Letter from the Editor: MPs missing in action as historical military museum in danger of being forever lost

There’s an invaluable part of Illawarra’s history that is at risk of disappearing and it appears few of our civic leaders care much about it.

The Breakwater Battery Museum boasts one of the region’s most extensive collections of our military history.

The Port Kembla building in which it is housed is itself a monument to history – built in the late 1930s, it was once the World War II headquarters and command post for the Breakwater Battery fort complex.

What makes this little museum even more special is that it is run entirely by volunteers and has been since it first opened in the mid 80s.

But this rare gem is in danger of being lost forever, caught up in a tangle of red tape, confusion about heritage status and a lack of interest from local MPs who have so far shown little concern for its future.

Back in about 1986, when volunteers were looking for a home for the museum, the Breakwater Battery building was standing empty. The then NSW Port Authority was more than happy to see it put to good use.

And it certainly was. This is a museum like few others, one where you can not only see but actually touch original World War I and World War II uniforms, binoculars and trench art. It is home to the records and photos of hundreds of service men and women from the Illawarra and local honour rolls from both wars.

Many of those residents didn’t return from service, but they will be forever remembered and honoured, their experiences chronicled with care and love in this cherished museum so future generations can better understand and learn about their sacrifices.

About 30 years after the museum started, the new, privately-owned NSW Ports asked volunteers to sign a lease and pay a nominal sum for rent, which they were happy to do.

Then COVID hit and the museum was forced to close.

Post-COVID, the volunteers were ready to reopen but NSW Ports dropped a bombshell and told them the doors had to remain closed – for good.

According to the museum’s secretary Terry Bugg, NSW Ports said they couldn’t reopen the 80-year-old building because it wasn’t up to code for 2024. It wouldn’t renew the lease, effectively evicting the museum and its precious collection.

Terry and his fellow volunteers were understandably devastated but that turned to anger and frustration when NSW Ports refused to negotiate – “We tried, but you either don’t get an answer or they just railroad you”, Terry said.

When we heard the museum was facing eviction, reporter Zoe Cartwright visited and interviewed Terry and some volunteers. She was expecting to see a small, neglected collection of personal mementoes.

“But then I saw the depth of the collection, how well volunteers have cared for and preserved items I’ve never seen anywhere else. It’s home to pieces unique to the Illawarra and instrumental in understanding our role in the nation’s military history,” she recalls.

Zoe says she’s rarely had the opportunity to interact with bits of history so closely – most of the items aren’t kept behind a glass case.

Her story was published on 2 November, almost a full month ago. She discovered confusion between Wollongong Council and the NSW Government, both of which have a heritage listing on the site. Both referred Zoe to the other for an answer.

NSW Ports itself gave her a non-statement which said it would “explore ways in which the use of the building can be enhanced”.

“Investment in the Breakwater Battery Museum building will be required in order to achieve such an outcome. We would welcome suggestions to inform our considerations,” the statement said.

Ironically, a brochure encouraging visits to the museum still sits on the NSW Ports’ website.

NSW Ports told volunteers the museum would have to cleared out by 31 October. That deadline has been extended to 31 January, but that’s cold comfort to the volunteers as they don’t have an alternative location nor the money to pay to store the extensive collection.

Since then, Zoe has written two more stories. She approached state and federal MPs and the Minister for the Illawarra to ask if they would support the museum.

It sits in the state electorate of Wollongong MP Paul Scully, but he wouldn’t commit to advocating on its behalf.

“If there’s no option for them to maintain their existing facility, then at least I hope the collection is able to be maintained,” he said. Don’t we all.

It sits in the federal electorate of Cunningham MP Alison Byrnes, whose office also offered only platitudes.

The Minister for the Illawarra is Ryan Park, MP for the neighbouring Keira electorate. His office offered no words of support for the museum, only lashing out at Kiama MP Gareth Ward for daring to speak out and calling for NSW Ports to reconsider its decision and for the government to assist with funds to bring the building up to scratch.

Gareth’s electorate may be 20-odd kilometres away, but kudos to him for speaking out.

But this isn’t a political issue that needs to be resolved by voting along party lines – ask any of the volunteers and I’m sure they don’t give two hoots about whether support is coming from the ALP or the Liberals, they just want and need someone with sway to stand up, speak out and to help find a solution.

A frustrated Terry Bugg summed it up well: “Politicians all stood up solemn-faced at Remembrance Day ceremonies this week. Now they have the opportunity to do something to remember our soldiers, so why won’t they?”

Thankfully the office of Heritage Minister Penny Sharpe has been more forthcoming and is at least organising some guidance on the ongoing care of the collection.

If the pollies need convincing about the critical importance of this museum they only need to read Zoe’s story quoting Australian War Memorial’s assistant curator Andrew Muir, who says it’s impossible to put a price on items like these.

“The Owen Gun is a case in point. An incredibly important weapon from Australia’s military past, used in the Second World War and later conflicts until the 1970s,” he told her.

“It is a unique and innovative machine gun, prototyped and developed in Wollongong by Evelyn Owen and then produced by Lysaghts at Port Kembla for the Australian war effort.

“So an Australian machine gun becomes a specific local history connecting a story of innovation and creativity, sovereign industries, and a global success story.”

The Breakwater Battery Museum collection contains three Owen guns – an original, a replica and a decommissioned one.

That’s not just local history, that’s world history. Sadly, once history is lost it can never be replaced.

Region Illawarra will continue to fight for the future of Breakwater Battery Museum. We encourage everyone to do as Terry has begged, to contact Heritage Minister Penny Sharpe, or Mr Scully’s electorate office by email at [email protected] and demand that this collection be saved and preserved for future generations.

Terry deserves to have the last word: “This building belongs to the people of NSW; I don’t care if NSW Ports have a lease on God himself, it belongs to the people of NSW. I’d like them to let us have a museum that pays our respects to the men and women who served our country.”