History
In 1962, the Australian Aircraft Restoration Group was formed as a nonprofit group by a group of members of the Aviation Historical Society of Australia. The project began with the recovery and restoration of an Australian-built Bristol Beaufighter, that was threatened to be scrapped. Following the donation of the Beaufighter in April 1962, a CAC Wackett trainer was purchased, followed by a DH.60G Moth. In 1964, after additional purchases and donations, the collection was relocated to a service station in north Lilydale near the Moorabbin Airport. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (formerly Australian Department of Civil Aviation) leased land to the museum, and erected a fence on 20 May 1965. In July 1967, the museum erected a new fence, and increased its land size for its growing collection.
In the 1980s, the museum had over 30 aircraft, but were all suffering from weathering. In April 1989, a 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m2) hangar was built to house and protect the aircraft. Between 1980 and 2000, the aircraft collection increased by an average of one airframe per year. The collection now totals 52 machines.
The museum was awarded a Certificate of Merit, in the 1985 Museum of the Years Awards
Read more about this topic: Australian National Aviation Museum
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