RAEME enjoys a reputation for service and technical competence, a reputation hard won and highly valued. It has resulted from several generations of professional officers, warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and craftsmen committing themselves to creating an edge for the combat arms and services they serve through the delivery of outstanding maintenance engineering and recovery support.
Increasingly, soldiers of the future will depend on this ‘technological’ edge to enhance their equipment on the modern, complex and fluid battlefield. In turn, they will turn to RAEME personnel to provide leadership, technical management competencies and innovative maintenance methods to enhance the technical integrity of their equipment through increased reliability, availability and maintainability.
Thus the ‘Corps’ future on the modern battlefield is assured. Most importantly, the ‘Corps’ reputation, as an active member of an integrated combat-team, contributing to the defence of our Nation, will only grow richer: its spirit is in the hands of the people who comprise our ‘Corps’ past, present and future members. More on the Corps can be found at this link.
Arte-et-Marte
Joining the Association is easy and costs only $10 per year or $100 for life membership. Your contributions and input allows us to fulfil the goals of the association. Details on the benefits are located on the Membership page.
Functions
One of the core goals of the association is to promote the identity of the Corps in Queensland. A key strategy is to organise events throughout the year. We encourage every member of the Association to attend. A list of events is located under Notices.
Meetings
These are held at the Kedron Wavell Services Club on the first Wednesday of the month commencing at 1730 hrs. The meetings are used to keep those with an interest in all things "RAEME" up-to-date. Every member or guest of the Association is encouraged to attend.
The Royal Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Corps Association Queensland Inc ('RAEME Association QLD’ or ‘RAQ’), is established in accordance with the terms of the Constitution located on the Administration page.
Strategic Plan
The RAEME Association Queensland Incorporated is a not-for-profit, volunteer, community service organisation, supporting the RAEME National Network by providing leadership to, and a focal point for, all RAEME affiliated Associations in Queensland, by promoting and recognising the corps and its achievements via independent memorial, celebratory, social, fundraising, sporting and other activities. View the latest Strategic Plan.
Website Use & Privacy
Feedback
If you have any feedback, please contact the relevant committee member on the Contact Us page.
RAEME Association Queensland Inc
Bank Details
Details to deposit funds into our account are:
The formation of the AEME Association – 1944
On Monday, 6 November 1944, The Argus reported a significant moment in the story of the Corps of Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (AEME). Amid the pressures of a global war and the rapid expansion of Australia’s technical military capability, serving members and recently discharged civilians gathered at the Punt Road Drill Hall to lay the foundations of what would become a permanent association for the Corps.
The meeting, described as “well attended”, brought together soldiers and former tradesmen whose shared experience in maintaining the Army’s increasingly complex equipment had forged strong professional and personal bonds. Their purpose was clear: to create an organisation that would endure beyond the war, preserving the fellowship and mutual support that had become a hallmark of AEME service.
When the Corps was first raised, it comprised only a handful of men and even fewer officers. By 1944, its strength had surged to more than 20,000 personnel. This growth reflected both the technical demands of modern warfare and the diversity of skills required. Within AEME served some of the nation’s finest engineers and scientists, alongside highly skilled artisans from across Australian industry—coppersmiths, watchmakers, wheelwrights, textile refitters, and other specialised technicians. Their collective expertise ensured that the Army’s machinery and equipment remained operational in the harshest conditions of war.
Unique within the Army, AEME’s lowest enlisted rank was that of Craftsman, the equivalent of a private in the infantry or a gunner in the artillery. This distinctive title reflected the Corps’ identity as a body of tradespeople and technical specialists.
The proposed association set out several enduring objectives:
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- to maintain fellowship between serving and discharged AEME personnel;
- to offer financial assistance to members experiencing hardship;
- to co-operate with similar organisations;
- to promote public awareness of the Corps’ work; and
- to take an active interest in the development and future of Australia’s military forces.
At the inaugural meeting, Lieutenant-Colonel A.C. Leith—a prominent Melbourne civil engineer and architect—was elected Chairman of the Victorian Committee. It was agreed that the election of a Federal President and Council would follow once committees had been established in all states.
This moment marked not only the formal beginnings of what would evolve into the RAEME Associations across Australia, but also a recognition of the essential role played by the Corps’ technical trades in the nation’s wartime capability. The spirit of camaraderie forged in 1944 continues to shape the RAEME community more than eight decades later.
