Where are we?
Cnr West Ave & Ferguson St
Glen Innes NSW 2370

Glen Innes Accommodation

When are we open?
Mon to Fri: 10am to noon & 1pm to 4pm Weekends: 1pm to 4pm both days
Long weekends & public holidays: 9am to 4pm Groups at any time with catering
available by prior arrangement.
CLOSED: Good Friday, Anzac Day Morning, Christmas Eve & Christmas Day

RESEARCH:( see research centre page) Appointments essential - 'phone, write or email

The Beardies - In 1838 William Chandler and John Duval, both with long flowing beards, were good bushmen working as stockmen on Tilbuster station. Tilbuster was the most northerly station at that time. People leaving Sydney looking for land were advised to see “The “Beardies”. Chandler and Duval led the first settlers into Beardy Plains, which was called “Boyd’s Plains” (when Thomas Hewitt took it up for Archibald Boyd) and which afterwards became “Stonehenge Station”. When E C Sommerlad wrote the history of the area in 1922 he coined the name “The Land of the Beardies”.

The Building - No museum can be successful without suitable premises and the Glen Innes & District Historical Society Inc (a community based organisation) is fortunate to occupy a building which is itself a museum piece. Formerly the Glen Innes District Hospital, the first section known as the Sharman wing was built in 1877. At intervals over the next 50 years or so, further sections were added until its doors finally closed as a hospital in 1956. As a hospital, which was conceived, funded, built and operated by the community, it has immense significance for the history of the town and district.

The Museum - Essentially a Folk Museum, the collection comes almost exclusively from the town and district, and mirrors the history and development of families, businesses, properties, public utilities, churches and the like. In the spacious grounds are numerous examples of early farm machinery. Several of these are very unusual and well worth a look.

The Research Centre - With more than 10,000 photographs and over 300,000 records cross-linked and referenced to newspaper articles the centre is a valuable resource for those people compiling family histories. Click on the Research menu for details.