Bundaberg and District Historical Museum

The Bundaberg and District Historical museum ensure the collection and preservation of various historical aspects of the region to benefit the entire community. The museum boasts an impressive photographic and archival collection that is open to the public. These include a display of the local birds, local artifacts, and other exhibitions that date back to the 1800s.

Originally, it was known as the Normanby House, but it has since evolved into the fully equipped museum it is now. The collections housed in this museum can be accessed by prior notice, which means bookings are mandatory for visitors if they wish to see the displays. There is a wealth of knowledge available for visitors to take advantage of, some of which include the birds displayed by Charles Skyring, the World Quilt, and the Lucke Quads Cyclops Pram.

Bundaberg City Spitfire Scroll

The citizens of Bundaberg funded and donated a Spitfire plane to the War, with the plate “City of Bundaberg & District” during World War II. This was donated to honor Bert Hinkler, who was a fallen Squadron leader and to show support to the Royal Airforce Squadrons. The Donated Spitfire on three squadrons, Number 308, Number 504, and Number 616. The Spitfire ended up being abandoned in service of the Number 504 squadron on the Isle of Man on the Irish Sea.

The scroll which is now displayed in the museum was prepared during the fundraising for the Spitfire. This scroll is especially valuable to the locals since, at that time, they paid a small fee to be allowed to sign it. It is an important part of the heritage of Bundaberg, and is called ‘The Roll of Spitfire Supporters’. A lot of the citizens who signed on that document are still alive and proud to see this displayed in their museum.

The Lucke Quads Pram

The Lucke quadruplets were born to Agnes and Arthur Lucke in 1955, at the Lady Chelmsford Maternity Hospital. They were named Eric, Jennifer, Kevin, and Veronica and their pram, which was one of a kind, was created and donated by Cyclops. It is the only pram of that kind in Australia, and three out of the four Quadruplets are still reside in Bundaberg.

The World Quilt

The World Quilt is a nice symbol of creativity in Bundaberg and was the creation of Marguerite Rule in 1920. She was an avid subscriber to the Christian Science Monitor and was requested to embroider a cloth for the autographed quilt that the American correspondence to this publication wanted to make. Marguerite was inspired to make a quilt like that for herself too, and consequently created a 1.5 square meter quilt, with fifty-nine 15cm boxes.

Each one of these boxes has been autographed by celebrities including actresses, sportsmen, and singers. A sixty-centimeter box, however, holds Marguerite’s signature and date of creation, and this quilt still sits in the museum for visitors to witness.

Conclusion

The Bundaberg and District Museum exhibits different artifacts and displays that show how special this city is to Australia. The community takes pride in whatever photographic or archival displays it holds.