FIVE students from Emmaus College, Jimboomba, discovered what it was like living in Brisbane during World War II on a visit to the MacArthur Museum.
Located where American General Douglas MacArthur set up his headquarters in Edward St, Brisbane, the museum gives visitors a glimpse of what the city looked like when it became a garrison town.
In addition to learning about General MacArthur, who was supreme commander of the Allied forces in the Pacific during the war, the students took part in a plane spotting activity and gas detection exercise, sent an SOS message using Morse code and used a homemade periscope.
They sat in the room where General MacArthur ran war operations from and listened to an actual recording of his voice.
The students learnt about women’s participation in the workforce and the services, the role of the three branches of the armed services, intelligence work carried out in Brisbane and entertainment during the war.
Other exhibits included war brides, the Battle of Brisbane, Japan and Korea.
They also watched a film: The Shock of War, which explained how Brisbane changed from a country town into a garrison town with the arrival of thousands of soldiers and sailors who were either based here or travelling through Brisbane on their way to the war front.
MacArthur Museum education coordinator Jessica Harrington said the museum offered an education experience that aims to assist teachers meet the requirements of the school history curriculum
“The program, run by volunteers, helps students explore what life would have been like in Brisbane during World War Two and how residents were affected by being so close to the war after the bombing of Darwin by Japanese planes,” she said.
Student Spencer Gurski said he learnt a great deal about the importance of General MacArthur to Australia and the war in the Pacific and standing in his office was both fun and exciting.
“Just meeting people who were so enthusiastic about history made it a great day,” he said.
Rebekah Gould said the building itself held a beautiful history and the tour guides were both passionate and full of knowledge.
“My favourite part was smelling the various scents and then applying them to a poem written for people to identify the various gasses used in war,” she said.
Hannah Nofz said she found the whole experience fascinating and informative.
“Overall it was a great experience, especially learning about the man, MacArthur, and the changed role of women during the war,” she said.
