STORY OF: John Meyers, Maryborough’s Man of History

His journey from an Army Reserve officer to the director of one of Australia’s best military history museums all started on a small dairy farm in Tiaro

A LOVE of the country.

A tragic loss in the family. A fascination with military history.

All three remain major contributors to John Meyers' reputation as Maryborough's "Man of History".

But his journey from an Army Reserve officer to the director of one of Australia's best military history museums all started on a small dairy farm in Tiaro.

Born in 1941, the director of the Maryborough Military and Colonial Museum would be up at the crack of dawn almost every day as a child, helping his parents milk the cows and keep the farm in order.

He'd then hop on his pushbike and ride a mile down the dusty country track to start his day at school.

He describes it as a typical lifestyle for someone growing up in south-east Queensland during post-World War II period, when everyone's way of life was "very relaxed and casual".

"On my way home from school, about halfway, there was an older lady that used to live around the area and I used to call in there every day and she'd give me afternoon tea," Mr Meyers said.

"That's the sort of casual life you lived in those days."

Growing up in the years after World War II ended, a young Mr Meyers always took note of the attitude held by his seniors.

"I was too young to remember it (the war) and I was actually born four days before the Pearl Harbour attack in December 1941," he said.

"Tiaro, like a lot of country towns in Queensland, was very involved in the war.

"Going back, there was a great fear right throughout Australia that the Japanese were going to invade, so it was an apprehensive time for the people living during that period.

"There would hardly be a family around that didn't have someone in the Army or Navy or Air Force."

Joining the Australian Army Reserve in 1968 in Toowoomba while working with the Main Roads Department, he spent several years climbing the ranks to Warrant Officer and teaching new cadets the storied history of Australia's military. "Because you're teaching cadets, most of them know nothing of military history when they join up," he said.

"So you're talking about different campaigns, backgrounds of the Australian Army or Defence Forces.

"So for you to be able to teach them, you had to improve your own knowledge.

"I started reading lots of books about military history and I was always drawn to the Gallipoli campaign.

"It was the first one where, as a country, we were fighting together for a common cause."

Aside from his  love of military history, Mr Meyers married the love of his life, Else, in 1963.

It was in the 1980s when Mr Meyers' life would change forever. In 1982 his beloved children, Geoff and Karen, were killed in a car accident on the Bruce Highway - a tragedy that has never left the couple.

A few years later, with his school friend Garry Dale, Mr Meyers established the Dale and Meyers Sawmill, selling his share and stepping down from the business in 2003.

This allowed time for John and Else to honour the lives of their two late children by opening the Maryborough Military and Colonial Museum in 2005.

It has grown to be one of the largest collections of military memorabilia from all theatres of war and service people in the country.

"As a result of reading and researching, quite regularly we get people walking through the door wanting to know what their grandfather did in World War I," he said. "Most times we can help them, because it's surprising how some people have no understanding apart from their family serving at a certain time.

"You do the research and it turns out he was in a certain unit, then you realise there's a book in your library about that certain unit where, if you're lucky, that person might have a certain mention." That satisfaction of knowing he can help someone piece together their family history is something Mr Meyers cherishes.

"One of the most significant things of this museum is that we don't promote what happened in the wars, we're more interested in the individuals who served in the war," he said.

"People's understanding of history has improved, and what's brought it about is with the centenary of World War I.

"You can get onto the computer and the knowledge that is out there, compared to 30 years ago, it's incredible.

"I remember when I started researching soldiers in the 1980s, you had to go to the War Memorial, sit at a table and wait for the files to come out.