More info about the event incl tickets
On Sunday 16 August 2026, the Camp Columbia Heritage Association (CCHA) will join the National Trust of Australia (Queensland) at the Home Front Festival at historic Wolston Farmhouse to commemorate Victory in the Pacific (VP) Day.
The festival promises a fascinating day of living history, music, military re-enactments, displays and family activities, while offering visitors the opportunity to discover the remarkable wartime history that unfolded across Brisbane’s south-west.
For the Camp Columbia Heritage Association, the event also celebrates the growing partnership with the National Trust of Australia (Queensland) and the University of Queensland. Together, the three organisations are developing a long-term program of historical research, archaeology, education and public engagement centred on Camp Columbia and the wider wartime landscape of Brisbane.
A forgotten chapter of local history
Many people living in Wacol, Darra, Richlands, Oxley, Corinda, Sherwood and surrounding suburbs are unaware that during the Second World War their neighbourhood formed part of one of Australia’s largest military complexes.
Stretching across much of Brisbane’s south-west, Camp Columbia was not a single camp but an extensive network of headquarters, hospitals, workshops, warehouses, accommodation camps and training facilities. Thousands of Australian, American and Dutch military personnel and civilians lived and worked here, making the area a vital part of the Allied war effort in the South-West Pacific.
Camp Columbia was also unique in Australia as the headquarters of the Netherlands East Indies Government-in-Exile between 1944 and 1946, giving the site an important place in both Australian and Dutch wartime history.
Following the war, parts of this vast military complex became Queensland’s largest migrant reception centre. From 1949 onwards, tens of thousands of migrants from Europe and later Asia began their new Australian lives at Wacol. Many families still living in Brisbane’s south-west today can trace their Australian story back to the former Wacol Migrant Centre, making this history a shared part of the region’s identity.
Discover the story of Camp Columbia
Throughout the day, the Camp Columbia Heritage Association will present a special exhibition telling the story of Camp Columbia through a series of illustrated display banners, historic photographs and original artefacts.
Visitors will learn how Camp Columbia became the headquarters of the United States Sixth Army, housed the Netherlands East Indies Government-in-Exile, and played an essential role in supporting Allied operations throughout the Pacific.
Among the exhibition highlights will be the famous ceremonial sword associated with Camp Columbia. Kindly loaned for the occasion, this remarkable artefact provides a tangible connection with the people who served and worked at the camp and has become one of the best-known objects linked to its history.
Presentations by Paul Budde and Associate Professor Geoff Ginn
Visitors will also have the opportunity to attend two special presentations in the Wolston Farmhouse parlour.
CCHA Chairman Paul Budde will present the fascinating story of Camp Columbia, explaining how this largely forgotten military complex became one of the most significant Allied installations in Australia and why preserving its history remains important today.
Associate Professor Geoff Ginn, from the University of Queensland’s School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, will place Camp Columbia within the broader story of wartime Brisbane. His presentation will explain how Brisbane became Australia’s Allied Capital during the Second World War.
General Douglas MacArthur directed the South West Pacific Area from his headquarters in central Brisbane, while the Australian Army’s Advanced Land Headquarters was established at the University of Queensland’s St Lucia campus under General Sir Thomas Blamey. Together with the United States Sixth Army headquarters at Camp Columbia and the many military installations spread throughout Brisbane’s south-west, these command centres coordinated Allied operations across the South-West Pacific.
Assoc. Prof. Ginn will also outline the exciting partnership between the University of Queensland and the Camp Columbia Heritage Association, that will involve students researching aspects of the history and archaeological potential of the site as part of a long-term project to uncover and preserve the physical remains of the camp.
A day of living history
The Home Front Festival offers something for everyone. Alongside the Camp Columbia exhibition, visitors can experience military and civilian re-enactors, 1940s music and dancing, fashion displays, heritage talks, vintage stalls, children’s activities and demonstrations of wartime life. The event has been designed as an immersive celebration of both the military and civilian home front during the Second World War.
Building a lasting legacy
The VP Day event is much more than a one-day commemoration. It reflects a growing partnership between the Camp Columbia Heritage Association, the National Trust of Australia (Queensland) and the University of Queensland to preserve, research and interpret one of Queensland’s most significant wartime heritage landscapes.
Through historical research, archaeological investigations, exhibitions and educational programs for schools and universities, the partners are working to ensure that the story of Camp Columbia—and Brisbane’s pivotal role as Australia’s Allied Capital—is recognised as an important chapter in Queensland’s history.
We warmly invite local residents, former migrant families, veterans, history enthusiasts and visitors from across South East Queensland to join us on Sunday 16 August and discover the remarkable history that unfolded in their own backyard.
Home Front Festival – VP Day
Date: Sunday 16 August 2026
Time: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Venue: Wolston Farmhouse, Wacol
The Camp Columbia Heritage Association looks forward to welcoming you to this unique opportunity to experience the history of Camp Columbia and discover why Brisbane’s south-west played such an important role in Australia’s wartime story.