Chassis Numbers for the White Scout Car Register? I do not have it on my listing.
Regards Rick.

Philliphastings · #6 17-08-10, 06:48

I will certainly pass on your regards and get those numbers to you when I get a chance. I have also collected three front ditching beams for the front of your Lynx Two were squashed by a dozer twenty years ago but the other is in good order.

I recently unearthed a photograph showing about 40 Lynxes lined up in the vehicle park here at 5BOD Nungarin during the war, having just been fitted with No19 Wireless sets. What subsequently became of the Lynxes is still a big mystery and I know of only the remains of one which has come to light recently here in the West.

Cheers

Phill

lynx42 · #7 17-08-10, 09:48

Thanks for that Phil. The photo of the Lynxes sounds great. I hope you will post it here, (or email it to me). 170 Lynx Scout Cars came to Australia. 109 went to Japan with BCOF. and I guess they returned to OZ with the troops at the end of our commitment in Japan. I haven't been able to comfirm this though. Maybe, if they weren't returned, then that would explain why there are so few around these days. I also run the Lynx Register. I only have 11 on it at present.
regards Rick.

Philliphastings · #8 19-08-10, 04:22

Hello again Rick, Bill would like me to pass on his kind regards sir !

Re the Lynxes, My good friend Murray C who seems to have a soft spot for these doodlebugs recently advised that a lot of surplus material was sent to indonesia after the war years. There seems to have been many modified turreted Lynxes photographed over there and some still exist to this day. It may explain where the 40 which clearly were here for a time disappeared to.

I must admit that I would like to find one some day. I was even tempted by Allan N's example in SA at one point.

In due course I will try to get that pic posted up or sent you you.

Cheers for now

Phill

lynx42 · #9 19-08-10, 14:43

Phil,

Thats very interesting. Does Murray have any more information?
Any info is a bit thin on the ground over here.

In the ARN books for the White Scout Cars there are many which were listed as supplied to 'United Kingdom Special Force' in January 1945. Also some went to 'N.E.I Forces' as well.

I will start another thread questioning this when we get back from the reunion at the Road Transport Hall of Fame in Alice Springs.

Regards Rick.