Derby airport console

Communications; Technology

Connecting the Kimberley to Australia

Hands on! This is one of the most popular items on display. Many may have forgotten that Derby, not Broome, was the regional administrative centre for the West Kimberley, including host to the regional medical services, the Royal Flying Doctor Service and a significant airport. This console is from the air traffic control tower at Derby airport. In the museum it is the highlight of the telecommunications collection that includes morse code apparatus, two-way radios used to keep remote stations linked to each other and to town, switchboards from the old telephone exchange, and objects linked to the microwave network that brought automatic phone lines to the region.

Available at:

Wharfinger House Museum

Muddy waters

Situated on the edge of the Derby marsh, surrounded by the iconic boab trees of this region, stands the Wharfinger House Museum. Built in the 1920s, it is situated in the former home of the manager of...

Address:

3 Elder Street
Derby WA 6728
Australia

Tel:

(08) 9191 1426

Email:

libmanager@sdwk.wa.gov.au

Open Hours

Accessible by collecting the key from the Derby Visitor Centre at 30 Loch St

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Bark canoe and mangrove raft

Aboriginal watercraft

The Saltwater people of the Kimberly made this canoe, from locally sourced bark. It was suited to the calmer waters of the north Kimberley inlets and bays, whereas the more stable raft was adapted to...

Portrait of Sam Lovell, artist unknown

Innovator and leader

One of the museum’s most dedicated supporters is Sam Lovell OA—songman, drover, croc hunter, stockman, saddler, gardener, road maker, tour guide and passionate resident of Derby and the West Kimberley...