Volunteers from a historic Lake Tabourie building were honoured at a mayor’s morning tea in Ulladulla.
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Ernie and Margaret Kendrigan of the Tabourie Lake Museum represented the museum’s foundation at the morning tea at the Ulladulla Civic Centre on Saturday, October 10.
Approximately 100 volunteers from various groups were welcomed by Shoalhaven City Council mayor Amanda Findley.
Ernie was one of two people asked to address the meeting.
He told the gathering that he had been a volunteer at museum for the past 23 years; Margaret even longer – 25 years.
Ernie outlined the history to the crowd. He said it was built and almost entirely stocked by Jack Nicholson. Jack, born in the UK in 1908, came to Australia with his parents when he was 12 years old.
His parents returned to their homeland and in his youth Jack worked at Dulludulla Station near Narromine and then Ardgower Station at Wyandra.
He worked with cattle, sheep and horses, becoming a competent stockman. While working as a jackaroo he learned the ways of Aboriginal people, by hunting and tracking with them.
In the 1930s Jack moved to Sydney where he met and married his wife Dot and undertook several business ventures.
Due to ill health, they retired to Lake Tabourie in 1960 where Jack studied anthropology further and commenced building the museum.
In 1965, Jack opened the museum to the public. In 1983 Jack transferred ownership of the museum to the Shoalhaven City Council in return for a motor home. Jack passed away in 1996.
The local Quota Club managed the museum on behalf of the Shoalhaven City Council from the mid-1980s until 2000.
Since then the museum has been managed by the Tabourie Lake Museum Foundation.
The committee of volunteers holds regular meetings and is assisted by several other volunteers to maintain the museum, and open it to the public. New volunteers are always needed, and welcome.
Ernie also described the diversity of the collection which contains over 12,000 items.
It includes a geological display of rocks, minerals and fossils, along with a noteworthy collection of Aboriginal artifacts. There are five rooms displaying typical objects of an early 20th century home. The marine collection display includes fish and sea dragons, and the bottle collection is vast and varied.
The Tabourie Lake Museum is open from 11am to 3pm on weekends, public holidays and school holidays.
Call 0438 573 269 to arrange a group visit during or outside these opening times. For general enquiries call 02 4457 3692 or email tabouriemuseum@gmail.com.
