Irwin and Districts Historical Society Overview

Irwin Districts Historical Society and Russ Cottage

Get directions

Old prison protects pioneering history

Wander through the old police house and court rooms which today house the vast Irwin Districts Historical Society collection and you can almost hear the click of chains which once bound prisoners here. So imposing is the building that Dongara continues to hold court here every second month in the hope of deterring would-be offenders. Be sure to peer into the depths of the well out the back, check out the historical artefacts in the old stables and walk the outline of a cell which was once crammed with Indigenous prisoners. These men had been marched to the tiny cell to await transport and horrendous conditions at the Rottnest Island Prison on Wadjemup. While you are in Dongara, you can also visit Russ Cottage Historic House Museum at 1 St Dominics Road, Dongara, and The Packout Room Pop-up Museum at 3 Macintyre Cove, Port Denison.

{"preview_thumbnail":"/sites/default/files/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video_thumbnails/SbzdguzsW-w.jpg?itok=-MiP_ASO","video_url":"https://youtu.be/SbzdguzsW-w","settings":{"responsive":1,"width":"854","height":"480","autoplay":0},"settings_summary":["Embedded Video (Responsive)."]}

{"preview_thumbnail":"/sites/default/files/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video_thumbnails/qsveHPLbfNs.jpg?itok=m8aIC4Un","video_url":"https://youtu.be/qsveHPLbfNs","settings":{"responsive":1,"width":"854","height":"480","autoplay":0},"settings_summary":["Embedded Video (Responsive)."]}

{"preview_thumbnail":"/sites/default/files/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video_thumbnails/NTAsiySIll4.jpg?itok=52S8eMN5","video_url":"https://youtu.be/NTAsiySIll4","settings":{"responsive":1,"width":"854","height":"480","autoplay":0},"settings_summary":["Embedded Video (Responsive)."]}

Visit website

View Collection at Collections WA

Address:

5 Waldeck St
Dongara WA 6525
Australia

Tel:

(08) 9927 1323

Email:

idhs@midwest.com.au

Opening Hours

Mon to Sat 10am to 12pm

Wildflower bag

Wildflower tourism emerges

While locals had long admired the profusion of dazzling wildflowers which erupted around Dongara each spring, it wasn’t until the 1960s that wildflower tourism emerged. The Midland Railway Company...

Ticket of leave

Ticket to life

This scrap of paper is one of just two remaining Western Australian tickets of leave which permitted convicts to travel for work. It belonged to a fellow by the name of Ben ‘Taffy’ Jones, who was...

Dress

Stepping out in style

In May 1927 a Muriel Henning, wife of WA politician Charles Harriott Henning joined the country’s upper echelons for the opening of Parliament House in Canberra, wrapped in the velvety embrace of this...

Chiverton House Museum

Historic house of former mining pioneer

The sweeping verandahs and many rooms of Northampton’s Chiverton House Museum were once the home of mining pioneer Captain Samuel Mitchell, who led work on the Geraldine Lead Mine at nearby Galena in...

Carnarvon Space and Technology Museum

Carnarvon's role in the race to land humans on the moon

Carnarvon may not be the most likely place you’d expect to encounter world-changing space technology but it once played a key role in the global race to land man on the moon. The Carnarvon Space and...

Carnamah Historical Society and Museum Overview

Carnamah Museum and Macpherson Homestead

Take a stroll through Carnamah History

A stroll through the Carnamah Historical Society's museum is like a journey through the region’s past. You’ll find an extensive collection of old machinery and tools in the Museum’s yard and sheds...

Museum of Geraldton

Harbourside museum showcasing rich shipwreck history

From its enviable position sprawled along the waters of the Batavia Coast Marina, the Museum of Geraldton paints a picture of the region’s colourful past - from its rich Indigenous heritage through to...