Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum in Lithgow, New South Wales | History Museum

Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum

Locality: Lithgow, New South Wales

Phone: +61 2 6351 4452

Address: 69 Methven Street 2790 Lithgow, NSW, Australia

Website: http://www.lithgowsafmuseum.org.au

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25.01.2022 In light of the latest developments with the Cornavirus, the Museum is closed until further notice. This decision isnt taken lightly as we know many of our visitors travel long distances to see the Museum. However, its not all bad ... over the break we will work with a passion to improve our displays and visitor services so that when the world turns, we will be ready to give our visitors an even better experience. Meanwhile, we hope to keep you all engaged with a series of short videos that will highlight some of the special items in our collections. Will post the first of them soon. If you have any special requests, let us know and well see what we can do.

24.01.2022 Weve really missed sharing the Museum with our visitors, so were very happy to announce that well be reopening this Saturday (July 11). Initially, it will be weekends only for the general public but as things improve, well gradually get back to our usual opening hours. Due to Government requirements, we have new entry conditions. For more information see our website: http://lithgowsafmuseum.org.au/visitorinfo.html Looking forward to seeing our visitors again.

23.01.2022 Paul explains the intricacies of a metal cutting power hack saw to kids from One Tree Community Service's c-Verse program.

22.01.2022 Our volunteers are tackling the huge project of rehousing and digitising our archives. Fortunately, the Museums Advisor engaged by Council this year is a professional conservator. Tegans knowledge has proved invaluable in helping us to develop the best techniques for handling and repairing our treasured archives.

22.01.2022 Lovely day in Lithgow! Thirty-one hardy souls braved this to visit the museum today, including a few from Gold Coast and Queensland who were probably more accustomed to sand than snow :-)

22.01.2022 This Model 06 Winchester was recently donated by Queensland Rifle Association. It has an interesting history. Made on October 2 1911, it was used by crackshot, trick shooter, firearms expert and radio commentator Lionel Bibby. Bibby was, at one stage, employed by Winchester as their Australian representative, before moving on to employment at Mick Simmons gun shop in Sydney. He later worked with Lithgow SAF on the design of the single shot and magazine sporting rifles that w...ere retailed by Slazengers. This rifle is stamped with Bibby on the barrel and receiver, and Lionel H Bibby on the block. It is fitted with a Lyman peep sight and a custom front blade sight. The slide has been personalised with checkering on the right side and line outline on the other side. A Slazenger butt plate and extension have been fitted. The barrel is a late model replacement. This rifle is a fine addition to our collection of Bibby firearms, amongst them his prototypes for a self-loading rifle that never went into production and some of the handguns he used in his demonstrations and trick shooting. See more

22.01.2022 Renzo enthusiastically extols the virtues of Lithgows industrial heritage during an interview for a Lithgow Tourism Promotion. We anticipate opening on 27th this month.

22.01.2022 Tegan and Deb are gathering materials for this afternoon's workshop on handling of archives. Tegan will be presenting this workshop at 1pm today. If anyone in the community thinks they might like to volunteer in the museum's archives, you are welcome to come to this workshop

21.01.2022 It was our pleasure yesterday to host crews from Seahampton Rural Fire Brigade who stopped in on their way to a briefing session, before heading off Capertee way to help fight the devastating bushfires. As a very small gesture of thanks for all they do, its free admission to all volunteers involved in fighting these fires. When the crisis is over, we will invite all RFS volunteers and their families to an open day and bbq at the Museum.

21.01.2022 Volunteer, Brian, showing his grandchildren, Charli and Archer, around the Museum on Christmas Eve. We are opened every day of the NSW school holidays (until 27th January) from 10am to 4pm.

20.01.2022 Students of the Communications department of Western Sydney University visited the Museum last week for their multimedia project "Old Mountain" that concentrates on the history specifically relating to old or abandoned places of the Blue Mountains and surrounding areas. Each student is responsible for their own specific area of the project, and Stephen is looking at the Factorys impact on Lithgow through the years, and also the impact later made by the museum in terms of tourism.

20.01.2022 Thanks to Tegan's brilliant workshop on handling archives, we now have team of volunteers who are eager to contribute to helping with the mammoth task of conserving and cataloguing the Museum's archives. We are very much looking forward to Tegan's next workshop on conservation.

