The LibraryMuseum's Crossing Place exhibition traces the settlement of Albury by land and water. Objects, audio and film tell the story of Albury from first contact with the Wiradjuri people to the city we know today. Explore items currently on display.

On Display

Many places are recognisable for their vistas and Albury is no different. Images of Albury’s streets, grand buildings, gardens and monuments have long been used to promote and celebrate the city.
These views capture a community proud of their civic buildings and streetscapes, engineering achievements, monuments, amenities and setting on the Murray River. This imagery, repeated throughout the years on postcards and souvenirs, suggest a reinforcement of these values both within Albury and to its visitors. 


Albury Views

Explore recent acquisitions to the Museum and Social History Collection.

Recent Acquisitions

Albury’s first library was founded in 1858, and a Free Industrial Museum was later formed to display natural and social history specimens from the local area. Early libraries and museums paved the way for the community hubs we enjoy today. Explore photographs and artefacts of these learning, recreation and memory places, including books with stories to tell and other curiosities from the collection.

Book and Specimen

Bonegilla was the first home in Australia for up to 320,000 migrants from more than 30 nations. Operating between 1947 and 1971, it was the first, the largest and the longest lived migration reception centre in Australia.

Pets were owned by both staff and residents.  Images from the collection show them picnicking, playing with children, and even going for a bike ride. Pets would have helped new migrants settle and feel at home, as well as create connections and break down ethnic barriers.


Bonegilla Pets

Albury achieved world attention during the running of the London to Melbourne MacRobertson International Centenary Air Race. The story of the Dutch DC-2 airliner 'Uiver' and the role Albury residents played in its rescue in 1934, is an important event in the city's history. 

The Uiver Collection is a NSW State Heritage listed collection (SHR No. 01995). 

Uiver Collection

When the Abikhair store was closing in the mid 1990s AlburyCity acquired the complete merchandise and stock from this iconic Albury store for the collection.  This included original merchandise and advertising material from previous decades, especially the 1950s.

The store owners and operators; Saad and Betro Abikhair immigrated from Mount Lebanon and opened their Swift Street store in Albury  in 1928 after arriving in 1895 as hawkers from Melbourne. At first, Abikhair relied on Melbourne manufacturers and wholesalers but eventually began importing and supplying goods himself. Goods on offer included: girdles, stockings, clothing, household supplies, beauty supplies, toiletry supplies, sewing supplies (haberdashery), shoes, hats – and much more in the style of the emporium.

Although Saad Abikhair had been running a haberdashery business for many years, nothing like the new store had been seen on the border before. The purpose-built store had two entries, one each for men and women, which navigated patrons to appropriate sections of the store. As it was considered inappropriate for men to see, let alone purchase, women's unmentionables, the entry for men took them through sporting goods and men's supplies. Women were directed past the women's, children's, men's and household supplies counters before reaching the register.

This collection celebrates Albury's own version of the 1950s beauty myth. Stylised 1950s women promote toiletries, women's garments even vacuum cleaners! This stunning marketing material demonstrates the context of the 1950s woman and the society they lived in.

Abikhair Collection

For over 25 years, AlburyCity has been collecting objects owned by former residents of the migrant reception centre; things that people brought from their homeland that gave them comfort, photographs, domestic appliances, children's toys, books and clothing. AlburyCity also actively collects written memories from those who passed through Bonegilla.

Bonegilla Collection

The DSI Collection consists of a broad range of material relating to the former gearbox factory, covering its history as Borg-Warner, BTR Automotive, ION Ltd, DSI and Geely Automotive Holdings. It includes the last gearbox made at the factory as well as photographs, uniforms, equipment, memorabilia, company records, promotional videos, DVDs and ephemera.

DSI Collection

Opening in 1951 to a crowd of 8,000 the Albury Floral Festival had a triumphant start. Dean Street was decorated with lines of potted trees and shrubs. Even the Town Hall was decorated inside and out to resemble a garden. A further 10,000 attended the grand finale held on the Saturday. Staged as a celebration to mark the Golden Jubilee (50 years) of Australian Federation, the week-long event culminated in a procession of musicians, floats, school children and potential Floral Festival queens along Dean Street. The festival went on to enjoy 21 successful years.

