Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum

29/03/2026

Our latest acquisition - a sterling silver medallion - joins another historic SAFEA medallion already in our collection, connecting to a fascinating and often tense chapter in the Factory’s early history.
In the early years, tensions at the Factory arose from a clash between the American-style efficiency pushed by management and British trade union traditions brought by skilled workers. This led to rivalry between unions, friction with non-union workers, and ongoing conflict with Factory Manager Arthur Wright.
In 1912, Factory leadership covertly encouraged the creation of the SAFEA (Small Arms Factory Employees Association) - a “factory union” largely aligned with management. Despite objections from other unions, it was officially registered and quickly grew to dominate the workforce.
By 1914, most employees were SAFEA members. What began as a management-backed organisation eventually grew into a union that asserted its own authority. It later became part of the Arms, Explosives and Munitions Workers’ Federation of Australia.
Both of these medallions are exceptionally rare, as the SAFEA existed for just five years, from 1912 to 1917. They represent a big story of industrial tension, workplace politics, and the evolving identity of the Lithgow Factory.

11/03/2026

It’s the last day (Thursday 12 March) to make a submission to the Independent Planning Commission review. Submissions close at midnight (Link with details is in the first comment.) Every submission counts, however short, as long as it states clearly that it supports listing for the Lithgow Small Arms Factory.

The museum’s value depends on the historic factory site remaining intact. If the site is destroyed, the museum would not continue in its current form. Our future plans—plans that would greatly benefit Lithgow and its visitors—would not proceed. Only a smaller symbolic portion of the collection may remain in Lithgow, separated from the historic factory site that gives the museum its essential context and meaning.
The significance is recognised internationally. Supporters from England, Canada and the US who have lost their own similar heritage factories, value Lithgow’s all the more because so few remain anywhere in the world.
The loss of these iconic buildings would leave a very visible hole in Lithgow. Streets named for the factory, local family histories, Engineering Heritage recognition and UNESCO listed archives would remain as reminders of the historic Commonwealth Small Arms Factory — and of a unique and proud Australian heritage that our generation failed to protect.

08/03/2026

On International Women’s Day, we pay tribute to the many women who worked at the Commonwealth SAF—some of whom still live in our town, while others travelled and endured great hardship in order to contribute. Thank you for your contributions to Australia’s war efforts, manufacturing ingenuity and advancement in women’s employment rights.

06/03/2026

A reminder that the closing date for submissions to the Independent Planning Commission review of the heritage listing of the factory is midnight, 12 March.

IPC submissions are separate from the Heritage Council submissions, so those who submitted to the Heritage Council last year may wish to also submit to the IPC, making it clear that your submission supports heritage listing.

There has been some concern in the community about possible restrictions on the viable commercial use of the Small Arms Factory site if it is heritage listed. However, we share the NSW Heritage Council’s view that a NSW Heritage listing need not impede commercial operations on the site, including Thales’ business. It is generally understood by heritage authorities that active, ongoing use is the best way to preserve heritage.

The proposed listing area has been purposefully reduced to just the “heritage core”, ensuring a large amount of land is available for redevelopment without destroying heritage.

Thales has expressed concern that a heritage listing would require ongoing maintenance of the buildings. However, this would be a reasonable expectation of corporate citizenship for any company privileged to operate on an internationally significant site. Thales currently operates successfully in a 1923 heritage building, and there have also been a number of proposals over the years to utilise unused buildings for both cultural and commercial pursuits.

We hope that a heritage listing will see these iconic buildings returned to their former glory. It could also open opportunities for State Government advice and funding to support preservation and adaptive reuse. Given the international significance of the site, this could become an ongoing source of revenue with positive flow-on effects for Lithgow.

Again, the closing date for submissions is midnight, 12 March. Please consider making a submission, however short, making it clear in the first line that your submission SUPPORTS heritage listing, as we have noticed that the IPC has sometimes categorised submissions incorrectly.
(IPC submission link in the first comment)

05/03/2026

Very special recent visitors — the impeccably trained assistance dog Vader and his veteran owner, Ben.
Not only did Ben train Vader himself, he volunteers his time helping to train other service dogs for veterans.
If you’re wondering about Vader’s tail adornment — it prevents friction where his tail hangs out of the sidecar! That’s how this dynamic duo travels.
We didn’t manage to get a photo of the impressive travel setup but you can find Ben and Vader and their adventures on Instagram at .

