Destination's Journey

Category: Museum

  • Nowra New South Wales Australia

    Nowra New South Wales Australia

    How to Get There

    Only two and a half hours drive south of Sydney, Nowra is a great place to explore the nearby Kangaroo Valley and Shoalhaven District. Public transport by train and bus goes to Nowra, but you will then need to organise personal transport to explore outside of the town.

    Where Did We Stay

    While in Nowra, we stayed at Springs Shoalhaven, because it was in a quiet location and had an on-site restaurant at the adjoining club. The clean rooms and great views over the golf course we a nice place to relax before going out for dinner. The meals at the club were great and the staff friendly.

    Nowra’s Buildings

    Wandering through Nowra’s business district, we found several nice old buildings, which were worth stopping to look at.

    Roxy Theatre
    Roxy Theatre
    Mechanics' Institute and School of Arts
    Mechanics’ Institute and School of Arts
    Saint Andrew's Presbyterian Church
    Saint Andrew’s Presbyterian Church

    Nowra Street Art

    Walking through the central shopping district of Nowra, you will come across many pieces of excellent street art decorated buildings. Mostly located around the Shoalhaven Regional Gallery, others can be found in side streets, which makes them fun to track down while exploring.

    Aboriginal Child - Street Art Nowra
    Aboriginal Child – Street Art Nowra
    Quest Street Art in Nowra
    Quest Street Art
    Street Art in Nowra
    Street Art
    Street Art in Nowra
    Street Art
    Car on Garage Door Street Art in Nowra
    Car on Garage Door Street Art
    Car on Garage Door Street Art in Nowra
    Car on Garage Door Street Art
    Street Art in Nowra
    Street Art
    Street Art in Nowra
    Street Art in Nowra
    Street Art
    Car on Garage Door Street Art in Nowra
    Car on Garage Door Street Art
    Street Art in Nowra
    Street Art
    Street Art in Nowra
    Street Art
    Cockatoo Street Art in Nowra
    Cockatoo Street Art
    Street Art in Nowra
    Street Art
    Street Art in Nowra
    Street Art

    Ben’s Walk

    The walk loops around the Shoalhaven River, through its gorges and forests. The walk begins at the Nowra Showground, where you can enjoy a barbecue, and superb views of the river and mountains from Hanging Rock. The complete track provides a return walk of about 5.5 kilometres taking around two hours. A short return walk from the footbridge to the Showground and Hanging Rock takes around 10 minutes. A suspension bridge provides a fun crossing of the river.

    Hanging Rock
    Hanging Rock
    Shoalhaven River From Hanging Rock Lookout
    Shoalhaven River From Hanging Rock Lookout
    Shoalhaven River From Hanging Rock Lookout
    Shoalhaven River From Hanging Rock Lookout
    Stairs to Ben's Walk
    Stairs to Ben’s Walk
    Suspension Bridge Across Nowra Creek
    Suspension Bridge Across Nowra Creek

    Soldiers’ Monument

    Opened in 1931, this memorial commemorates all those who served in conflicts that involved Australia. The bronze statue represents an Australian soldier, his helmet and rifle discarded now that has won and returned home, but remains forever vigil.

    Nowra Soldiers Memorial
    Nowra Soldiers Memorial
    Nowra Soldiers Memorial
    Nowra Soldiers Memorial

    Royal Australian Navy Fleet Air Arm Museum

    The museum has an almost complete collection of the aircraft operated by the RAN.  This ranges from the early 1950s when HMAS Sydney and Melbourne were acquired to a recently retired Seahawk helicopter.  A purpose-built air-conditioned building houses all the displays. Inside a raised mezzanine floor provides an excellent overhead perspective of the displays.  This is something that many aviation museums are lacking.  There is also plenty of space between each display so that they can be seen easily without the crowding that some museums use.

    To read the full story of our visit there, follow the link.

    RAN Fairey Firefly AS.5 Fleet Air Arm Museum Nowra HMAS Albatross www.destinationsjourney.com
    RAN Fairey Firefly AS.5

    What Did We Think of Nowra?

    A great place to stay with a range of activities to do and things to see. We used it as a base for exploring Kangaroo Valley and further afield to Kiama and the Illawarra.

    Our photos are available for purchase on

    To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

  • Singleton Museum New South Wales

    Singleton Museum New South Wales

    Singleton Museum

    Information from the Singleton Historical & Museum Guide. The museum is undergoing renovations.

    Located in Burdekin Park, the Singleton Museum houses an amazing collection of local artefacts, making it a great place to stop and look around. Staffed by volunteers from the local Historical Society, the museum’s displays are well curated and professionally laid out. The information displayed at each exhibit is interesting, but if you need a more in depth explanation, the staff are willing to help.

    Museum Building’s History

    The building was originally Singleton’s first “lock up” built on the site in 1840. By 1841 a detached Court House was built 50 ft to the west and donated by Benjamin Singleton to the government in return for Minimbah buildings. In April 1862 two stone cells were built on the western side of the slab cells being 8ft x 11ft with wooden floors, to hold five prisoners each having a centre corridor between.

    Two stone cells built in 1874 replaced the slab cells had concrete floors and a hallway built along the west side of the cell block. All were of stone with walls extending 4 ft below the floor level. Built onto the west side of the hallway, is a brick gaoler’s residence & guard room consisting of a room at each end with a guard room in the centre.

