Army Museum of Western Australia The Army Museum of Western Australia is a museum located in an historic artillery barracks in Fremantle , Western Australia . The museum was established in 1977 and has three Victoria Cross es on display . History . The Army Museum of Western Australia was established in 1977 and was originally located at Dilhorn House , a 19th - century building located on Bulwer Street , Perth . The museum was relocated to its current site at the Artillery Barracks site in Burt Street , Fremantle , in 1995 . The Fremantle Artillery Barracks , also known as Victoria Barracks , was acquired by the Commonwealth in 1909 for ₤3 , 000 . The Artillery Barracks was constructed in two stages between 1910 and 1913 as the base for the Royal Australian Garrison Artillery , who manned the heavy artillery guns guarding the port of Fremantle . The original concept for the buildings and spaces was designed by Hillson Beasley , the Government Architect at the Public Works Department of Western Australia . The barracks are constructed of red brick and limestone in a Federation Free Classical style of architecture and designed to accommodate 120 men and officers of the Artillery Corps , providing protection for the harbour and the hulks with emergency coal supplies for the British Fleet . The location of the site reflects the prevailing view of Sir Joseph John Talbot Hobbs that potential enemies would mount seaborne rather than aerial attacks . The Artillery Barracks were designed to service the two batteries at Arthur ( Arthur Head ) and Forrest ( North Fremantle ) Forts , as part of the Fremantle Harbour defences prior to World War I . The first stage of construction in 1910 was a two storey barracks , providing accommodation for 40 men , Orderly Room , Guard Room , Quarter Store , separate Kitchen block and Gymnasium , facing on to the parade ground . Three years later a second Barracks block , Married Quarters , Officers Quarters and a Hospital ( later converted into the Sergeants ' Mess ) were completed . A large grassed area on the northern side of the hill was used for agistment of the horses . In 1914 with the commencement of World War I , the barracks were then used as hospital wards , firstly for sick recruits of the First Australian Imperial Force , then for the convalescing wounded from the Western Front , a use which continued for a year after the war concluded . Between the wars a number of working structures , such as sheds and garages were built , and in 1928 a wooden signal tower was constructed to take over from the signal station at Arthur Head . After World War II , Major General John Whitelaw , took up residence at the Commanding Officer ' s Quarters , known as Gun House . This established a tradition for the most senior serving officer to reside at the site ; eighteen serving regional commanders have lived there since 1946 . From 1948 onwards the barracks mainly served as a training venue for the Citizen Military Forces , which then became the Australian Army Reserve s . In 1935 the land now occupied by the Army Store was ceded to the Royal Australian Navy , which built its own store in a simple Functionalist style . In 1956 the timber signal station , on the top of Cantonment Hill , was replaced by a masonry signal station , for use by the Fremantle Harbour Trust Commission . The signal station operated for only eight years before new grain silos at North Quay partially obscured the view and the signal station was replaced by a facility on top of the Fremantle Port Authority building . The Cantonment Hill station was then handed back to the Army . Heritage value . The entire precinct has been heritage listed with several of the buildings having historical significance . The Barracks and associated buildings were classified by the National Trust ( WA ) on 6 October 1980 and included on the Register of the National Estate on the 28 September 1982 . They permanently entered on the State Heritage Register on 2 September 1997 and were included on the City of Fremantle ' s Municipal Heritage Inventory on 14 October 2000 . The site is currently the oldest continuously occupied defence site in Western Australia . In 2000 , the museum was faced with the prospect of having to be relocated once again due to plans for the Artillery Barracks site to be sold off by the Federal Government . A successful " Save the Barracks " campaign was initiated to gain support for the retention of the barracks site as a heritage precinct remaining in public ownership and for the museum to remain at this site . After lengthy negotiations the Government agreed that the museum would remain at the barracks under special licensing arrangements . Currently the museum is supported by two part - time Army personnel , around 80 ' active ' volunteers , and 120 ' sponsor ' members . Displays . The museum consists of a numer of galleries , each of which reflects the Army ' s involvement in Western Australia and the military service of Western Australians from the colonial period through to the present day . There are seven galleries : Items of significance . Among its collection , the museum holds the following items of significance :