Army Museum of Western Australia

The Army Museum of Western Australia is a museum located in an historic artillery barracks on Burt Street in Fremantle, Western Australia. The museum was established in 1977 and has three Victoria Crosses on display.HistoryThe Army Museum of Western Australia was established in 1977 and was originally located at Dilhorn House, a 19th-century building located on Bulwer Street, Perth. The museum was relocated to its current site at the Artillery Barracks site in Burt Street, Fremantle, in 1995.The Fremantle Artillery Barracks, also known as Victoria Barracks, was acquired by the Commonwealth in 1909 for ₤3,000. The Artillery Barracks was constructed in two stages between 1910 and 1913 as the base for the Royal Australian Garrison Artillery, who manned the heavy artillery guns guarding the port of Fremantle. The original concept for the buildings and spaces was designed by Hillson Beasley, the Government Architect at the Public Works Department of Western Australia. The barracks are constructed of red brick and limestone in a Federation Free Classical style of architecture and designed to accommodate 120 men and officers of the Artillery Corps, providing protection for the harbour and the hulks with emergency coal supplies for the British Fleet.The location of the site reflects the prevailing view of Sir Joseph John Talbot Hobbs that potential enemies would mount seaborne rather than aerial attacks. The Artillery Barracks were designed to service the two batteries at Arthur (Arthur Head) and Forrest (North Fremantle) Forts, as part of the Fremantle Harbour defences prior to World War I.