A Bushmaster damaged by a mine in Afghanistan - the wedge-shaped hull forced the explosion outwards and the passengers survived.

The M113 troop carrier- the vehicle the Bushmaster replaced.

Neil Graham graduated from Duntroon in 1965 and saw active service in Vietnam with the Artillery. He rose to become a senior officer responsible for the procurement and maintenance of army weapons and vehicles, 'everything from pistons to battle tanks.' Neil was responsible for over 500 technicians and engineers and a budget running into many millions of dollars. Changes to Australian defence policy led to the need for a new troop carrier that could cope with the tough conditions and long-range distances of the Australian environment. The M113, a well-established tracked vehicle that the army had relied upon for many years, was not suitable for this task and no suitable replacements for it could be found commercially or overseas. Neil, now a Brigadier, was tasked with overseeing the development of a new, Australian-built vehicle and thus the Bushmaster was born. Its specifications included being small arms and blast resistant, capable of carrying an infantry section reasonable comfort, and of being transported by a C30 transport plane. The successful development of the Bushmaster contributed to Neil's award of the Medal of the Order of Australia. Roy Bird also played an important part in this story, in his role with the Defence Science and Technology Organisation, initially testing overseas contenders and later the Bushmaster for their resistance to explosive devices.  The Bushmaster has been a remarkable success story for Australian innovation and engineering, with its adoption by several other countries and it is now seeing action in  the war in Ukraine. Our club is indeed fortunate, and honoured to have Neil and Roy as members

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