We’ll soon be getting a rare look at the experiences of conscripted soldiers at Puckapunyal Army Base, thanks to the Bendigo Military Museum.
An exhibition titled Nasho ’57: 98 Days at Pucka is opening at the venue this weekend, featuring a collection of photos taken by Warrnambool-born journalist Robert Lennox Suggett.
As the name suggests, every photo was snapped during Suggett’s time in national service training with the 14th National Service Training Battalion, Royal Australian Artillery, at Puckapunyal in 1957.
Speaking with Robbo on the Wake Up Call, Museum curator Dell Winser said the photographer was doing a pharmacy apprenticeship when he received the call-up.
“So he left that behind, and went off with hundreds of other men to basically be drilled, be disciplined,” Ms Winser said.
She added that the collection has been loaned by the Southbank-based Australian National Veterans Arts Museum or ANVAM.
“They’re a veteran-led charity… and they showcase veterans’ stories and their lived experiences,” she said.
According to ANVAM, the original negatives of Suggett’s remained unprinted for nearly six decades until their rediscovery and first printing in 2016-17.
Nasho ’57: 98 Days at Pucka can be seen at the Bendigo Military Museum from this Saturday, January 31st until July 26th.
The venue is presently open on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays between 11am and 3pm.
But, Ms Winser says the Museum will be opening seven days a week from February 9th.
