Tongarra Museum

The Museum focuses on local history and the community culture of Shellharbour City. Collections include; Aboriginal culture, pioneering industries of dairy farming with ancillary industries of coal mining, tanneries and coach building. The centre point of the museum is a bronze bust of Caroline Chisholm, 'The Emigrants Friend', who settled some 23 families to Shellharbour in 1843.
The 2004 exhibition 'The Built Environment of Shellharbour City', will open 24th April, to coincide with The National Trust 'Heritage Festival'. This exhibition will encompass man made structures such as statues, homes, public and corporate institutions and the stories that lie behind them.

Address: 
Russell Street, Albion Park, NSW
Tel: 
0242566698
Hours: 
Wednesday 10:00am - 4:00pm, Saturday 9:00am - 12:00noon
Admission: 
Free (donations accepted)
Facilities: 
Wheelchair access, guided tour, brochure, research available, reference library, toilets, answering service, volunteers on hand to assist enquiries and research.
Collection: 
2190 items; 12 collections of specimens; 150 photos.

Subject:

Items

Educational

Historic Macquarie Pass

Creator:
The Tongarra Heritage Society Incorporated
Description:
A3 folder of exhibition material on Historic Macquarie Pass, opened 4th of July 1898.
RTA have placed historic road signs, top and bottom of Macquarie Pass. Also a centenary celebration plaque, unveiled by Pam Allen New South Wales Minister for the Environment, has been fixed to a large rock at the entrance sign to Shell Harbour City from Highlands. A ceremony for this occasion was held at the Museum Heritage Week 1998.
Date:
1898-1998

Industrial Machinery

"Joy" coal loading machine, model 14 BU-8

Creator:
Joy manufacturing Co. USA
Description:
Used for loading cut coal onto shuttle cars for transfer to conveyor belts.
Date:
C1935
Item Id Number:
1998/53

This machine was sent to Australia in 1947 under WWII lend lease scheme and used in the Tongarra Coal Mine, Albion Park, until closure of the mine in 1965. A map display of mine workings and employees is on display in the museum as an historic record.

Historic

"Avery" cream scales

Creator:
W.T. Avery Limited, Birmingham
Description:
800Lbs capacity Avery weighing scales.
Date:
C1932

These scales were used for weighing cream in cans that the Illawarra co-operative central dairy which operated from 1899-1985. Albion Park scales are part of the current exhibition on the history of the dairy factory.

Models

Model Cows

Creator:
Thomas Family, Shell Harbour
Description:
Four cows and two calves shaped by members of the Thomas family from wax and covered with cow hair, housed in a handmade wood/glass case, perfect specimens.
Date:
C1924

Part of the WM Thomas collection exhibited in the Thomas Memorial library, Old School of Arts, Mary Street, Shell Harbour in memory of John Thomas an early settler.

Old Map of Shell Harbour

Creator:
Not Known
Description:
This map is the original lay out of the town and surrounding farms known as Peterborough - the grant of D'arcy Wentworth 1824.

Names of early pioneers are pencilled on farming properties, these names are suspected to belong to families who took up clearing leases assisted by Caroline Chisholm.