Welcome to the website of

The Clyde River and Batemans Bay Historical Society

Eurobodalla River of Art is a 10 day festival of live music, theatre, film, visual arts, literature, creative workshops and cultural experiences held along the picturesque NSW far south coast. This area, known as the Eurobodalla Shire, extends between Durras Lake in the north and Wallaga Lake in the south. The Eurobodalla River of Art celebrates the abundance of creative practitioners living in and complementing the beautiful environment of the Eurobodalla.

The Australian Red Cross helps tens of millions of people around the world each year and cares for local communities in Australia and Asia Pacific. In August 2014, the Australian Red Cross will celebrate its centenary and, as part of its celebrations, will be creating a centenary story collection website. This will allow the many thousands of people who have helped and been helped by the Red Cross to upload photographs, text, audio and video recollections directly to the site. These stories will form the heart of the centenary website, when it is launched in 2014. The following link will direct you to the Centenary page of the Australian Red Cross website.

For all your hardware, building and gardening needs! Local Branch: 32-34 Princes Highway, Batemans Bay. Tel: 02 4412 3500

Local Branch - Orient Street, Batemans Bay

3/56 Cranbrook Road, Batemans Bay Tel: 02 4472 4304

New South Wales government website for museums and galleries

The NLA\'s online search and retrieval system - TROVE

This website provides links to family history and historical societies throughout Australia

The Museum is located in a former hotel, built in 1858. It has a large collection of war memorabilia from both World Wars, plus displays depicting early settlement of the Bega valley and surrounding areas.

Located in the Information Centre, Bermagui Museum charts the life, work and families of the local district, through an extensive digitised photographic collection. The emphasis is on fishing, gold mining and the timber industry. The Museum also provides walking and driving tours of the local area.

The Museum's collection comprises many thousands of items, with the most significant being from local shore-based whaling, coastal shipping and local timber and fishing industries, including indigenous history, reflected in the themes of the exhibitions. The main attraction is the skeleton of the killer whale 'Tom'.

The Moruya and District Historical Society was founded in 1970. The Museum is located on the site of a heritage-listed two-story brick home, built by pioneers in 1875. It is noted for its extensive local genealogy section.

The Old School Museum Merimbula is located in a restored heritage-listed stone building, dating from 1873. A key focus is Merimbula as a port and the history of the steamship that travelled down the coast from Sydney.

The Queanbeyan Historical Museum is located in the historic Police Sergeant's Residence, 10 Farrer Place, Queanbeyan, constructed in 1876.

The Museum features a display of fish fossils found near Canowindra in 1956 and 1993. Dating from the Devonian Period, about 360 million years ago. this is supplemented by aquarium displays, a gift shop and outdoor picnic area.

The Armidale Aboriginal Cultural Centre and Keeping Place (ACCKP) has four collections, including the Artefact, Painting and Photographic Collections, and the Green Valley Collection. The Centre also hosts frequent art exhibitions and conferences.

This was once a coaching inn, first licensed in 1841 as the Australian Arms. It is now run by the Nepean District Historical Society as a Museum. Some of the artefacts on display date back to the 1790s.

The focus here is naval history, in particular the navy at Ballina, plus life and work at sea. Of particular interest is the 'La Balsa Raft', one of three that travelled from Ecuador to Australia in 1973.

The Museum is focussed on the history of the towns and villages of the Southern Highlands. Of particular interest is the story of the WW1 Internment Camp for German Mariners. Also featured is the Fitz Roy Ironworks in Mittagong.

The Museum buildings include the Post Office Hotel, where Sir Henry Parkes stayed in 1893. The Museum contains collections of gems and minerals, a large photographic display and local farming history records, plus many other items. Of particular interest is the old Boonda one teacher school, opened in 1915.

Situated next to the Eastern Breakwater of Port Kembla Outer Harbour, the Breakwater Battery building and gun emplacements are key structures of the command centre for Fortress Kembla, used during the Second World War.

Camden Museum was established in 1970 and is run by the local Historical Society. The collections focus on local Aboriginal history, the Macarthur family, agriculture , the Nepean River and photography.

Built in 1884, this is Sydney's only 1880s house Museum. Carisbrook House has been furnished as a Victorian property, containing a large collection of antiques. The grounds have been landscaped and are also open to the public.

Casino Folk Museum contains a range of exhibits which depict early settlement of the town and district. Of particular interest is the cricket bat used by Don Bradman, during a social game played at Casino in 1929.

This award-winning Centre contains three permanent exhibitions and a changing exhibition gallery. The Allan Wise Gallery focuses on the history of local families, while other displays depict Aboriginal history and European military service during the two World Wars.

Dobell House was the home and studio of the late artist, Sir William Dobell. The house contains many images of his art from the period 1920 - 1970.

The Museum is run by a committee under Glen Innes Severn Council. It possesses more than 4000 mineral specimens and a large gem display. There is also a photographic exhibition, containing images of mine workings and machinery, dating from the 1880s.

The Gerringong & District Museum is closed temporarily, as from November 2017, for approximately 36 months. The adjacent School of Arts building is to be restored and will then be the new home of the Museum. The existing Museum building is to be demolished and replaced with a Library complex.(See page on Gerringong Library). The complete plans for the new complex can be viewed by application to GDHS.

Glenalvon Museum is based in an 1830s Georgian townhouse complex, consisting of the townhouse, original cottage, coach house, stables and a smokehouse. Operated by the Campbelltown and Airds Historical Society, the Museum features changing displays from its own collection of significant local artefacts.