19.01.2022 The new Amendment to the Firearms Regulation was released on 30th August. For our opinion see our latest blog post "New Amendment to NSW Firearms Regulation Misses an Opportunity for Positive Change" http://blog.lithgowsafmuseum.org.au/new-amendment-to-nsw-fi

19.01.2022 These volunteers travel such a long way to help out where needed. This group of firies came down from Coomba Park Rural Fire Brigade , Tinonee Rural Fire Brigade, Camden Haven Rural Fire Brigade, Wauchope Rural Fire Brigade, and NSW RFS - North Arm Cove Brigade (all up around the Mid North Coast). Its our pleasure to provide them with a bit of R&R.

19.01.2022 This little lathe was donated to the Museum a few months back. Our research suggests it is the first model lathe made by Lineker & Winfield of Nottingham, UK. It has vee pulleys to suit a round leather drive belt, optional back-gears, and a screw cutting feature. What intrigues us ... cast into the bed is "R J Sheen 27 Charles St Leichhardt Sydney" as well as "Made in England". So far all our efforts to find out about R J Sheen have drawn a blank. The Balmain Association tel...ls us that they have no information on Mr Sheen. A google search reveals that 27 Charles Street is a federation-style free-standing house. At present, all we can assume is that Sheen was a small importer working from home, but obviously brought enough lathes in to be able to have his name cast into them. If anybody knows about R J Sheen, we would love to hear from you. See more

19.01.2022 Sweet little Maggie and her family came all the way from Western Australia in their Cobra. Just a reminder for all the travelling dawgs out there now that the hotter weather is on the way, you can accompany your family in the Museum if you are a good dawg. If you just cant contain yourself, we have a large enclosed run out the back of the Museum where you can frolic in the shade while your people enjoy our displays.

19.01.2022 Ideas for last minute Christmas presents from the Museum Shop: a range of educational STEM toys ranging from $3 to $55, planes and clocks made from recycled aircraft aluminium ($80 to $130), History of the Rising Sun set ($125), calligraphy quill pen set ($40), and bolt action pens in a range of timbers with 24ct gold plated or trivalent chrome fittings ($35). We are opened today and tomorrow until 4pm.

18.01.2022 The museum will be opened over Easter on Saturday, Sunday and Monday from 10am to 4pm. We also accept Dine & Discover NSW vouchers.

18.01.2022 Just a reminder now that the weather is heating up, LSAFM is pet friendly. Perfectly behaved pets, like little Grace here, can accompany their family through the museum. We have an enclosed lawn area behind the museum where more rambunctious pets can romp.

17.01.2022 Our submission to the upcoming Parliamentary Governments management of the Powerhouse Museum and other museums and cultural projects in New South Wales has been posted on our blog. http://blog.lithgowsafmuseum.org.au/lsafms-submission-to-n/

16.01.2022 All the way from Canada to help fight our bushfires: Jamie Gaunt of Aviation Forest Fire Emergency Services (38 days at Lithgow as an Operations Officer for the Gospers Mountain fire), Forest Barrett of Alberta Agriculture and Forestry Wildfire Management (Planning Officer at Lithgow Fire Control Centre) and Joe Russell Dept of Fisheries & Land Resources (38 days at Lithgow as a Logistics Officer for Gospers Mountain).

16.01.2022 Some time ago Laraine Simpson donated this wonderful old bus blind to the Museum. It had been a feature in Simmos Museum at Glen Davis for many years. Here it is professionally conserved (at right) and ready for display. We assume it comes from around the WWII era when accommodation in Lithgow was so scarce workers and their families lived in tents in the pine forest and the Government took over Blue Mountains guest houses and hotels and provided bus services for SAF workers.

14.01.2022 This rare Apache revolver is the latest interesting addition to our collection. It is a combination firearm, being a pepperbox style revolver, a short bladed dagger, and a knuckleduster. While it is fairly small, it could be lethal in certain circumstances. This defensive weapon was invented c.1870 by L Dolne of Liege, Belgium. Being easily concealed, it was popular with the street gangs of Paris who, because of their savagery, had became known as 'the Apaches'.

