Nambucca Headland Museum

23/05/2026

The museum is open today 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Call in and pick up your copy of our "best seller", Nambucca Stories. Read about the Nambucca Valley when the river was the highway and our inner harbour was full of sailing ships and sawmills. Just $25 cash or card and all proceeds support the work of the museum.

22/05/2026

Our Museum volunteers at Nambucca Valley Council Volunteers Day lunch at Nambucca RSL today. Thanks to Council for the wonderful lunch and words of appreciation.

10/05/2026

Our 1982 XPT has been refurbished and was filmed at our 103 year old Nambucca Heads Station on Saturday. Thanks to XPT enthusiast Aaron for sharing his video.

07/05/2026

A visitor to the museum from Sydney was thrilled to find a pair of Australian World War II wire cutters, downstairs in the tool section. He was happy to fill us in on the tool's background, being that they were durable, folding tools made of white metal alloy and designed for cutting barbed wire. They featured a locking mechanism to hold the handles together when folded and could be attached to a belt or carried in a pouch.
One can only imagine they belonged to a Nambucca Valley veteran who thought they'd come in handy back on the farm. :)
The Headland Museum is open tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday 2 to 4 pm.There is still time to pick up a copy of our Nambucca Stories book for a Mothers Day present.
Photo is our the wire cutters and thanks to Bob for the information.

05/05/2026

Our museum website is repaired and back in service thanks to our able tech man Ion Newcombe. We will be adding new stories and photos to it in the coming weeks, so keep it bookmarked and help us promote and protect Nambucca Valley history.
Dont forget to look for the Nambucca Stories pages on the website.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images and names of deceased persons in photographs or printed material.

02/05/2026

Museum volunteer Rachel Burns is set up at the Lions Plaza markets. Come down and say hello and do your Mothers Day shopping with a copy of our Nambucca Stories or any of our other museum publications. Open until 1 pm.

01/05/2026

The Lions Plaza Markets are back on this Sunday and the museum will be there with a stall stocked with our publications and the Nambucca Stories book. Wouldn't it be a great Mothers Day gift? 68 stories of the Nambucca Valley, since European settlement, to entertain and inform. Your family might just be in it. See you at the markets at Nambucca Plaza on Sunday or you can get a copy by post by emailing:
[email protected]
Or call in at the museum 2 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Saturday & Sunday.

28/04/2026

A wonderful visit from Year 12 Marine Studies students and Science Teacher Tracey Patu from Nambucca Heads High School today. Rachel and Garry guided the enthusiastic group through the exhibits especially the Shipping, Timber and Gumbayngirr displays.
The High School was presented with 2 copies of our Nambucca Stories book and our Railway Centenary and Shipwreck Booklets.
Good luck with your assignments and come again Nambucca Heads High School.

22/04/2026

Our Blackthorn Cane, the McKay relic connected to the Battle of Waterloo, has found new housing at the museum with help of the Macksville Menshed. The glass fronted case, cleverly crafted by Ian, means the cane will be safe and secure and on display. You can read the story of the cane in one of the 68 stories in our book Nambucca Stories, available at the museum or by post, just email us:
[email protected]
Thanks to the Menshed for helping us to preserve the history of the Nambucca Valley.

31/03/2026

The Lions Plaza Markets, where we usually have a stall, is not on this weekend, to give all the Lions hardworking volunteers a well deserved break. However you can still get a copy of our Nambucca Stories at the Headland Museum on Saturday, Sunday or Wednesday 2 to 4 p.m. or from our friends at Nambucca Bowling Club, Mary Boulton Pioneer Cottage & Museum and the Kempsey Museum.
We can also post it to you by emailing:
[email protected]
Nambucca Stories is 68 stories about the community in the Nambucca Valley since European settlement. Just $25 a copy.
A quote from Museums and Galleries of NSW gives further insight into this wonderful collection of local history:
Rachel Burns has dedicated more than a decade to uncovering the rich and often overlooked histories of the Nambucca Valley. A long-time volunteer with the Nambucca Headland Museum, her work has culminated in Nambucca Stories, a book of local histories that bring to life tales of shipwrecks, settlement, sawmills, and survival. In this Insights interview, Rachel reflects on the origins of the project, the power of storytelling to engage audiences, and how recognition through the IMAGinE Awards has strengthened both her work and her community.
(https://mgnsw.org.au/articles/insights-nambucca-stories-an-interview-with-rachel-burns/)

08/02/2026

Our museum members have varied and wonderful interests. Carrolline Rhodes is part of the Wyz Wimmin Theatre Company who have performances of "Play It Again", a ten year retrospective. Support this local group and enjoy great entertainment at the same time. First stop is the Bowraville Theatre on Saturday March 1st at 2 p.m., then they tour to Urunga, Kempsey, Bellingen and Dorrigo.
Tickets are just $25 for online purchase at:
wyzwimmin.org.au