History of the Macarthur Museum

For some years interested parties attempted to gather support and raise funds for some form of public recognition of General Douglas MacArthur and the Brisbane Headquarters of the war in the South West Pacific from 1942-1944.

Throughout the 1990s there were meetings and fundraising efforts with the goal of creating displays complemented by interactive terminals and the development of resources for historical research.

The significance of the building continued to be acknowledged, for instance in the fifty years commemoration of World War II in November 1995.

The breakthrough came through a meeting between Major General (Ret.) Peter Arnison, at the time Queensland Governor, and the then Premier of Queensland, the Honourable P. Beattie MLA. In 2001 the Premier launched the project. Support also came from the Federal Government, the Brisbane City Council and a variety of institutions and private individuals. 

At the launch of the MacArthur Museum, Brisbane on
15 August 2004.

From left to right: Major General (Retd) Peter Arnison AC CVO,
Hon Peter Beattie MLA, Premier of Queensland,
Sir Leo Hielscher AC, Major General (Retd) Murray Blake AO MC,
Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) John Dwyer AM,
Senator the Honourable Santo Santoro.

The MacArthur Museum, Brisbane was officially opened at a ceremony on August 15th, 2004, on the 59th Anniversary of the end of the war in the Pacific.  

On August 19th the Premier made the following statement, recorded in the Hansard.

A dramatic era in Queensland’s history - in fact world history – the war in the Pacific, closed 59 years ago this week. It marked the closure of a period during which about 1 million US troops were garrisoned in Queensland. The brutal realities of global warfare arrived on Queensland soil and things would never be the same. While many regional centres played vital roles in the Pacific war effort, Brisbane has a special place in history. Our capital housed Australia’s equivalent of Britain’s cabinet war rooms: the Headquarters from which General Douglas MacArthur directed the allied effort in the Pacific. For many years I have been passionate, and so has my government, about preserving part of the historic building in Edward Street as a MacArthurMuseum. The building is hugely significant in its own right as a reminder of events that radically shaped post-war Queensland. The potential for a museum to draw international tourists, particularly from the United States, is great – the history tourists.

I was honoured on Sunday to officially open the MacArthur Museum Brisbane on the eighth floor of the heritage-listed Edward Street building occupied by General Douglas MacArthur and his staff.

The first Chairman of the Trust was Mr Alex MacArthur OBE. The first Executive Officer of the Museum was Lt. Col. (Ret.), John Dwyer. The first Curator was Helen Taylor. The first Volunteer was Art Wentland.

Helen Taylor
Teacher, Historian, Curator
26/11/1941 – 30/6/2006

A Curator, dedicated to preserving the history of Brisbane, Helen Taylor was emininently suited to become the first Curator of The MacArthur Museum Brisbane.

After completing her Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours she was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship to undertake her PhD. She subsequently taught Australian and Comparative Studies and Modern British Social History at the University of Queensland. In 1990 she took up the role of Heritage Research Officer at Brisbane City Council and two years later became Senior Historian in the Council’s Heritage Unit.

She co-authored Australia’s Frontline, an oral history and initiated and Co-Curated a number of social History exhibitions, including Brisbane Homefront 1939-1945, Brisbane 100 Stories, Afraid of the dark, Federation and race, MacArthur in Brisbane, and The million pound town hall.

She researched, wrote and contributed to the development of the Brisbane City Council Social History Museum and was responsible for developing key social history initiatives such as Brisbane’s Living Heritage network. She was appointed as Curator of Social History at the Museum of Brisbane in 2002.

She retired from full-time work in 2003 but remained busy with a multitude of activities including becoming Part-Time Historian Curator of the MacArthur Museum Brisbane.

As the first Curator Helen developed the exhibitions in Stage One, laid  the foundations for a museum collection and began to build up an oral history program. She continued to research, write and speak on the history of wartime and post war Brisbane.

Her warmth and support was very much appreciated by the volunteer guides who were also new to the museum and who saw her as a motherly figure, encouraging and bringing them together. The abiding image that many have is of Helen, smiling, at the front desk.

Helen suffered a heart attack and died on June 30 2006.

Arthur W. Wentland was the first Volunteer at the MacArthur Museum Brisbane in June 2004, even before it opened.  He had moved into retirement determined to continue making a contribution to his community. He loved the Museum, its people - and the people and stories the Museum pays tribute to.  A dedicated history buff, he loved showing people around the Museum and sharing his knowledge.

He was born on 28th June, 1935 in Hartford, Connecticut, USA.  In 1954 he joined the U.S. Navy and specialized to attain the rank of H.M. Chief E-7 – Hospital Corpsman – the guy everyone called the ‘Doc’.   Art died of a stroke on 2nd August, 2006.

The Museum opened its doors to the public on Tuesday, 5th October, 2004.