The Floral Festival was the brainchild of Mayor Cleaver Bunton, who took his inspiration from the Grafton Jacaranda Festival. A major fund-raising activity for local charities, it was a means both to commemorate and to support the community. Cleaver Bunton continued to be a major supporter. Held in March, usually beginning the Monday after Melbourne’s Moomba Festival, the festival included a queen competition, balls and dances, band recitals and garden competitions. Many people remember the time of the Floral Festival as being celebratory and charitable.

The collection contains photographs and documents relating to the Festival. 

Floral Festival Collection

Gardening tools, garden furniture, photographs, artworks and documents. The collection also includes over 50 books from the library of early curator J E R Fellowes, which he used as a guide to plant identification and garden design.

Botanic Gardens Collection

Contains programs and other documents of the Albury and District Car Club, which operated from 1954 - c.1998. Items date from c.1960-1993.

Albury and District Car Club Ltd

The collection includes historic documents, nurses uniforms, photographs, publications, memories captured on film, medical instruments and an iron lung.

Albury Base Hospital (ABH) Collection

The Albury Battery Collection contains items relating to the 13th Battery, 5th Field Artillery Brigade – remembered as the ‘Albury Battery’ – which served with distinction on the Western Front. The items help define Albury’s links to the rest of the world in the dark days of World War I and are held in recognition of young local men who served their country. 
 

Albury Battery Collection

Photographs, textiles, badges and documents relating to the Allan family.

Coachbuilder James Allan (1860-1941) was a prominent Albury citizen who served on the Municipal Council and was Mayor of Albury in 1912. He was an early member of the Albury Football Club team. James Allan married Sarah Cooper Field (1861-1950) in 1885. 

James and Sarah had five children including Josephine and Irene who were long serving teachers at Albury Primary School. As young women they were involved in community affairs, including the singing group "The Boomerangs" during World War I. The youngest and only son of the family, Arthur (1897-1982), became a teacher also, taught at Albury and in various NSW towns then returned to Albury High School in the fifties becoming Deputy Head, and Headmaster.

Ella Elizabeth Henry (1911-2010) came to Albury in 1935 to teach Geography at Albury High School. She was a graduate of the University of Sydney. She married fellow teacher, Arthur Allan, in 1941. Ella was a leader in the women's groups at St David's Uniting Church, a founding member of Age Concern and School for Seniors and a very early member of the Albury branch of the Business and Professional Womens Club. 

Allan Collection

Photographs, documents, objects and audiovisual items relating to the Albury Wodonga Development Corporation (AWDC), c.1973-2005.


Albury Wodonga Development Corporation (AWDC) Collection

Jim and Vicki Bacash ran The Cedar of Albury reception centre for almost 25 years. 

They were the gracious hosts to over a thousand weddings, as well as balls, parties, dinners and meetings. The Cedar became an Albury institution, and today there are many in the local community whose memories of their special day include a nod of thanks to Jim and Vicki.

The collection contains textiles owned and worn by Vicki Bacash, as well as photographs and objects relating to the reception centre and the Bacash's work in the community.




Cedar Collection

Includes official council records such as Rates Books, Registers and plans, Council Chambers furnishings, plaques, trophies and medals as well as gifts to AlburyCity and staff and Mayoral uniform items.

Civic Collection

Items relating to community experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic - sourced by staff, commissioned or submitted by locals as a result of a public call-out.

Covid-19 Collection

The Dunstan Collection consists of equipment and archives relating to the operation of the Federal Bakery in Howlong from 1914 to the 1970s.  It contains over 200 items, including a bakery cart, flour bags and bakery equipment such as cake tins, pie moulds, cutters, rolling pins, a bun prover, and mixing bowls.

