“As a long time volunteer at Berry Museum, when the three year digitisation project was offered by Shoalhaven City Council I initially decided I didn’t want to be involved as I was nearing 80. But I did. It was an eyeopener, I became involved in a process to help make our Museum not just a place full of old objects but a fascinating living community museum telling engaging stories about people and place and the history that unites and informs them.
I chose my objects from the Museum collection, I cleaned them, I learnt how to photograph them, and the fun part was all the research, the story of the object – its link to local stories, people and their history. It brings the object to life. And in my research I made contact with so many interesting people in the community, be it the butcher’s wife or the retired priest, someone with the same surname but nothing to do with the item but who had another interesting story. I could go on…” (12 December 2025)