lake boga flying boat museum

MalmesburyDave

Those that put this museum together should be immensely proud, it serves as a wonderful reminder of what so many of our fellow men and women did to enable us to holiday in peaceful times and view the horror and hardship that they experienced in the dark days of the Second World War. The Lions and those individuals that have so generously donated or given artefacts to bring the museum to life should be thanked by all fortunate to visit. I doubt that many from within Australia and certainly as was our case from overseas, ever realised Lake Boga and it's Flying Boat Base even existed. Whatever you are doing in the Swan Hill area finding time to drive a mere 15km out of town to Lake Boga is a must, allow a good half day there is so much to see and read but take in the informative video first.

Tinshed21

Awesome, very informative, great staff, very helpful. will recommend to all my friends. DVD is excellent , well worth a visit, run by the Lake Boga Lions Club.

dingowalkabout

Lake Boga is an airport, but you say it is a "lake", and you are right, but it is still a place where planes land, it was a repair depot for the Catalina's in WW2, the lake is a good spot to go fishing, skiing, swimming or to just laze back and have a BBQ, and if you are lucky you might see some dingoes walking past, a local family has dingoes that they walk at the lake.and at teh Catalina Museum you can see one of the old Catalina's.

715susiep

The Lake Boga Flying Boat Museum is a Lake Boga Lions Club project. This is a hidden treasure, a Catalina Flying Boat is on display in an air-conditioned building, also a 20 minute DVD explaining the service and repair depot during World War 11 of flying boats. The original communications bunker is also a part of the attraction. Great value for money

Roly3010

What a great museum - full credit to the Lake Boga Lions Club. Excellently maintained and presented - well worth the visit. WW2 history that not many of us know about and to stand next to a Catalina and realize its size is purely amazing.

670scotts

Still cant believe these huge boat planes get off the water. Learnt heaps about there war efforts and the museum presentation and close up look at the plane was excellent. A must stop in if you are in the area.

Boop1976

We heard about this museum from a fellow traveller and it exceeded our expectations. We could have spent longer here, lots to read. We had no idea of the use of this Lake during WWII and loved the restored Catalina. Our kids, aged 2 and 4, were also kept well occupied with the short movie and looking at the plane. Well done to the volunteers who established this museum.

769robynt

Take a step back in time and visit the "Home of the Catalina" museum at Lake Boga in North Western Victoria. Presented and maintained by the wonderful volunteers of the Lake Boga Lions Club, the museum provides a insight into the defense of Australian shores by flying boats from Australia, USA and Holland during WW II. The informative DVD introduction, displays of a restored Catalina (and other memorabilia) and the underground communication bunker all ensure an appreciation of the important contribution made by the Lake Boga area at a time of peril. Well done, and boohoo to those who don't make the effort to stop and marvel.

Mike_and_Kerryn

Being interested in flying and radio and history, it was great. The museum has been very well done and the volunteers who have put so much effort into it should be congratulated.

barb2589

Congratulations to the Lions Club of Lake Boga for an excellent show of memorabilia and the Catalina on display. This museum is different, has a short video of 20 minutes to show the history of the Catalinas at Lake Boga. Clean and tidy, a wheel chair available if you need it. 10 adults and $8 concession also have family prices. They have a bunker to visit and all is well setup. We really enjoyed ourselves.

GeorgeH537

What an outstanding museum.The restoration work is excellent.It is great to so such an important part of Australian history preserved. I had no idea what an important part Lake Boga played in WW II.The Catalina looks like it is ready to taxi out and take off from the lake.Congratulations on a fantastic display

ianm658

A most interesting museum to visit. it is clean well kept and a mine of information about the wartime flying boat base the introductory video was well done and provided a good basis for the rest of the exhibit good value and well worth a visit

TheSpeaker

We stumbled upon this place whilst driving north and we are glad that we stopped to take a look. Worth every cent of the entrance fee and what a wonderful job they've doen with the exhibits. A fantastic success story from the last war and well told if you read all of the information boards. The underground bunker is a realisation into what these people did to make it all work. Excellent two hours and we ran late because of stopping here, but we would not have missed it for the world!

Ibu_13

Lake Boga was the "secret inland " repair base for the Flying boats during WW2. The Catalina museum , a huge "hanger', houses a real Catalina and hundreds of historical items from that time. The huge concrete launching ramps are still there and the concrete anchors are in the car park. Amazing place to visit. Just 15 mins south from Swan Hill and well worth a visit!

Eve086

We really enjoyed our two hours at this not so well known museum. As others have said you need to start with the video running in the theatre there. The Catalina is magnificent and much larger than we realised. Plenty to read and the bunker to check out. Make sure you look down the nose section where you can press a button to light up the interior. We did not know just how much these beautiful machines where used during WW II and that this was a repair Base. Very interesting and definitely worth a stop. Hard to believe that Lake Boga was actually dry for a few years around 2008 or there about.