Bunbury Museum and Heritage Centre

09/10/2026

Family Myths & Trees' researchers don’t just use the big names 🔍
The Family Myths & Trees team draws on heaps of tools in their search for the truth, including websites and online resources built by passionate locals, like , Dardanup Heritage Collective, , Bunbury Heritage Walk and , just to name a few.
Got a family question? Let the experts take it from here!
Submit your question➡️ https://vist.ly/5mnsf

Australind Family History Society
📷 Harvey State School, c1905. Harvey History Online, courtesy of Harvey & Districts Historical Society.

07/10/2026

📚 Bring your family history questions to Withers Library!
Family Myths & Trees is a free Bunbury Museum project, in partnership with the Australind Family History Society, inviting the public to submit a family history question - a myth, a mystery, or something you've never been able to confirm. Our volunteer researchers investigate and deliver the findings back to you.

To help you get started, AFHS volunteers will be at Withers Library this Saturday (10 October), from 10.30am-1pm, ready to chat through your question in person.

No appointment needed - just drop in. Whether you've already got a question in mind or you're not quite sure where to start, our volunteers can help.

📅 Saturday 10 October, 10.30am–1pm
📍 Withers Library - Hudson Road, South Bunbury
Submissions close on 30 October 2026, so this is a great chance to get expert help in person.

Bunbury Public Libraries

06/10/2026

Meet the Collector / Phil Smith
Phil Smith describes himself as an “Any-llector”, but his focus has always been bottles and containers, especially Aerated Waters (cool drinks). It started in May 1971, when he and his wife found a beautiful emerald green perfume bottle near Burtville in the Eastern Goldfields, and were later shown how to dig for bottles at the Coolgardie Dump by a local digger.

Every container has its own story. Originally, all bottles were handmade. As the workers were only paid for what they made, they were made quickly, so each is a unique object, sometimes misshapen or containing the maker’s fingerprints.

A favourite story of Phil’s is why the ‘Hamilton’ or ‘Egg Soda’ bottle was designed with a round bottom for one clever reason: “So you can't stand it up!”

The story dates back to the Industrial Revolution, when English businessmen discovered effervescent mineral waters bubbling from limestone springs in Europe and decided to bottle and sell it back home. The problem: in upright, corked bottles, the cork dried out, the gas escaped, and the water went flat. Decades of patents followed, all chasing a fix, and it's these patents that form the basis of Phil’s Aerated Water collections today. William F. Hamilton is credited with the solution: a round-bottomed bottle that had to lie on its side, keeping the cork wet and the fizz intact.

At his peak, Phil competed successfully at State and National levels against fellow collectors, with points not just awarded for outstanding containers but also for attractive displays and educational information.

Meet Phil and his collection of bottles, containers and smoking pipes at Bunbury Museum, on now until 29 November.
Free entry | Open Tues-Sun | 10am - 4pm

02/10/2026

⏰ Tomorrow! Drop in to Withers Library between 10.30am and 1pm and chat with an Australind Family History Society volunteer about your family history question.

No booking required - just come along. Bring any details you already have, or come with nothing but a question and we'll help you figure out the rest.

📍 Withers Community Library - Hudson Road, South Bunbury
📆 Saturday 3 October, 10.30am - 1pm
Can't make it this week? We'll be back on Saturday 10 October, same time, same place.

These drop-in sessions are part of Family Myths & Trees, a joint project between the museum and Australind Family History Society, inviting the public to submit a family history question - a myth, a mystery, or something you've never been able to confirm. Our expert volunteer researchers investigate and deliver the findings back to you, free of charge.
Got a question or want to learn more? ➡️ https://vist.ly/5kqra

Bunbury Public Libraries

29/09/2026

🌟 Tips from Local Studies 🌟
We all take so many photos on our phones these days, but do you ever look back at those old photos you printed out and stuck in a drawer years ago? Did you know old photos can deteriorate and fade away? It is worth opening those boxes again and checking.

Even our photos in Local Studies are not immune – for instance, this photograph of the Koombana Bay Sailing Club is one we had to rescue recently.

Photographs with a nasty vinegar smell are breaking down and will cause other photos and documents around them to deteriorate as well. Remove and scan (or take a digital photo) of those that smell, and remember to check the others regularly.

The best way of keeping photographs is in a cool, dry location with good ventilation.

Photographs from the 1980s seem particularly susceptible to deterioration compared with earlier snaps; it depends on the materials and chemicals used in production and the storage conditions they were kept in.

📷 LSC.2015.11871 Koombana Bay Sailing Club c.1985

25/09/2026

Free school holiday activities at the Bunbury Museum 🐬✂️🔍🎨
These school holidays, celebrate World Animal Day and discover the incredible wildlife right on our doorstep at the museum. Get hands-on with guided craft sessions and learn about local endangered species unique to our South West region:
🐬 Build a Dolphin Mobile (recommended for ages 5-8)
Tuesday 29 September 👉 https://vist.ly/5jsmy
Wednesday 7 October 👉 https://vist.ly/5jsmz

✂️ Make a Numbat Mask (recommended for ages 8-12)
Wednesday 30 September 👉 https://vist.ly/5jsm2
Thursday 8 October 👉 https://vist.ly/5jsn3

🍃 Construct a Ringtail Possum Drey (recommended for ages 9-12)
Thursday 1 October 👉 https://vist.ly/5jsmw
Tuesday 6 October 👉 https://vist.ly/5jsmx

Throughout the holidays, take on the Australian Animal Scavenger Hunt or unwind with animal facts and colouring sheets, and find out how you can help protect these special animals and their homes.
Book your free tickets now ➡️ https://vist.ly/5jsn4

Get Creative and Curious at the Museum! Celebrate World Animal Day and discover the incredible wildlife right on our doorstep.

