The Sidney Morning Herald is reporting that a WWII era Matilda infantry tank has been restored to working order.  This particular vehicle was restored by a group of volunteers of the New South Wales Lancers Memorial Museum.  Restoration of the tank began in 1997 when the vehicle was found in the Moss Vale area in poor condition.  During the war this tank was named “Ace” by it’s crew and was the first Australian tank onshore in the battle for Balikpapan, Borneo in July of 1945.  It is reasonable to assume that this represented one of the last times a Matilda tank was used in battle.  The article notes that it’s taken more than 150,000 hours, at least $90,000 in donations and six committed volunteers to restore the tank.  The vehicle is part of the collection at the Lancers Museum, which also includes a Centurion tank, a Bren Carrier, a Covenantor Bridge Carrier and several wheeled vehicles.  To see pictures of the Lancer Museum vehicles, click here.  For the Sidney Morning Herald article, click here.