
It’s often easier to see the way forward by looking at the past and the Lismore Museum has been a valuable tool for doing just that, but like many locations in the town, the museum is yet to recover from last year’s flood.
Fortunately the Richmond River Historical Society and Lismore Museum has received a State Government grant to help with the refit of the popular museum once the building is repaired from the February 2022 natural disaster.
Society president Robert Smith said the $123,000 grant would be used to install new display cabinets, lighting, shelving and workstations. ‘This will go a long way in helping us rebuild the museum and once again opening it to the community and tourists.
Volunteer run
‘We are volunteer run and thank the State Government through Create NSW for its support in restoring Lismore’s museum.’
Lismore City Mayor Steve Krieg said he couldn’t wait for the museum to reopen. ‘The museum tells the story of Lismore and our region, and how we have progressed as a community.
‘I would like to congratulate Robert and all the volunteers for the work they have done in saving the objects and archives and preparing the museum for re-opening.’
While there is no timeline for the repair of the museum yet, Mayor Krieg said Council had recently appointed a managing contractor to develop a scope of work for all Council facilities.
Best historical collections in regional Australia
The award-winning Lismore Museum has one of the best historical collections in regional Australia. The all-volunteer museum is managed by the Richmond River Historical Society, which since 1936 has collected, preserved, displayed and disseminated the fascinating history of this region’s varied community of some 140,000 people.
It is hoped that soon the story of these peoples can be told in the displays and research archives of the museum.
The Richmond River Historical Society and museum is located in the historic Municipal building at 165 Molesworth Street, Lismore.


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