24/09/2026

Meet the Collector / Shamara Williams
Who knew that a chance find at a Bunbury Library book sale would lead to a decades-long collecting obsession?

Shamara Williams' love of the Abbey Girls series began in childhood, with two books she brought from Sri Lanka when she immigrated to Australia at 19. Years later, a book sale at Bunbury Public Libraries turned up another title in the same series, and Shamara suddenly realised it was part of something bigger.

That discovery sent her down a rabbit hole. She tracked down a website cataloguing all 49 books and set out to collect as many as she could: "This led me down a rabbit hole and for a couple of years I lived in that beautiful, simple Abbey world as I purchased and read more and more of the series."

She now owns 23 of the 49 books, including fan-made photocopied editions of five out-of-print titles.

One of Shamara's most memorable moments came through the website 'Collecting Books and Magazines.' As she recalls: "Through the website and other connected links, I happened upon the fact that there are Elsie J. Oxenham societies around the world! I got in contact with the group based in Perth and attended a picnic at Kings Park. I was the youngest of the women there, and the only newer immigrant, and it was an absolute joy to be around people who knew what I was talking about!"

Meet Shamara and see the collection at Bunbury Museum, on now until 29 November.
Free entry | Open Tues-Sun | 10am - 4pm

23/09/2026

Every family has one 🌳
A story that's been told so many times, nobody's sure what's fact and what's folklore. Swipe through some of the mysteries families just like yours have been thinking about for years.

Family Myths & Trees is open for submissions now until 30 October 2026. It's free to submit a question and open to everyone. Whilst we love our local area, questions can be about any locality worldwide.
➡️ https://vist.ly/5jhik
Australind Family History Society

14/09/2026

Meet the Collector / Josh Tonkin
Did you know one collector's puzzles survived a house fire?

Josh Tonkin's love of twisty puzzles started at 12, watching a friend solve a classroom Rubik's Cube in a couple of “awe-inspiring minutes”. Years later, a cheap Big W cube and a lot of couch-bound practice turned into a genuine obsession - “That humble Big W cube is where it all began”

For Josh, it's all about the challenge: “The trickier-looking puzzles are usually bought with the goal of solving them unassisted. I love that mental workout... Growing my collection is like adding another trophy on the wall. It's another successful conquest”.

When the house Josh was renting burned down, most of his collection - luckily packed away in a box - survived, though many pieces still carry the ash and water marks.

Meet Josh and see his collection of Rubik's Cubes and cube-adjacent twisty geometric puzzles at Bunbury Museum, on now until 29 November.

11/09/2026

We are thrilled to announce the outstanding winners of the 2026 History's Mysteries Young Writers Competition, which drew an impressive 80 entries from talented young writers across the Greater Bunbury region.

This year's entries showcased a wide range of perspectives and narratives connected to our theme, inspired by the 150th anniversary of the Catalpa escape. The theme challenged entrants to find historical and creative links between Bunbury and real historical events that happened in Fremantle. The writers blew us away with the diversity of creative ways they made this connection, with some using known historical events and others weaving clever fictions in with the facts.

The stories showed impressive historical research, with writers drawing on real events before and after the Catalpa rescue, as well as taking a deep dive into the main story and bringing the escapees to life.

At yesterday's Awards Ceremony, Deputy Mayor Cheryl Kozisek presented the following awards:
Years 5-6
🥇 Levi Broere, 'VR Prison'
🥈 Levi Graham, 'A Narrow Escape'
🥉 Kiril Shcherbakov, 'Sudden Flashback (Catalpa)'
Highly Commended - Chloe Dhalluin, 'Run to Freedom'
Commended - Scarlett Downes, 'An Irish Escape'

Years 7-8
🥇 Connie Feng, 'The Captain’s Secret'
🥈 Ella Nagel, 'How I Accidentally Joined an Escape Plan'
🥉 Harry Carson, 'Bunbury: A Haven in History'
Highly Commended - Ben King, 'The Great Bunbury Breach'
Highly Commended - Zoe Starr, 'The Unfortunate Adventures of Jack Morgan'
Commended - Mignon Basson, 'Saddle to Safety'

Years 9-12
🥇 Lucielle Graham, 'The Catalpa Legacy'
🥈 Hudson Graham, 'Hope on the Horizon'
🥉 Emily Schmidt, 'A Friend for Finn'
Highly Commended - Omkar Variya, 'The Tale of Tasmania'
Highly Commended - Cohen Hope, 'The Perfect Distraction'
Commended - Gowri Renjith, 'Tide of the Outcasts'

Congratulations to all the winners and participants of the 2026 History's Mysteries Young Writers Competition! The dedication to exploring history through storytelling is truly inspiring.

Thank you to last night's talented storytellers, Barbara Rae and Jonathon Dyer, whose captivating readings brought each category's winning story to life.

Thank you to our judges, Shelly Findlater, Diana McGirr and Norm Flynn, for undertaking the extremely difficult task of selecting our category winners from the pool of young talent.

Sponsored by Southern Ports, all prizes were made possible through their generosity and continuing support of community initiatives.