Museum collection

The Museum collects and preserves historic objects relating to the people, activities and places of the Hunter Region.

These objects are generously donated by members of the community and are accepted if they satisfy the terms of the museum's collection policy.

We collect for research and preservation as well as display. Objects that may seem trivial now gather significance with age and may hold information that can be unlocked through future technologies.

We also work towards ensuring that these objects will be preserved for the benefit of future generations as well as our contemporary visitors. Critical to the value of the objects are the stories that are associated with them. We strive to tell those stories through objects thereby developing and refining our insight into the past. This, in turn, helps us understand why and how we do things now. In this way the collection will act as a benchmark showing change within our society.

Search Our Collection Database

If you would like to search the museum's collection database, Sporting Hall of Fame or WWI Diggers database online see our Collection Database .

Hear our curator's Collections Australia Network interview

Hear the museum's curator Julie Baird talk about how the Collections Australia Network has significantly raised the profiles of many collecting institutions.

Julie explores the idea of how aggregating collections can lead to opportunities and partnerships with other heritage institutions. She explains how the Collections Australia Network has led to the museum loaning objects to a significant number of insitutions around the country and, in turn, building the collection’s reputation.