Hawkesbury Regional Museum is one of the best kept secrets of Western Sydney and the Hawkesbury region . Recently it celebrated its 13th anniversary since its launch by then governor Marie Bashir on International Museum ’ s Day , May 18 2008 . Since that auspicious opening event , the Museum staff and volunteers have researched and catalogued over 10,000 objects for the collection , which are either on display in the Museum ’ s permanent exhibitions , or stored in climate controlled specialist shelving . Fortunately , modern technology now gives people access to information and pictures of the items held via a digital database .

As Museum Director , Kath von Witt notes : The behind the scenes work at the Museum is vitally important to caring for these cultural collections of public property . To

really understand our history and our region , objects provide an enormous amount of detail about our past , and how our present has come to be .

Currently , the Museum has two new exhibitions on show . Paradise Lost is an exploration of the theme park , Paradise Gardens which had its heyday in the 70s and 80s . Located at Cattai , where the golf course , Riverside Oaks is now , there were life-size dinosaur models roaming the landscape , train and boat rides , picnic grounds , a Birdman Rally and Enchanted Forest and lots of fun attractions for the whole family .

Uncovered ! Showcases the archeological discoveries made during the building of the new Windsor Bridge . The artefacts are of great significance because they cover not only the Maritime history of the area , but also Aboriginal and historical artefacts as well . They show evidence of first contact between the Dharug and the British people . The Museum is now the repository for all of the

archeological finds excavated from the site and will be available for historical research .

The permanent exhibitions in the Museum cover the themes of the Land , River and People of the Hawkesbury Region . Objects on display show tools from the boat building industry and mushroom farming , to convict ball and chains , sporting goods , silk maps , instruments and uniforms from the RAAF , children ’ s toys and clothes , fashion items ; a plumb square that was used in the building of Ebenezer Church ; a piece of oak tree planted by Governor Bligh ’ s daughter at their property , Blighton , and many others . Not forgetting , of course , the Flabbits !

While the new museum building was opened in 2008 , the other building on site is much older , dating from around 1820 . Facing Thompson Square , Howe House was built in the 1820s and has had a rich and important history . From being the place where the polka was first danced , to housing a newspaper called ‘ The Australian ’, it was also the initial Museum run by the Hawkesbury Historical Society for over 40years . The hard work in research and collecting by the society over the years formed the basis of the current Hawkesbury Regional Museum .

If you would be interested in becoming part of the Museum community the museum would love to hear from you . The museum has had a strong volunteer program from the beginning and provides training and support , opportunities to learn new skills , meet new people and learn about the history and people of our fantastic region .

Scan the QR code or follow the link to apply today : www . hawkesbury . nsw . gov . au / museum / media / forms / application-form

HAWKESBURY REGIONAL MUSEUM 8 Baker Street , Windsor ( 02 ) 4560 4655 museum @ hawkesbury . nsw . gov . au hawkesbury . nsw . gov . au / museum

Open 10am – 4pm daily ( Closed Tuesdays )