After the cessation of hostilities, a State Trophy Committee was set up to allocate captured guns (war trophies), to Australian towns. On 4 July 1921, Colyton submitted an application to the Committee. The three trustees nominated for Colyton were John Aston, Arthur Napier Goleby (9th Battalion) and William George Martin (4th Battalion). The application was followed by a letter from John Aston to the Secretary of the NSW State Trophy Committee asking for a deferment as there was no suitable place to house the gun. Aston stated that he had written to the Minister for Education asking for approval to house the gun in the school.
On 4 August 1921, the Committee replied stating that they would waive the requirement for the gun to be housed publicly, and gave permission for the gun to be housed in a private dwelling until a public building became available.
The trustees signed an agreement on 24 August 1921. Two machine guns were allocated to Colyton:
No 3211 Heavy Machine Gun (without mount) captured by the 4th Battalion
No 6911 Light Machine Gun (with bipod) captured by the 45th Battalion.
The fate of these guns is unknown.
Sources:
Billett, R S (1999). War Trophies From the First World War: 1914-1918. Kangaroo: East Roseville, NSW.
AWM194 Allotment of 1914-1918 War Trophies