Historic Tree Signs in place

The four stainless steel signs providing information about some of the historic trees in the Pioneer Museum grounds have now been installed. Thanks go out to the City of Geraldton-Greenough for funding this project. These signs will help enhance visitor experience to this museum.

Season's Greetings

We, the curator, caretakers and volunteers at the Greenough Pioneer Museum wish you a very happy christmas and all the best for 2010.

The museum will only be closed Christmas Day, otherwise it is business as usual (just remember our new opening hours of 9.30am to 3.30pm). We look forward to having you and your family and friends visit this museum during this festive season.

Scarecrow does Santa - he is holding a traditional Greenough Xmas Tree - the dried out flower stalk of an Aloe plant. These plants have been used locally for over 130 years.

Small Treasures Display

Through funding from the Mid West Development Commission a cabinet has been purchased to hold what we call our "Small Treasures of the Collection" Display. Work is underway preparing the display which will then be placed in the re-developed Cramer Shed. Below are a few objects that will be included in this cabinet.

Camel nose pegs

Sharks Bay Road Board dog tag for 1907

An 'educational' child's game

Shag tobacco c1870

pair Baby's slippers c1874

The Bowes Gates

Located in the south-west corner of the museum are a pair of cast-iron farm gates. Their story is about to be told with a new sign that will be installed nearby.

Back in the later part of 19th Century, two brothers, Edward and Frank Wittenoom, created a pastoral empire of 11 million acres in the Murchison District. They also had an import/export business based in Geraldton. Wool from their stations was carted to their warehouse by wagon (first pulled by horses, and later camels). Before the coming of the railways, the wagons carted the wool overland to Yuin Station, then westward to the Greenough River which was followed to Nundamarra Pool. They then went westward to Bowes Station near Northampton (owned by an uncle of the Wittenooms) and onto Geraldton. At the port the wool was stockpiled until there was sufficient to charter ships to send that wool to England.
Known locally as Bowes Gates, these gates were made by jobbing blacksmiths and brought out from England as ballast in the wool ships. They were then carted by those wool wagons (like the one in the Display Shed at this museum) out to the Murchison properties.
These gates were trucked down from Boolardy Station to this museum in the early 1970s. They were donated by R.F.B. (Bob) Lefroy. Similiar gates were used on Murgoo and Pindatharra Stations and at Woorree homestead (just to the east of Geraldton).

Many thanks to Stan Gratte for prociding this information.

New Opening Hours

We have changed our opening hours. The museum will now be open from 9.30am to 3.30pm. In doing so, we hope to make the museum more accessible for the early travellers.

Scarecrow

As part of the Open Day activities, Joey Martin made a scarecrow for the Pioneer Museum. He was placed in the potato patch to keep guard over the Vegie Garden. The potatoes have now been dug up and pumpkin seed planted in their place.

September Costume Display

For the next 6 weeks, our new Display Case (courtesy of Lotterywest) will be showing this stunning Japanese silk kimono with its silver thread embroidery of a peacock. This kimono was used as a ladies dressing gown in the 1920s, before being donated to the museum in the early 1970s. Unfortunately accession records do not give the donor's name. Due to its very fragile nature, this is the first time the kimono has been placed on display.