Australian Armour and Artillery Museum.

The Australian Armour and Artillery Museum display has over 100 armoured vehicles, artillery and war memorabilia from the late 1800s onwards.

This leg of our road trip from Brisbane to Cairns became a teenage thrill-fest for my son—an unforgettable highlight that still echoes in our laughs. Picture this: standing amidst not one, but 20 or 30 colossal war tanks, all in the same room. It’s the kind of spectacle that doesn’t come around every day.

As we forked over our entry fee, a friendly reminder about my 13-year-old’s towering 5ft 9 height came from the man at the desk. With a casual caution, he pointed out the potential head-bumping hazard posed by the gun turrets. Teenagers being teenagers, the advice barely registered.

And then, BAM! Within five minutes, my son’s head found an unintended meeting point with one of those turrets. The message, it seemed, had taken a detour from one ear to the other. Cue a sheepish head rub and shared laughter.

The armoured vehicles surpassed his expectations, defying the proportions he’d come to know from warfare video games. Apparently, those digital battles don’t do justice to the sheer magnitude of these beasts. Though tempted by the prospect of a UPV ride, COVID-safe rules kept them off the menu during our visit.

The staff, ever amiable, extended their warning about those imposing barrels atop the tanker guns. Predictably, my son, with all his teenage grace, still managed to make contact.

This sprawling exhibit of tanks, armoured trucks, bikes, and more awaits on Kamerunga Road, Smithfield—a Cairns suburb neighbouring Tjapukai and Skyrail in North Queensland.

Privately owned, the museum stands as a dedicated tribute to the collection, preservation, restoration, and exhibition of Armoured Vehicles and Artillery spanning from the 1800s to the present day.

With a keen focus on both World Wars, particularly WWII, the collection paints a vivid picture of the evolution of warfare through the ages.