Dowerin District Museum

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A charming museum in an old house built by a saddler.

This charming museum is built upon the legacy of one family: the O’Shaughnessy’s. It is housed in the original home built in 1915, for Eugene O’Shaughnessy the local boot maker and saddler. The collection provides an insight into Dowerin and the Wheatbelt, from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Learn about the history of locals like Ethel Cook and the Dowerin Drapery, or the Couper family and their portal organ. The building continues to have no indoor plumbing, not even in the kitchen. The original shopfront for E. O’Shaughnessy, Saddler and Harness Maker was relocated to the Museum site and the attached building holds the original leather-working machinery.

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View Collection at Collections WA

Address:

16 Cottrell Street
Dowerin WA 6461
Australia

Tel:

(08) 9631 1202

Email:

dowshire@dowerin.wa.gov.au

Opening Hours

Mon - Fri

Portable organ

Night-time singalong

This organ was transported from Victoria by members of the Couper Family. Steve Couper and his brother Bob settled in Dowerin in 1897 and encouraged his parents and sisters to relocate to Dowerin. The...

Butcher’s sign

Bung fritz

Not many Western Australians would recognise the term 'Fritz' in this sign. It was a type of luncheon meat made of meat trimmings, flour, water and spices. Today in Western Australia we would call...

1950s football boots

Kangaroo kickers

These ‘footy’ boots were made in the 1950s and look like they have never been worn. They were designed for Australian Rules Football players and probably made by the O’Shaughnessy’s. Eugene O...

The Lace Place

A world recognised lace collection plus so much more.

With renowned Wave Rock, just nearby, this is an unusual treasure. The site includes The Lace Place, The Miniature Soldier Museum, Pioneer Town, Tourist information Centre, and the Wildlife Park and...

The Big Camera - Museum of Photography

Walk through the lense of the Big Camera, into a world of cameras.

Walk through the lens of the Big Camera to be transfixed by wall-to-wall cameras! This is believed to be the largest working camera display in the Southern hemisphere. It is a place to learn about the...

The Quairading Vintage Club

A scale model road train, one of the districts oldest tractors, and everything in between!

The Quairading Vintage Club was originally formed in the 1980s by a group of farmers and locals from the district. In 2018 the Vintage Club became associated with the Men’s Shed. The collection...

Coca Cola Museum and Café

Soda pop culture

A quirky, vast Coca-Cola collection in a café. Sip a coffee or cola and take in the visual mastery of a branding and marketing icon through the ages, with this extensive collection of cans, bottles...