Denman and District Heritage Village

About the Project

The Denman and District Heritage Village, which offers visitors a unique opportunity to admire a vast range of items, breathtaking for the breadth of their history, is moving closer towards housing the unique collection in a new purpose-built building.

With grant funding from the Ridgeland’s Community Fund, funding and support from Muswellbrook Shire Council and an application to Stronger Country Communities awaiting an outcome, more than a decade on the dream of a permanent home for the collection is set to become a reality.

Architectural plans, development approval, a business plan and preliminary quantity survey works are completed and a design and construct tender is currently being prepared by council officers, with the outcome to be reported to the February 2022 council meeting. Construction works are due to start in May 2022 and are expected to take around eight months.

Already strongly affiliated with the Denman Men’s Shed, the Denman and District Heritage Village committee aim to expand and open the collection, which is primarily composed of objects and artefacts donated by president Jeff Wolfgang, to the wider community.

Among the display is a “man-trap” and ball and chain from convict days; the town’s first bucket-filled fire pump made by Shand Mason of London; a rebuilt 1906 Darracq and a 1958 Goggomobile; shearing implements and an old shearing press from Gundy; old irons, thimbles and station engines; a 100-year-old Yoss typewriter; Cyclops pedal cars; farm tools; a gas mask from World War II; an exercise bike built by the famous boxer, Les Darcy and the very first cricket bat, ball and stumps owned by Denman Cricket Club.

The new building is designed to exhibit the bulk of the collection and is adjacent to the existing shed, which will be repurposed for restoration activities and storage. The outdoor area of the Recreation Ground surrounding the buildings will be used for the display of larger items that can be safely stored outside, such as tractors.

Two heritage structures, an early slab hut dating from the original settlement of Denman, which will hold some of the early pioneer items in the collection, and the quarantine ward from Brentwood Hospital, which will display historic hospital equipment, are part of the long-term plans.

The town of Denman and the surrounding rural areas have a keen sense of local identity and character. The heritage village will provide not only a focal point to celebrate this, but a living and tangible means of communicating the history, identity and uniqueness of the local area.

Project Update 25/07/2023

Boasting a striking presence, the Denman and District Heritage Village is one step closer to opening. Councillors and staff toured the facility today as construction nears completion.

Project Update 5/09/2023

Construction works at the Denman and District Heritage Village have been completed and the keys handed over for the space to be filled. It is anticipated the Heritage Village will be opened to the community in November.