Dunstan Collection

Items collected and given to the Albury and Distroct Historical Society (ADHS) by Wattie and Helen Fielder. 

Wattie and Helen were founding members of the ADHS and held many Committee positions. Helen photographed many Albury buildings which were later demolished.

Fielder Collection

The Hawkins Collection is an assortment of fashionable pieces that were bought by Viola "Vie" Hawkins (McLarty) throughout the world and worn in the region. They help represent the fashion of the time, show the early stages of a new Australian industry, present a picture of a hardworking yet fashionable regional life, and help explain how the Australian fashion world that we know today developed.


Hawkins Collection

The Hawksview Collection is a vital part of AlburyCity's textile collection. Donations were made to the collection by sisters Daintry Heywood, Eveline Gillett and Beatrice Webb. 

The collection consists of clothes and accessories from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with some items belonging to the sisters' mother and grandmother.

Hawksview Collection

Contains items relating to the Hume Country Golf Club, from c. 1964-1998.

Hume Country Golf Club


Photographs, documents and objects relating to the construction and use of the Hume Dam.

Constructed over a 17-year period between 1919 and 1936, the Hume Dam is an icon of the Albury-Wodonga region.  From the time the first sod was turned in 1919, until 1936 when the dam was ceremonially opened, the project employed thousands of workers who toiled with pick and shovel, and with horse and steam power, leaving a monument of human achievement.  

The dam construction was one of the major engineering projects of the period between the two world wars, bringing together the governments of Australia, NSW, Victoria and South Australia.  On its completion, it was the largest dam in the southern hemisphere and among the largest in the world.

Hume Dam Collection


The AlburyCity Indigenous collection contains many traditional artefacts from the Wiradjuri region including bark paintings, weapons, stone tools and a canoe scar tree.

In 1972 Albury was chosen as a town for the Families Resettlement Scheme, which created new mainstream communities for disadvantaged and dispossessed Aboriginal people. The Albury Aboriginal community is thus a 'mixed mob', coming from many different regions and tribal backgrounds. In making their home in Albury, the diverse members of this community have reconnected with country and re-established Aboriginal influence and rich cultural traditions in the region.  Hence, our Indigenous collection also reflects this 'mixed mob' approach and showcases artefacts from around the region in response to specific requests from our local Indigenous community.

In early 2000, the local Aboriginal community identified the need to 'pass on' their knowledge and skills to the next generation. Since then, workshops have been held in the Albury-Wodonga area involving local Aboriginal Elders with the aim of passing on to younger members of the community knowledge of traditional crafts such as stone tool making, construction of bark canoes, possum skin cloaks, basket and handcraft weaving. Local Aboriginal Elders wanted to record and preserve their traditional knowledge for the next generation and they strongly believe that if this knowledge, which is unique to our region, is not recorded and passed on to their young people, it will be lost.

Artefacts collected are made from local materials and have been made using mostly traditional practices. Through a series of workshops, the Elders and the local community have produced unique contemporary artefacts that are now part of the AlburyCity Indigenous Collection. 


Indigenous Collection


Items relating to the City of Albury Choral Society concerts and performances.

Isobel Williams Collection


Clothing, children’s toys, and photographs.  Joyce was a talented dressmaker and made nearly all of the clothing she donated to the AlburyCity Collection.

Joyce Muller Collection


Items relating to Lindsay Knight and enterprises he was involved with.

Lindsay Charles Knight was a pioneer for innovation and entrepreneurship in Albury. Trained as an electrician, he created LC Knight & Company electrical contracting as well as co-founding the Australasian Training Aids Pty Ltd (ATA).

A keen shooter, Lindsay was a member of the Albury Pistol Club and Albury Rifle Club. It was this passion that led him to co-develop shooting equipment and technology. In 1959, Lindsay started ATA at the back of his business in conjunction with friend Ken Gillam, who had an idea for an electric pop-up shooting target.