Opened in 2004 and maintained by Hurstville City Council, this is the only regional Museum and Gallery in the St. George district. The key focus of the Museum is the domestic and working lives of the St. George community in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The Museum is located in the 1882 Post and Telegraph Office in Wollongong. The displays focus on life in the Illawarra district during the late 19th century, prior to the arrival of heavy industry.

Kandos Museum was originally the Kandos Methodist Church, built in 1919.

The building started out as a hospital in 1877, as a six bed men's ward. Today, the Museum features Victorian themed displays of domestic life, education and health services. There is also a focus on farming, mining and communication.

Operated by Manly Council, the Museum emphasises the importance of beach culture to Manly's historical development. On display are collections of swimwear, surf craft and beach memorabilia. Also included are maps, , documents and historical photographs of the Manly area.

The famous children's story Snugglepot and Cuddlepie was penned by the former owner of this house, May Gibbs. After her death in 1969, the house was furnished to reflect a 1920s/1930s style and includes some of May Gibbs effects.

Situated in the old Courthouse building, featured exhibitions include early explorers to the Morpeth region, the cedar cutting industry, growth of the town and development of its river port and industries.

The Museum exhibits artefacts, documents and photographs depicting the history of aviation, as it developed at one of Australia's most significant aerodromes. Flying started here around 1919 and, during the WW2, it ran a large RAAF Flying School.

Opened on a new site in 2011, Newcastle Museum comprises three sections - one explores the natural environment; a second examines early Aboriginal culture; and a third delves into the history of Newcastle and its beliefs.

The Museum displays a large collection of silk fabrics and garments, plus farming machinery. The Italian Pavilion recounts 200 years of Italian immigration and its impact on the development of Australia.

The Gaol dates from 1847 and is managed by Dubbo City Council. It contains NSW's largest collection of Hangman's ropes and the only complete Hangman's Kit. Other artefacts on display include a whipping stool, cat-o'-nine tails and a straitjacket.

Operated by the Wellington Historical Society, Oxley Museum focuses on the European settlement of the local area, but also features a Chinese-themed room. Outdoors, there are a couple of machinery sheds and some horse-drawn vehicles.

The Rylstone district was explored soon after the settlement of Bathurst in 1818. The premises of the Historical Society include the 1871 Bridge View Inn and the Cottage Museum , The Museum exhibits comprise domestic and rural themes, alongside military history, musical instruments and photographs.

Opened in 2011, the Snowy Scheme Museum Adaminaby pays tribute to the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme and tells its stories. The Scheme allowed development of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and generated clean renewable electricity for the Eastern States of Australia.

The Museum examines the history of the Shire, from Aboriginal times to European settlement . Noted exhibits include a section of ballast from Captain Cook's ship Endeavor, plus a photographic history of the neighbouring Royal National Park.

The Sydney Tramway Museum (STM) restores and operates heritage rolling stock, as a tourist attraction for people visiting the Loftus Museum, near Sutherland. The trams are all staffed by volunteers.

The Museum is a working re-creation of Tamworth Council's 1888 steam power station on its original Peel Street site. It is a permanent reminder that Tamworth was the first Australian municipality to use electricity to light its streets.

The Temora Aviation Museum inspires the community to acknowledge the role played by Australia’s historic ex-military aircraft, and encourages visitors to learn and be inspired through its collection of aircraft to remember the efforts of the men and women who flew and supported them during times of conflict.

The Museum contains a large collection of artefacts, in areas such as geography, alpine pioneers, skis and alpine equuipment and skiing personalities.

The Museum examines the history of the Shellharbour district via its local Aboriginal and European cultures. Of particular interest is the 1900s Victoria Automatic Sock Knitting Machine, used to knit socks for WW1 soldiers, plus a hand-made cot quilt sewn by pioneer Sarah Thomas in the 1830s.

Located within a locomotive roundhouse on the lower Blue Mountains, the Museum depicts the rolling stock of the area. On display are various railway exhibitions, live restoration work and interactive exhibits.

Willoughby City was the first local government area on the North Shore of Sydney (from 1865). Featured items include Regal Mashman artware pottery, various antique tradesmen tools and local industrial products such as a Hasllstom 'Silent Knight' refridgerator.

The Museum building operated as a store for most of its life from the 1870s. Now National Trust listed, exhibits include photographs, furniture and household goods used by early settlers to the Manning Valley.

The Museum is custodian of the unique indexed Burragorang Valley Scrolls, which record the history of the valley and Yerranderie. Other featured exhibits are an interactive display of local coal mining and the significant impact made by Estonian migrants to the poultry industry.

The Museum exhibits include photographs and artefacts, some pre-dating white settlement of Yamba, and its strong maritime history.

The Museum focuses on local military involvement, plus religious, social, domestic and rural life. Of note is a comparison of local streetscapes between 1895 and 1995, using scale models.

Batemans Bay local Theatre Group

The Original Gold Rush Colony, previously known as Old Mogo Town, is an authentically re-created 1850s Gold Rush era village, set on the banks of three small lakes and surrounded by State Forest. Visitors are invited to have a hands-on experience of how our Aussie pioneers lived and worked.

The NSW network of the University of the Third Age

Managed by Eurobodalla Shire Council, this site promotes our museum and has links back to the Old Courthouse Museum website.

Eurobodalla visitors website

This site gives visitors to the Batemans Bay area and surrounding countryside, options for selecting quality tourist accommodation at discounted prices.

Destination NSW is the lead government agency for the NSW tourism and major events sector.

The South Coast Travel Guide provides information on accommodation, eateries and local attractions from South Durras in the north to the Tilbas in the south.