13.01.2022 Travelling dawgs: Jack, Ruby and Charlie. We're always happy to welcome well behaved four-legged friends into the Museum :-)

13.01.2022 We've really missed sharing the Museum with our visitors, so we're very happy to announce that we'll be reopening this Saturday (July 11). Initially, it will be weekends only for the general public but as things improve, we'll gradually get back to our usual opening hours. Due to Government requirements, we have new entry conditions. For more information see our website: http://lithgowsafmuseum.org.au/visitorinfo.html Looking forward to seeing our visitors again.

11.01.2022 Sometimes life is just one drama after another :-( On top of the Covid problem, another unforeseen hurdle has put back the date of our reopening. We are now aiming for July 11, all being well. To those who have shown up at our gate in the past few weeks, we sincerely apologise. Hope to see you all soon.

11.01.2022 Our latest newsletter is now online: http://lithgowsafmuseum.org.au/support.html#newsletters

11.01.2022 Last Fridays Village Voice carried a story about the Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum. In its lead in statement, the article states the museum may be about to go up in smoke because of new government regulations for storing firearms. Let us set the record straight. We are not about to go up in smoke the museum is operating well and will continue to do so. We did lead the charge in opposing the regulations. We feel strongly that compliant museums should be excluded from the regulations altogether, as was the case with publicly funded museums. The exemption route (enacted in late August 2019) is not a proper solution. To all you supporters out there, thank you for your interest and comments we truly appreciate it. We are hell-bent in growing the museum and closure is not an option.

10.01.2022 Another step forward ... repairing and painting the window frames of the General Machine Shop, made possible by our successful application for a Heritage Near Me grant. There is still a lot of work to do on this beautiful old building, but its great to see it being slowly brought back to life for future museum displays.

10.01.2022 Weve had quite a few enquiries as to whether we are opened due to the COVID-19 developments. While the situation can change at any time, it is business as usual for the Museum until further notice. We are keeping the museum as clean as possible and recording name and phone details of visitors. If we are advised to close by health authorities or Government we will post to our facebook page immediately so as to cause as little inconvenience as possible for our visitors. The Lithgow Visitor Centre sent notice today that they will be closed from tomorrow. As long as we stay open, we will be happy to help any visitors to the town with information where we are able to assist.

09.01.2022 Wish all visitors managed their kids this well :-)

08.01.2022 Just a reminder to all travelling dawgs and their people ... We are pet friendly :-) Good dogs, like little Faze here, can come in with their people on a lead. And we have a large shady enclosed area behind the Museum building for off-leash running for more boisterous dogs.

08.01.2022 Our machine tools are undoubtably impressive, but have you ever considered what it takes to lug them about? We are very grateful to the guys from Henry Plant & Equipment Hire for helping us out yet again. Peter organised to have three sizeable machines wed purchased at auction picked up at Wallerawang and brought over to the Museum. As a volunteer managed museum, we find it so encouraging that local businesses appreciate our work, and are more than willing to give their time and expertise to help save and present our heritage. We will feature these machines in upcoming posts.

07.01.2022 The many workers of Lithgow SAF whove kept the Factory going, through good times and bad, now have their efforts commemorated with the installation of a plaque thanks to a community grant from EnergyAustralia All that remains now is to enhance the area with some gardens and landscaping. If there are any keen gardeners or landscapers out there who would like to volunteer some assistance, wed love to hear from you :-)