19/02/2026

After Australia-wide and international support, and a careful assessment by the Heritage Council, the application for state heritage listing submitted by a NSW heritage consultant last year, was recommended for approval. The Minister for Heritage has referred the case to the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) for further advice.

For those who are unaware of what is at stake, the Assessment Report available on the link includes compelling detail about the history and value of this iconic Lithgow site. Heritage and industry can easily coexist and a heritage listing would support this with advice and funding. Let’s have both.

IPC also invites submissions regarding the heritage listing with the submission period closing 12 March. Anyone in the world can make a submission to the IPC, including all who submitted to the Heritage Council assessment.

Lithgow Small Arms Factory - Request for review of proposed listing on the State Heritage Register The Minister for Heritage has requested the Commission to undertake a review of a recommendation from the Heritage Council of NSW to list the Lithgow Small Arms Factory on the State Heritage Register p...

25/08/2025

Today marks a year since the break-in that forced the closure of our museum. It’s not an anniversary we would normally want to celebrate but we had great news today that another handgun has been recovered, leaving only 5 unaccounted for of the 27 total that were stolen.

We are very grateful to NSW police for their handling of this whole issue, from the date of the theft through to their successful investigations and recovery of the stolen artefacts, keeping us well informed throughout.

We are still doing our best to resolve the site issues that threaten the museum’s future. But we’re keeping positive and are currently open by appointment with full details on our website. Please come along, the $10 admission supports our rebuilding. There are no fi****ms on display as yet, but we have the factory history displays and the machine shop. We have a planned phased full reopening, all going well with the site.

16/08/2025

The museum remains open by appointment (no fi****ms on display as yet) as part of a planned phased full opening dependent on resolving our site issue.

This week we were delighted to assist award-winning author, Bram Presser with research for his PhD book which we look forward to reading.

Bram’s kind thank you email provided another reminder of how important this museum is and how worthy of preservation as research opportunities become ever more important into the future.

“Your generosity of time and spirit, the depth and wealth of your knowledge and your incredible patience with someone who knows absolutely nothing about guns went far beyond what I could have hoped. I particularly loved talking through the case that I’m writing about and bouncing ideas around with you. I left feeling re-energised about my project and with a lot of great ideas to mull over in my head.

On a more general note, I really hope the museum can return to full operation in the near future. It’s an invaluable resource, not only for researchers and writers like myself, but more generally as a lesser known but important piece of Australian history. Even in the limited capacity I saw today, it really was something special.”

Thank you so much Bram! We think so too!

28/05/2025

LAST DAY to sign our NSW parliamentary petition! Signatures close Friday 29 May. Here is the link: https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/la/Pages/epetition-details.aspx?q=iRYZVofsgPOgBsMVEG9Sag

We were delighted to host award winning fine artist Sybil Curtis on a recent visit to Lithgow and equally delighted that her visit was a success, as evidenced by these kind words from her son, Neil:

"Sybil was absolutely wrapped with the visit and she now has a really big volume of reference material to work with over the coming year. She will use these photographs to help inspire original large oil paintings about Lithgow's industrial heritage. We would really like to thank you and team at the museum for supporting the arts community immensely in this way."

Pictures show the artist, Sybil Curtis, in our machine shop, and one of the reference photographs taken on the visit.

Please help support us so we can continue to support wonderfully creative ventures such as this.

07/05/2025

The passion in the room is palpable as the experts redesign the museum's fi****ms displays to comprehensively tell their stories.
Please don't let this hard work be in vain!

NSW residents please sign our parliamentary petition here:
https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/la/Pages/epetition-details.aspx?q=iRYZVofsgPOgBsMVEG9Sag

And everyone please support our heritage nomination here:
https://www.haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/lithgowsaf

01/05/2025

Calling all NSW residents! We need help with our NSW Parliament petition. Apart from our fi****ms history, there are also important artefacts and stories of innovation and ingenuity at stake. An Australian cultural icon - our birthplace of precision manufacturing, and the scene of many groundbreaking events in war and peace.

We are hoping a discussion in parliament will bring some action and for that we need 20,000 signatures.

Please sign and share the petition. Anybody with an email address can sign, including under 18s. We have just over 5000 and less than one month to go. If everyone who has signed enlists three more people, we’ll make it! Please help us get there!

https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/la/Pages/ePetition-details.aspx?q=iRYZVofsgPOgBsMVEG9Sag