A massive Cold-war era Leopard battle tank stopped traffic outside the site of the former Canberra Services Club this morning.
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Trucked up overnight from Bandiana, the 42 tonne vehicle was lowered onto a pre-prepared concrete pad on Commonwealth Avenue by a 200 tonne crane just after 9am.
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It is the last of 71 German-made Leopards formerly operated by the 1st Armoured Regiment to be rolled out to an RSL or Services club.
Australia's Leopards have been replaced by 59 Abrams M1A1 tanks that began arriving in 2006.
While Australia's Leopards never fired a shot in anger, Canada has used them in Afghanistan as recently as 2007.
Work on rebuilding the Canberra Services Club, which was destroyed by fire in April, is due to begin in 2012.