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Museums / HARS Aviation Museum Parkes
Australia / New South Wales / Parkes

HARS Aviation Museum Parkes

HARS operates a second public aviation museum at Parkes Airport in a former Royal Australian Air Force Bellman hangar. The station’s wartime navigation and aircrew schools provide context for its growing selection of aircraft and locally restored hardware. The aviation component emphasizes the flying history of inland New South Wales, including wartime RAAF training and retired military and regional transport aircraft. The Parkes venue has a different opening schedule from Shellharbour and should be treated as a separate museum location. A May 2026 local report identifies a Fokker 100 arrival, AP-3C, DC-3 and Caribou, but individual aircraft access should be checked. The aircraft records are selected documented collection entries rather than a complete inventory. An aircraft may be temporarily away from the museum, held in storage, undergoing restoration, or represented by a replica or partial airframe. An unknown display status does not mean the aircraft can be seen during a visit. Confirm opening arrangements and specific aircraft access with the institution before traveling.

Flying Restoration Museum4 documented aircraft/exhibitsLimited Public Access
Museum-specific photograph associated with HARS Aviation Museum Parkes
One of two ex-RAAF Douglas C-47 Dakotas owned and operated by the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) at its home base of Illawarra Regional Airport in Albion Park Rail, New South Wales, Australia. Image of VH-EAF taken by YSYguy on 20 June 2014 and uploaded for use in the List of surviviYSSYguy · YSSYguy, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Museum story

The museum

HARS operates a second public aviation museum at Parkes Airport in a former Royal Australian Air Force Bellman hangar. The station’s wartime navigation and aircrew schools provide context for its growing selection of aircraft and locally restored hardware.

HARS operates a second public aviation museum at Parkes Airport in a former Royal Australian Air Force Bellman hangar. The station’s wartime navigation and aircrew schools provide context for its growing selection of aircraft and locally restored hardware.

The aviation component emphasizes the flying history of inland New South Wales, including wartime RAAF training and retired military and regional transport aircraft. The Parkes venue has a different opening schedule from Shellharbour and should be treated as a separate museum location. A May 2026 local report identifies a Fokker 100 arrival, AP-3C, DC-3 and Caribou, but individual aircraft access should be checked.

The aircraft records are selected documented collection entries rather than a complete inventory. An aircraft may be temporarily away from the museum, held in storage, undergoing restoration, or represented by a replica or partial airframe. An unknown display status does not mean the aircraft can be seen during a visit. Confirm opening arrangements and specific aircraft access with the institution before traveling.

Collection character

What defines the collection

the flying history of inland New South Wales, including wartime RAAF training and retired military and regional transport aircraft

Collection focus: Civil aviation · Cold War · Indoor galleries · Military aviation · Restoration · Second World War
Civil aviationCold WarIndoor galleriesMilitary aviationRestorationSecond World War
Visitor experience

What to expect

The Parkes venue has a different opening schedule from Shellharbour and should be treated as a separate museum location. A May 2026 local report identifies a Fokker 100 arrival, AP-3C, DC-3 and Caribou, but individual aircraft access should be checked.

Collection guide

What the museum holds

4 documented aircraft and exhibit records

The inventory below separates what the museum or its sources say the institution holds from the smaller set of aircraft histories already connected to the Air Archive.

4Documented records
0Recorded on display
0Air Archive links
2Research sources
Collection highlights4 cataloged entries
  • De Havilland DHC-4 Caribou transportUnknown
  • Douglas DC-3 transport aircraftUnknown
  • Fokker 100 regional jet airlinerUnknown
  • Lockheed AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraftUnknown
Open full museum-listed inventory (4 entries)
AircraftStatusIdentity
De Havilland DHC-4 Caribou transportUnknown—
Douglas DC-3 transport aircraftUnknown—
Fokker 100 regional jet airlinerUnknown—
Lockheed AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraftUnknown—
Museum collection records are source-backed; catalog inclusion does not by itself guarantee that an airframe is currently visible to visitors.
Research trail

Sources

Open 2 sources