05.01.2022 LSAFMs ANZAC Day message ... Year 2020 will go down in history as a world under siege. COVID-19 has claimed far too many lives, unnecessarily. Way of life has changed. People are doing it tough. Businesses are collapsing as trading ceases. Weve never been in this situation before. It is like a war with an invisible enemy. As we go about a new way of living, perhaps complaining about it all, we need not look too far to truly understand the spirit, courage and hardship that ...gripped the nation over 100 years ago. The Anzac spirit is never more real than in todays environment. This year we will not have the parades, marches or the after-parade drinks with mates. But the day is perhaps more significant as it shows some parallels as we understand what it takes to face adversity head on and overcoming challenges never experienced before. This is why Anzac Day had a special meaning. One where many men and women sacrificed their lives for the liberty of current and future generations. It is deep in our hearts that the Lithgow community through the Small Arms Factory played a major role ever since 1914. We share a close bond. From the shores of Gallipoli to the Western Front and the Pacific conflict and to the Vietnam War, the Factory was there supporting Australian men and women serving on the front line. The Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum is honoured to commemorate the tremendous work of the Factory and its subsidiaries. Our objects and vast archives are the living memory of the past century. From those early beginnings of 1912 with the Lee Enfield .303 rifle, the Factory mastered mass production of precision weaponry. Factory men and women showed tenacity and resilience to do what it took to ensure their front-line counterparts were given the best defence possible. To the Museum, Anzac Day is a day of great significance. In this COVID-19 year, the Anzac spirit comes through ever more noteworthy as we acknowledge the sacrifices in the hope it gives strength in this time of adversity. https://youtu.be/SZ2CY5rp31c

05.01.2022 The Museums sector was put into the spotlight this past week. On Wednesday our representatives (Donna, Kerry and Renzo) travelled to Parliament House in Sydney to appear before the Inquiry into the Governments management of the museums sector. We spent almost 90 minutes in the witness chair putting forward the Museums views and answering questions and had a very good hearing. We shared the session with the Port Macquarie Museum. The Parliamentarians were really engaged ar...ound the issues we raised including: The NSW Firearms Legislation relating to Museums A Museums Strategy and Regional Museums Fund Developing world class museums in regional NSW Funding regional museums and understanding their significance Tourism impact on regional towns of regional museums Inter-museum collaboration While the questioning covered all of the above plus more, the regulatory Firearms Legislation took up some considerable time and rightly so. The Parliamentarians were left with no doubt of our position, which they appeared to support. Hopefully some good will come from this. Well just have to wait and see. See more

04.01.2022 Our incredible collection of historic machinery needs some loving attention in order to have it ready for future displays. If you have a love of old machinery, dont mind getting a bit of grease on your hands and could spare some time to help, wed love to hear from you.

04.01.2022 The Museum is opened today to 4pm.

03.01.2022 We are grateful for the support of the National Library of Australia who continue to assist us via grants in caring for our nationally significant archives collection.

02.01.2022 We will be extending our opening hours from next week, opening on Tuesday 22nd and the following weekend from 10 to 4. For the NSW school holidays (26th September to 11thOctober) we will open Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends from 10 to 4. Looking forward to seeing our visitors.

02.01.2022 Even though the Museum is closed to the public due to COVID-19, it has given us an opportunity to do things that we cannot do during opening hours - like getting rid of a largish rubbish pile which has sat on our parking area for almost 10 years. We are indebted to Peter McCallum of Blue Mountains Bobcat who in a matter of hours packed the rubbish into two large truck loads and off they went to the Lithgow tip. Peter did such a wonderful job and we have no hesitation in rec...ommending him to anyone who needs bobcat or excavation services. Peter can be reached on 0407 704 333. We want to also thank Henry Plant Equipment & Hire which runs the Lithgow Waste Facility. Generously, they exempted us from tip fees which was a major saving to us. Wed like to personally thank Peter and Kevin for their generosity and their support for a not for profit organisation. Henrys does so much for the local community and we thank them dearly. Now we await the Governments decision to re-open the Museum which hopefully will be in a few weeks time. We look forward to seeing you then See more

01.01.2022 We are amazed at just how much the little Lithgow Model 1 sporting rifles are still loved by their owners more than 70 years after the last one left the production line. This very special one, donated to the Museum this week by its owner Joe, from North Lambton, is in superb condition and has a delightful bunny carving on the stock. It will definitely feature in our upcoming book on the Lithgow/Slazenger sporting rifles.

01.01.2022 Given the strong bond during the 1940s between Cowra and the Lithgow Small Arms Factory (Factory), we were privileged to be invited to be part of the Cowra Breakout - 75TH Anniversary Commemorations. Cowra was one of several regional plants established to take the production load off the Factory during WW2. The Cowra plant employed 260 people, more than 50% of them women, making high precision parts for the Vickers machine gun. The strong local community spirit together with the many visitors, made it such a wonderful day. Congratulations to the organising Committee for making the day memorable.