When the shingled roof of the kitchen at Bathurst hospital caught fire in 1878 and destroyed the whole building, the town lamented the fact that it ‘did not posses an efficient trained band ready for duty by day and night.’ At a time when buildings were heated by coal and lit by gas and candles, […]
When this telephone was installed at the Bathurst Post Office in 1895, the only place to make it ring was the Bathurst railway station. A single telephone line operated between the two establishments to advise the post office of any mail trains that were running late, until a switchboard of twenty-five lines was installed the […]
In the 1890s, a Chinese prisoner in Bathurst Gaol was entrusted with a carving tool and used it to create something of beauty. Applying either traditional ivory-carving skills or training received during incarceration, he created twelve delicate trinkets made of bone. Seemingly taking inspiration from Western symbols rather than Chinese motifs, some examples depict a […]
Between the covers of this album are nineteen drawings completed between March and September 1917on HMHS Takada and at the Victoria War Hospital (VWH), Bombay (Mumbai) during the First World War (WWI). The Victoria War Hospital was established in the Taj Mahal Hotel and staffed by Australian nurses including Violet Hazel Lowrey (1889–1964) of Stroud. […]
On 6 February 1952, King George VI’s (1895-1952) died after a prolonged illness and, within a day, the news broke in Australia through newspaper stands and cinemas. In the dim light of the silver screen, filmgoers would learn about the passing of the throne through newsreels, like those compiled here, and then spread the news […]
Small metal numbers were once used to signify the badge numbers of police officers. Using the small holes or loops, the numbers were hand-sewn to the high, stiff, and uncomfortable collar of an officer’s tunic. These particular numbers —two fours and a six—were found in the desk of Albert Edward Wallbank (1887-1953), an officer at […]
Nancy Irene Wallbank (1910-1981) of Dudley, New South Wales, was in her early 30s when she became a registered National Emergency Service (NES) Warden. During WWII, as airstrikes began to feel like an imminent threat throughout Australia, the NES formed to prepare communities for possible air attacks on Australian soil and train volunteers to assist […]
This certificate, issued to Albert Arthur Robert Wallbank (1909–1975) gave him the right to mine under the 1906 NSW Mining Act. Albert lived in Dudley in the heart of the coal mining district of the Hunter Valley of NSW but it is unlikely that he was intending to mine for coal. Gold was his target. […]
Although this object may look like a giant’s bangle it is in fact an integral part of the mostly forgotten game of clay–end quoits which dates back to the 14th century and was most closely associated with mining regions. The game involved the throwing of metal rings, the quoits, up and down a pitch with […]
When we think of doomsday prepping, our imagination is likely to conjure images of eccentric characters in American documentaries, or, more recently, the stockpiling of food and supplies undertaken by many around the globe while we were cast into the initial throes of the COVID-19 pandemic. But here, in the Householders’ Handbook for Nuclear Warfare, […]
Museums & Galleries of NSW acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the lands that comprise the state now known as NSW.
We pay respect to them as First Nations people with a continuing connection to land, place, waters and community
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that this site contains stories, images, voices, and video of people who have died.
Some material may contain terms that reflect common usage of the period in which it was written or recorded but may not be considered appropriate today. Such terms do not reflect the views of Museums and Galleries of NSW and are provided only to reflect historical context.