The company grew quickly and by the late 1960s, the company found a niche global market selling shooting targets to military and police organisations worldwide, including the Middle East. The Knight family hosted many international visitors at their 67 acre property in Lavington, with Lindsay demonstrating ATA products at the property’s own shooting range. The company opened offices around the world, including USA, UK, Iran and Jordan. By 1979, ATA had over 200 staff in Albury and more than 30 staff overseas.

The influence and growth of the company continued in the 1980s and 1990s and by 2002, after a number of ownership changes, the present day Australian Target Systems (ATS) formed. Lindsay Knight’s innovative spirit didn’t slow down after ATA. Lindsay worked on developing equipment for oil exploration and was involved in the search for HMAS Sydney up until he passed away in 2002.

Knight Collection


Items that relate to the history of Lavington, including an early minute book from the Lavington Progress Association and the Black Range Primary School admissions register.

Lavington Collection


Photographs, documents and textiles of the Lee Tet family.

Herbert Lee Tet met his wife, Emma Crawford, through his family’s fruit shop business in Seymour and they married in Melbourne in 1921. The Lee Tet business was first brought to Albury by Herbert’s brother, Ernest, who had a fruit and confectionary business at 521 Dean Street. The Crawford family was a large prominent local family with connections to Albury and Corryong. Emma and Herbert moved to Albury to be closer to family. Ernest and Herbert operated the Theatre Royal (Palais) on 487 Kiewa Street and the Royal Garden Theatre open-air cinema behind the theatre until 1935.

Herbert and Emma had children Catherine (Kath), Reginald, Kenneth and Phyllis. While the Lee Tet family made positive impacts on the Albury area through their business and social pursuits and many Chinese-Australians developed businesses in the area, Lee Tet’s Chinese heritage was at times attacked and racial prejudice was still prevalent. When the cinema was sold Herbert worked as a labourer on a road maintenance gang, only coming home at weekends. But the racism, which also affected their children, took its toll and prompted Herbert to move to Melbourne, although he stayed in the children and Emma’s lives.

Kath Lee Tet became a fixture for the people of Albury through her integral role as chief clerk at the Albury Base Hospital for 48 years. Ken was a member of the Albury City Band, playing clarinet and euphonium and had a career as a paymaster and cost clerk. Phyllis was a vital part of early communications, working in the switch board before following the same job to Melbourne. Reginald also moved to Melbourne.

Lee Tet Collection


Original watercolour plans and other documents relating to builder and businessman Stuart McKenzie Logan (1876–1948). Logan contributed greatly to the built landscape of Albury and the surrounding area with his distinctive designs. 

Logan worked tirelessly for the things he believed in, be it sport, family, civic matters, religion or local business. He is most remembered for his businesses, one a partnership – Frew & Logan; the other on his own as Logans. 

Logan's characteristic style is apparent in all his plans. His work can also be seen in well-known Albury buildings such as St David’s Presbyterian Church (now Uniting Church), Sunday School and Manse in Olive Street and the Union Bank in Dean Street (now WAW Credit Union). 

The plans illustrate how far and wide Logan travelled for his business. Whether they walked, rode or used horse and cart or train, Logan got himself, his men and their materials to where they were needed. Thanks to his organising ability, there are a number of beautiful Logan-built homesteads even in the furthest corners of the Albury region. 

Logan Collection


In 2011, Louise Stringer of Albury gifted objects and photographs belonging to five generations of women in her family into the care of the Albury LibraryMuseum.   The objects represent the lives of the five women – from Rosetta Emanuel to her great-great-granddaughter Louise – especially their love of needlework.

Louise Stringer Collection


This collection contains archaeological artefacts found during the excavation conducted prior to the development of the Albury Regional Art Gallery site at 546-556 Dean Street, now known as Murray Art Museum Albury (MAMA).


MAMA Archaeology


Albury's McPherson's Studios specialised in weddings, portraiture, child studies and commercial photography. Established by Duncan McPherson in the 1930s, the studios operated in Anzac House, 611 Dean Street, Albury.

