ArchivesACT has chosen to revisit the story of the Billabong Park Horse Era Museum as its October Find of the Month.
The Archives said the find featured articles, photos and files about a Yass couple’s struggle to establish and continue the Billabong Park Horse Era Museum.
“The National Museum of Australia’s exhibition ‘Spirited: Australia’s Horse Story’ celebrates our relationship with horses since European settlement,” the Archives said.
“Back in the 1960s, Yass couple Harold and Mary Read also wanted to celebrate the role of horse-drawn transport in Australia’s history,” it said.
“Located in North Watson, Billabong Park was in operation from August 1966 to March 1976, but its story goes back further than that, in December 1962, Harold George Read wrote to the Department of the Interior expressing his intention to construct an ‘early Australian township’.”
The Archives said the Department saw merit in Mr Read’s proposal and a 7.75-acre site in North Watson was set aside for a museum in December 1963.
It said that on 23 September 1964, Mr Read was offered a 25 year lease on the site for the construction of an establishment and the display of individual items or relics.
“The Canberra Times, reporting on the lease, quoted Read as saying ‘We aim to commemorate the good old days of the horse era with a light-hearted, yet dignified, exhibition’.”
“Opening in August 1966, Billabong Park’s collection initially consisted of over 100 exhibits that included 40 horse drawn vehicles,” the Archives said.
It said the museum’s collection included rare items like a 1841 buggy once owned by noted explorer Hamilton Hume and a hearse dating from 1872.
ArchivesACT’s Find of the Month can be accessed at this PS News link.
