Hawkesbury Regional Museum celebrates 15 years – Reminder!
18 May 2023
This week the Hawkesbury has been celebrating National Volunteer Week! If you would like to meet some of wonderful Museum volunteers, come along to the Hawkesbury Regional Museum’s OPEN DAY on Sunday, 21 May – an event made possible by the Council staff and volunteers at the Museum.
Come along from 10am to 4pm to celebrate the Museum’s 15th birthday with a free family fun day with an historical twist! There will be free children’s activities, tours, a BBQ and more!
It is 15 years since the Museum first opened its doors to the public in May 2008. Over these 15 years, a staggering 250,000 people have visited the Museum and enjoyed a wide range of exhibitions featuring some of the 20,000 objects and images in the collection whilst being immersed in the history of the Hawkesbury area.
The Museum's newest venture, Starry Night, will also be launched on Sunday, 21 May.
Starry Night is an online exhibition about the life and achievements of the renowned 19th century astronomer, John Tebbutt. After discovering the Great Comet of 1861 at the age of 26, he quickly achieved international recognition and was widely considered the foremost astronomer in Australia, carrying out an impressive range of astronomical observations and authoring almost 400 publications, all from his observatories located in Windsor, NSW.
This new online exhibition will contain a history of John Tebbutt and his work through objects and images, interviews with family members and experts (find out why he turned down the offer to become the NSW Government Astronomer) and a virtual tour through his observatories.
The launch of this exhibition (with an accompanying display at the Museum) will take place at 11am on Sunday, 21 May in conjunction with the Museum Open Day.
As we have been celebrating our volunteers, here are some interesting details about some of our Hawkesbury Regional Museum volunteers, who say that the top question asked of them is: “is the flabbit real?”
Dannielle Poyzer (pictured left) started at the old museum in 2004, before the new one was built. She has been volunteering for over 35 years in some way or another. I like to give back to my community by doing something I can help with, without expecting anything in return. Her favourite object in the Museum is the flabbit. “It is so fun and imaginative, and a unique part of Hawkesbury's history.”
Jeanette Hill became a volunteer because she wanted to contribute to the community and because she loves history. Jeanette enjoys working with other like-minded people and have made many friendships since volunteering at the Hawkesbury Regional Museum. “My favourite object in the Museum is the child’s mosaic chair from c1882. It is so innovative and unique, and I was privileged to be given the job of cleaning every little surface of the mosaic pieces with a moistened cotton bud – no simple task. Every time I notice it, I think of that day with great satisfaction.”
Jenny Cambourne (pictured right) also became a volunteer because of her interest in the Hawkesbury and local history. She enjoys meeting people from different places and finding out about their interesting backgrounds. Her favourite exhibition is ‘Uncovered: the archaeology of Thompson Square’. “Volunteering has given me a sense of usefulness and the satisfaction of being able to help others.”
Judy Newland (pictured below with Jeanette) has been a member of the Hawkesbury Historical Society since about 1995 and she decided to become a Museum volunteer because she is interested in the history of the Hawkesbury. Judy enjoys being able to help people with their enquiries about their ancestors and pointing out interesting facts in the Museum. “The Flood exhibition was most impressive. It showed the devastation that flooding can bring to the Hawkesbury and the height it reached on different occasions. The marker that shows the flood height in the Museum is always interesting to visitors so that they can gauge the havoc caused by floods.” 
The Hawkesbury Regional Museum is located at 8 Baker Street, Windsor and is open six days a week.
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday and Sunday 10am - 4pm
Closed Tuesdays
www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/museum
4560 4655
Page ID: 234240
