Museum upgrade offers history with conviction

17 October 2017

Tweed Regional Museum Tweed Heads officially reopened

A unique and valuable piece of Tweed Heads history was officially reopened with a ceremony at Tweed Regional Museum Tweed Heads on Sunday.

Approximately 80 Tweed Heads Historical Society members, community leaders and other invited guests gathered in the restored Tweed Heads Court House building - the only original Tweed Heads public building still in good and original condition – to celebrate the completion of Stage 1 of an upgrade of the Tweed Heads Museum.

The Court House, now the centrepiece of Tweed Regional Museum Tweed Heads, has been restored and upgraded to provide an interactive experience of the building and surrounding area.

The Court House and accompanying buildings at the Museum offered a “rare and important opportunity to bring this history to life, and to continue to preserve and share it”, the Mayor of Tweed, Councillor Katie Milne, told the gathering.

“An appreciation of the history of this northern part of Tweed Shire, close to the mouth of the Tweed River and to our border with Queensland, is essential to understanding this Shire as a whole,” Cr Milne said.

“As our shire continues to grow, it becomes ever more important to offer residents, new and old, and visitors the opportunity to understand those things that have shaped this community and continue to shape it today.”

She said the rich history presented by the new displays, including historic film footage, immersed visitors in this history.

Tweed Heads Historical Society President Ross Johnson said the great 90-year-old building was the “only well preserved original public building in the Tweed Heads precinct”.

Stage 1 of the upgrade also included construction of a research room for the Historical Society, which Mr Johnson said was now the envy of many historical societies because of its facilities.

The opening was told Stage 2 of the museum upgrade, to be undertaken during the next year, would include restoration of Boyd’s Shed and the Deckhouse, and more opportunities for visitors to engage with stories of these buildings and the whole museum site.

Guests were also treated to a tour of the river, as a taste of a new historic tour being developed by locally-owned business Tweed Endeavour Cruises in association with the Museum..

“The river tour will beautifully complement the Tweed Heads Museum and its displays, by giving visitors a better appreciation of key sites along the river and how it influenced the Tweed’s development,” Tweed Regional Museum Director Judy Kean said.

“River transport was fundamental in forming this area and much of our history cannot be fully understood without taking to the water.”

Tweed Regional Museum Tweed Heads is open for extended hours during the next few months, from Sunday to Wednesday 10am to 4pm.

More information is available at http://museum.tweed.nsw.gov.au/

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Photo 1(JPG, 178KB)

Caption: Celebrating the reopening of Tweed Regional Museum Tweed Heads … (from left) Mayor of Tweed, Councillor Katie Milne, Tweed Heads Historical Society President Ross Johnson, Consultant Curator Meg McKavanagh, Tweed Regional Museum Director Judy Kean and Tweed Heads Historical Society Life Member and Emeritus President Joan Smith.

Photo 2(JPG, 108KB)

Caption: Tweed Regional Museum Director Judy Kean (left), Consultant Curator Meg McKavanagh and Tweed Heads Historical Society President Ross Johnson in the upgraded Tweed Head Courthouse Building, at the official reopening of Tweed Regional Museum Tweed Heads.