Yilgarn History Museum

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A meeting place between the Goldfields and the Wheatbelt

A visit to the Yilgarn Museum is a journey through the history of Southern Cross, which is sometimes referred to as the gateway to the Goldfields region. The museum building is the original courthouse and Mining Registrar’s Office. In fact the main Goldfields claims which sparked the goldrush were lodged at this Mining Registrar’s Office. In a museum in the Goldfields, you would expect a rock and mineral collection, and this one certainly delivers. There is a gold mining pavilion and an agricultural pavilion which houses a rare camel wagon used during the gold rush in the 1890s. The Museum also includes some very quirky items like the Icyball refrigerator and a rare birth caul. There is also an extensive collection of old Shire documents.

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Address:

26 Antares Street
Southern Cross WA 6426
Australia

Tel:

0437 530 848 or
0412 053 830

Email:

rosesj@westnet.com.au
Stevensrobin13@yahoo.com

Opening Hours

Mon 9.30 - 11.30am & 1.30 - 3.30pm; By appointment Tuesday; Wed to Thurs 9.30 - 11.30am; Fri 12 - 4pm; By appointment Saturday 10.30am-3.30pm Sunday

Sugar scuttle and trophy

A sweet trophy

Silverware like this scuttle and shovel from 1905 was placed on the table to hold and serve sugar. They are called scuttles after the shape of coal buckets or scuttles. Coal buckets were common in...

The “Civic” pipe

Showcase

Mr Ken Beaton donated this tobacco pipe display to the Museum in 1978. It is thought to have come from Harry Traver’s Tobacconist and Billiard Saloon, which operated in Southern Cross, as a one-stop...

Armchair

Gelignite chair

A great example of making-do, these armchairs were made from old gelignite boxes by David Woodberry for his wife in 1950. They were used in their main bedroom in Mt Magnet and relocated to Southern...

Shackleton Progress Association

A Wheatbelt town named after an Antartic explorer.

The Shackleton Hall houses a collection which tells the history of settlement in the area. It also includes information related to Kwolyin, a ghost town, located approximately 9km to the west of...

York Society Research and Archival Centre

Researching the history of York

The York Society Research and Archival Centre is a small but impactful historical group. The collection contains newspapers, maps, rate books and shire records, amongst other archival material. There...

Meekatharra Museum

Meeka Museum!

This intimate collection offers a stop-off to enjoy a slice of history in Meekatharra. The collection includes a local archive, well-resourced for family history research, and photographs and...

Esperance Mechanical Restoration Group

Sheds full of vehicles, tractors, machines and a library compactus of manuals

The Esperance Mechanical Restoration Group’s name speaks for itself. The members restore and collect everything from machines to matchboxes. The site takes in several sheds full of cars, trucks and...