A FASCINATING step back into Australia’s military history is offered at the Beck Museum.

Housed in a gigantic hangar near Mareeba, this massive collection includes jet fighters, a submarine hunter, jet bombers, tanks, engines, artillery pieces and trucks.

Among the significant items are pieces showing the area’s strong links with the desperate days of World War II, when the Atherton Tablelands was the home of huge military forces battling in New Guinea and across the Pacific.

Other exhibits range from a 1904 cannon built for the Tzar of Russia to an American P-39 fighter with three Japanese victories to its credit, from a Centurion tank from the Vietnam war to models and memorabilia displayed in several cabinets.

The museum is located about 5km from Mareeba along the Kennedy Highway towards Atherton and is open daily from 10.00am to 4.00pm.