A small Victorian town boasts a big collection

January 13, 2025

Photography: Shannon Gill

A rare collection of World War One memorabilia in a south-eastern Victorian town has, with the help of the local RSL, caught the eye of the Australian War Memorial.

The collection, known as the Paterson Collection, dates to the turn of the last century and was originally gathered by Lt Col Alexander Paterson DSO MC VD.

Lt Col Paterson served with the 39 Battalion throughout World War One.

Described as “Uncle Alex’s War Chest”, the collection took the Korumburra RSL by surprise.

“We assumed that ‘Uncle Alex’s War Chest’ was just one war chest. No, no, it turns out to be about three or four ute-loads,” said Tony Moon, Vice President Korumburra RSL.

The so-called “chest” was in fact about nine trunks worth, with their contents broadly divided into five categories: military equipment; documents; maps; artwork and photographs.

Some of the items identified included at nearly 50 World War One maps of the Western Front, and many original ink and pen drawings completed by artists who were members of the 39 Battalion.

Once Alex’s only child Betty died, the collection went to the descendants of Alex’s brother, William Paterson. Margaret Scott is Lt Col Patterson’s great-niece.

She said when they emptied Aunty Betty’s house, among the many items from the collection, they found logbooks of lost soldiers.

“We felt quite responsible, this was a big deal, but we didn’t find the right people until the guys here at the Fallen Diggers and the Korumburra RSL could translate its importance to us and help us find the right connections.”

When the family invited the local RSL to view the collection a few months ago, it was decided that the sheer scale and detail of the collection required even more resources.

“We took the view that our function was to help the family do something with this and we realised this was nationally significant. Our role was to get the War Memorial and RSL Victoria to try and find this collection a home,” said Tony Moon, Vice President Korumburra RSL.

In all his years of collecting and assessing memorabilia, there were items in this collection that David Kirton, RSL Victoria’s Memorabilia Officer had rarely seen before.

“This collection is absolutely unique for Victoria. I’ve never come across such a comprehensive collection of militaria,” he said.

The collection, which resides within multiple private homes, has rarely been united in this way.

The AWM’s Head of Military Heraldry and Technology, Nick Fletcher, visited the Korumburra RSL to meet with descendants and see the collection for himself.

I think it’s very significant. There are probably very few items in the collection that are unique in themselves, but to see them altogether with the context of the ownership of Col Paterson probably means they are unique in Australia today. I don’t know there’s another collection like it.

NICK FLETCHER

Family members use the words “fastidious” or “meticulous” to describe Lt Col Paterson.

Nick Fletcher agreed and said the collection serves as a fascinating insight into the Lt Col’s military mind.

“A man that was in charge of a thousand individuals and their wellbeing, it’s not uncommon or unlikely to have spent a lot of time during or after their service keeping all their records intact and making sure they’re all available. So, I’d say he represents a fairly typical Australian Battalion Commander of the First World War. Again, that makes him really interesting – what were they like as people, these men leading Battalions who were likely to suffer 10 or 20 per cent causalities on any given day? I mean, we have no concept today of what that would be like.”

This collection has provided the family with generations worth of stories. As Margaret held a pocketknife from the collection, she recounted the story that it saved Alexander’s life by shielding his chest from a bullet.

But what is so amazing is that “Uncle Alex’s War Chest” continues to bring stories to life.

“My other uncle Bill Paterson was in the Second World War and was my dad’s brother. Today we discovered a letter that he wrote to Uncle Alex about him going out from Darwin to

Singapore, which he didn’t return home from,” said Margaret.

The AWM will continue to work with the family to develop a plan to preserve and potentially display items from the collection.

While the motivation behind this collection may have been lost in time, there is no doubt that this snapshot of a bygone era will provide so much more for decades to come.

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