Next stop was Tumbarumba where we visited the Pioneer Women's Hut - interesting animals.

Bruce with the very hungry caterpillar.

The praying mantis and the praying Michael.

The Pioneer Women’s Hut
This national museum, opened in December 1985, is run by volunteers without government funding.

The building is made from recycled parts of old prison huts and was erected by community volunteers.

The purpose of the museum is to show domestic objects relating to rural families, especially those of women, and to research rural women’s lives.

We do not focus on special events of even ‘best work’, and we readily accept that not all farm women excelled at domestic crafts.

Most had double lives, helping on the farm and running a home.

We give priority to the everyday over the quaint, and to the representative over the unique.

‘The past’ is often seen as belonging to ‘important’ people, often famous and rich, often from cities, often men, but it is through an understanding of the everyday lives of ordinary people that we will learn more about what it is to be Australian.

The Pioneer Women's Hurt is situated on the Glenroy heritage reserve, owned by the Department of Land and Water Conservation with Tumbarumba Shire Council as trustees.

What We Collect and Why

It is our policy to collect domestic objects relating to rural families, especially the women, and to research their lives.

Unlike many museums we are not looking for 'best work' but rather representative objects, common ones used in daily life. They can be hand made (or worked) or commercial and for these objects to have any meaning we need to know about the women who made and used them and their families.

In researching rural women's lives it is the letters, the diaries (rare) and the photographs (especially the ordinary snapshots) that give the real insights. We will take copies and return originals.

When you visit a Museum it is sometimes interesting to think how or why the objects are there. One reason may be that they are very durable so they have lasted; flat irons and kettles will last for the next 200 years. Another reason may be that they have been regarded as precious so have been carefully packed away, a wedding dress, a treasured christening gown. Another reason may be they weren't very effective so weren't worn out through use.

At the Pioneer Women's Hut, we don't want rural Australian families to be represented mainly by the durable, the precious or the ineffective so we need to collect in more difficult areas. We need to represent the every day lives of ordinary women. For example, what sort of aprons did women wear when they went to milk the cows last century? One photograph depicts a woman with two black aprons, the first one removed if someone should knock on the door. Where are the trousers they wore when the first rode astride in the 20's? Where are the work boot or shoes? The underclothing from calico bags? The early paper patterns, yes they existed in Australia from the 1880's; where are the ordinary black aprons? Most of these things were neither durable or precious and they certainly wore out but it's important we collect them. Many such objects are still going to the tip.

Off to Tumbarumba shopping centre for lunch. Yep, we found Bruce a bakery, he does love his meat pies!!!!