The business was taken over in 1953 by Gustav Pottyondy, who ran it until 1975 when he sold it to father-and-son partnership, Des and Michael Martin. The Martins ran the business until it closed in the early 1980s.

The McPherson's Studios Collection comprises two distinct parts:

1,000 negatives depicting streetscapes, civic events, sporting clubs, building interiors and public committees from the 1930s to 1974; and

33,000 negatives of studio portraits of weddings, debutantes, family sittings, child studies, communions and confirmations from 1955 to 1970.

Much of the McPherson's Studios Collection was captured during Gustav Pottyondy's ownership. Pottyondy, a Hungarian and ex-military photographer, came to Albury as part of the wave of migration to Australia that occurred after World War II.
He has been described as 'a photographic perfectionist' and operated McPherson's Studios in a meticulous manner, indicated by the care with which he maintained his extensive archive of photographic negatives. Documentation for every photographic job undertaken in the course of 32 years was placed in its own envelope, and these were stored in chronological order. Significant details of the job were recorded on the envelope, including the photographer's job number, the subject matter, and the sitter's name and address.

The collection is an invaluable image resource for life, architecture, fashion trends and environment in the Albury area from the 1930s until the 1950s. 

McPherson's Studios Collection


This collection documents the history and development of the Murray River Performing Group (MRPG) and its associated activities between 1979 and 1996.

The MRPG was a professional community theatre group that performed productions dealing with local themes and issues. It was established in 1979 as a community initiative driven by Robert Perrier, Lloyd Suttor and Mark Shirrefs, to develop a cultural scene in the Albury-Wodonga region at a time when Albury-Wodonga was a focus for the federal government’s policy of decentralizing cities. 

The group also began a circus program to engage local children which went on to become the Flying Fruit Fly Circus. By 1995 the Murray River Performing Group experienced a drop in audience numbers, and in 1996 was given notice that government funding would be pulled from the organization. The remaining MRPG staff consulted with industry professionals on the best way to move forward, expanding the Artistic Director role to an Artistic Directorate of 12 experienced arts workers. 

It was re-launched as HotHouse Theatre in 1997, and the Company moved from their premises on Olive Street in Albury to buildings on Gateway Island leased from the City of Wodonga. 

The collection comprises photographs, negatives, slides, t-shirts, news articles, advertisements, reports, audio-visual recordings, press releases, posters, fliers, programmes, correspondence, cards, scrapbooks, tickets, newsletters, and other items of ephemera. 

Murray River Performing Group (MRPG) Collection


Photographs, tickets, timetables, itineraries and other documents.

Brothers Keith and Vernon Lawrence were the owners and operators of a regional freight transport service, North West Transport Service.

On 27 November 1934 Murray Valley Passenger Services, a side arm of the North West Transport Service, commenced operation of motor coach lines connecting regional areas not covered by rail.

From the commencement of the passenger service until early 1946 Murray Valley Coaches operated a terminal at 530 Kiewa Street, sharing part of the building with Sharp’s Tyre Service on the Kiewa Street site.

During World War II the business flourished because of the concentration of military bases and training camps along the Murray.  Murray Valley Coaches provided essential transport for soldiers, officers and loved ones to be reunited.

The end of petrol rationing in 1949, after World War II, led to an increase in private motor car ownership.  As a result, in 1959 Murray Valley Coaches Limited, like many other coach companies, went out of business.

Murray Valley Coaches


Unique sports memorabilia such as Margaret Court's Wimbledon tennis racket and Jack Crawford's Australian Open trophy are among this collection. 

The collection also includes everyday sports memorabilia and items relating to sporting clubs of Albury and the surrounding region.

Sporting Collection


Stan Jackling (1908–1994) lived in Albury for the whole of his life apart from war service from June 1942 to October 1945. He was a legal practitioner (1931–1994) who served articles under Fred Tietyens and worked as an employee or partner in the law firm of Tietyens Angel and Jackling (or its predecessor) from 1931 to 1983. 

