50th birthday bash for beloved Busselton Museum

This year the Busselton Museum and its supporters are celebrating 50 years since the museum first opened its doors to the public from the heritage-listed Butter Factory.

As far back as Busselton Historical Society’s inception in 1938, research records and documents were kept at private homes of various members, some artefacts were displayed at Prospect Villa in a private museum, and other articles and farm machinery were stored in a shed on Peel Terrace.

In 1967 a new member, Geoff Lord, became President of the Historical Society, and was adamant that the group needed a central place to store and display its artefacts.

His initiative saw him approach the Shire of Busselton in March 1974 to inquire about the future use of the Sunny-West Butter Factory on Peel Terrace.

Within months, the run-down building was offered to the Society and under Geoff’s supervision, a small group of dedicated volunteers spent months preparing the building for a proposed display in the summer.

Concrete floors were re-surfaced, electrics re-wired, cool room insulated, doors and windows secured, and staircase installed to access the second floor.

Despite his poor health, Geoff worked every spare minute to get the museum up and running.

The Busselton Museum opened its doors to the public for the first time on January 18, 1975, as part of the Festival of Busselton.

With the support of his wife Hilda, and Society members and volunteers, Geoff worked tirelessly to source funding, relocate and display the Group Settlement buildings and document local history.

Since then, the Museum has gone from strength to strength and remains a vital and much-loved archive of the region’s history.

To mark the milestone, around 100 past and present members and other invited guests acknowledged the Busselton Museum’s anniversary at a celebratory evening on the museum grounds on January 17.

Those present had a chance to reminisce on past achievements, share many stories and witness the cutting of a celebration cake by Tom Mullarky, the longest serving active member who joined the Society in 1975.

Throughout the coming year the Society will celebrate its milestone by hosting several other events.

It will also pause to remember, not only the survival and progress of the Museum, but also the memory of those members and volunteers who dedicated their efforts to preserve the history and heritage of Busselton.

For more information about the Busselton Museum, visit busseltonmuseum.org.au