A music lover, Stan was organist of the Albury Wesley Methodist Church from 1926 to 1945 and sole conductor of the City of Albury Choral Society during its existence from 1947 to 1955. He was the music critic for the Border Morning Mail from at least 1983 to 1994.
For many years he was President of the Albury ABC International Celebrity Concert Committee. 

The collection contains programs, photographs and other documents relating to the Albury Choral Society, the ABC Concert series and other local music and drama events.

Stan Jackling Collection


Original watercolour plans of Frederick Alan Stow (1896-1994), builder and businessman. 

Stow created a timber emporium for the local area, North Albury Timber and Joinery Company. An innovator and craftsman, he was nicknamed ‘The Master’ by his staff. The Stow plans show remarkable development, from basic outlines to professional watercolour works of art. Although he occasionally travelled to build, Stow concentrated mostly on the inner Albury area. 

He had a particular building style, which made a significant contribution to the urban landscape of Albury. His plant-on window frames, curved corners and art deco motifs continue to put their unique stamp on the city’s built landscape.

Stow Collection


Documents, photographs and letters which were collected and compiled by the Table Top Historical Committee between 1982 and 1984 and used in the publication of the book "History of Table Top 1824-1984".

Table Top Collection


The Victory Vanities provided entertainment in aid of patriotic funds during World War II. The musical comedy company became well known in the Albury district, visiting many local towns and regularly performing at military camps. 

The collection consists of photographs, programs and documents.

Victory Vanities


The items in the Watson Collection relate to the World War II war service of Miss P E Watson, and the World War I war work of her grandmother Mrs Mary Elizabeth Watson in Egypt and UK. The Watson Collection was given to the 8/13 VMR Regimental Collection in around 1995 when the Regimental Collection was housed at Buna Barracks Albury. 

In 2000 the Regimental Collection was moved to Bandiana and displayed there until 2009 when the museum was closed. The Watson Collection was transferred to the Albury City collection in 2009.

Watson Collection


Alfred Waugh served as Albury mayor on 20 separate occasions from 1907 to 1938. Along with his wife Ellen, he was heavily engaged in civic life and community organisations. 

The collection contains over 350 photographs, objects, documents and textiles. It also contains material that relates to Albury’s involvement in the Uiver episode, especially the involvement of Alfred and Ellen Waugh in subsequent goodwill missions to the Netherlands East Indies and Holland, where they became ambassadors for Albury and for Australia.

Waugh Collection


Photographs and documents relating to former Mayor of Albury Cleaver Bunton.

Cleaver Ernest Bunton (1902-1999) was born and educated in Albury. Employed first by V Flood Nagle as a solicitor's clerk, Cleaver studied accountancy at night school. He held many positions in sporting organisations over the years and was elected to Albury Municipal Council in 1925, aged 22. He married Eileen O'Malley in 1930. He retired from council in 1931 but returned in 1937. Elected mayor in 1945 Bunton served, with short breaks, until 1976. He was elected to the Australian Senate in 1975 but did not seek re-election. Cleaver Bunton received an AO and OBE. After his wife's death, Cleaver married Eileen Kommertji in February 1984.

Cleaver Bunton Collection

The Fairfax Collection contains images purchased from the Sydney Morning Herald Photo Archive. Subjects include Albury High School, Ettamogah Pub, Albury Wodonga Development Corporation (AWDC), Borg-Warner, Albury Newsprint Paper Mill, Kinross, Albury Railway Station and other local organisations and events.






Fairfax Collection

First named in 1838, Albury’s main street is a tree lined boulevard in the central business and shopping district. Along with Swift Street, it may have been named after Jonathon “Dean” Swift, the author of Gulliver’s Travels. 

Subject of many postcards, photographs and artist’s impressions, Dean Street is home to many of Albury’s iconic buildings. These images reveal the changing face of Albury over time.

Dean Street Images

A collection of items related to the Woods family in Albury.

Woods Collection

Do you recognise any of these Mates employees or associates?

Help us put some names to faces - copy the link and get in touch at librarymuseum@alburycity.nsw.gov.au