    With the construction of a new town lockup and residence in 1899, the Municipal Council obtained the buildings . The removal of the old gaoler’s residence and the southern partition made a Council Chamber 36ft x 14ft with a 16ft x 14ft room retained at the northern end for the Town Clerk’s Office.

    In 1963 the Singleton Historical Society gained use of the building, enabling displays featuring Aboriginal, convict, pioneer and rural articles of local heritage to be available to the public. These exhibits have been mostly collected locally and donated by the residents of Singleton Shire.

    Monument Fountain To Mayor Munro Burdekin Park Singleton NSW Australia
    Mayor Munro Monument Fountain Outside the Museum’s Entrance
    Singleton Historical Society Museum Singleton NSW Australia
    Singleton Museum
    Singleton Historical Museum Burdekin Park Singleton NSW Australia
    Tractors at Singleton Museum

    Singleton Museum’s Displays

    Rural Section

    Filled with carts, buggies, farm tools and more, this room contains an image of farm life when Singleton was first settled. The bell from St Clair Station makes an interesting exhibit, as it has been engulfed by a growing tree.

    Located in this room is a suitcase that belonged to Henry Dangar, who was a government surveyor and important pastoralist in the early 1800s.

    Horse Cart
    Horse Cart
    Horse Buggy
    Horse Buggy
    Old Farm Tools Singleton Museum
    Old Farm Tools
    St Clair Station Bell
    St Clair Station Bell
    Dangar's Suitcase
    Dangar’s Suitcase

    Displays

    Throughout the building’s other rooms containing well maintained displays covering Singleton’s past. From typewriters and surveying equipment, to aboriginal artefacts and fine china, there is a huge quantity of items to inspect..

    Hand Powered Wheelchair
    Hand Powered Wheelchair
    Old Railway Clock Singleton Museum
    Old Railway Clock
    Monarch Typewriter
    Monarch Typewriter

    Old Kitchen

    Furnished as an old kitchen, one of the old gaol cells, contains everything a pre electric kitchen needs. Beautifully laid out, this room is fun to look around and admire the old furniture and artefacts.

    The Kitchen
    The Kitchen
    The Kitchen Singleton Museum
    The Kitchen

    Gaol Cells

    Originally holding-cells for the court house, the barred doors, manacles, leg irons and bedding on display show how spartan conditions were for prisoners.

    Gaol Cell 1861 Singleton Museum
    Gaol Cell 1861
    Manacles
    Manacles

    Records Room

    The library is the custodian of an immense amount of records from numerous local companies, clubs and residents. Many records are on microfilm, however some are still only in paper form and are becoming fragile. Available for use at a modest fee, this is a treasure trove of local history.

    Hand Written Ledger
    Hand Written Ledger
    Old Record Books
    Old Record Books
    Old Books in the Records Room Singleton Museum
    Old Books in the Records Room

    What Did We Think of the Singleton Museum?

    We had a great time looking through the rooms and displays. Although small, the museum makes the best use of the available space with well curated displays which are all well maintained.

    A great place to visit if you are passing through town, and a place all locals should visit to understand the town’s history.

    Our photos are available for purchase on

    To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

  • Kangaroo Valley New South Wales Australia

    Kangaroo Valley New South Wales Australia

    Kangaroo Valley

    Two hours from Sydney, or 30 minutes from Nowra (to Hampton Bridge in the middle of Kangaroo Valley), this is a great place to escape the big city. We stayed in Nowra and explored from there, but there are many closer places to stay, especially if you go camping. During our time we went bush walking, explored local history and admired the amazing scenery.

    Hampden Bridge Kangaroo Valley

    Built in 1898 to replace an older wooden structure, Hampden Bridge features four large crenellated turrets made of locally quarried sandstone. Named after Lord Hampden, Governor of New South Wales from 1895 to 1899, it is a tourist attraction in Kangaroo Valley, because of its distinctive appearance.

    Parking is easy due to the on street and off street car parks at either end of the bridge. From the Nowra side of the bridge, a stairway descends to the Kangaroo River, to view the underside of the bridge.

    Hampden Bridge
    Hampden Bridge Kangaroo Valley
    Hampden Bridge Kangaroo Valley
    Hampden Bridge Kangaroo Valley
    Kangaroo Valley’s Hampden Bridge
    Kangaroo River Under Hampden Bridge
    Kangaroo River Under Hampden Bridge

    Pioneer Village Museum Kangaroo Valley

    Set in 8 hectares of bushland, the one hectares pioneer village contains building built like like those of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Displayed are a dairy, forge, school house, settler’s cottage, a Museum, war remembrance room and suspension bridge on one of the bush trails.

    Pioneer Village Farm
    Pioneer Village Farm
    Farmhouse Kitchen
    Farmhouse Kitchen
    Horse Buggy
    Horse Buggy
    Pioneer Village Museum Buildings
    Pioneer Village Museum Buildings
    Pioneer Village Museum Buildings
    Pioneer Village Museum Buildings
    Slab Hut at Pioneer Village
    Slab Hut at Pioneer Village
    Suspension Bridge at Pioneer Village
    Suspension Bridge at Pioneer Village
    Suspension Bridge at Pioneer Village
    Suspension Bridge at Pioneer Village

    Cambewarra Mountain Lookout

    Located at the top of Cambewarra Mountain, the lookout provides panoramic views out the the coast and at 678m above sea level gives you views from Coolangatta Mountain in the north all the way to Sussex Inlet in the south.

    Around 20 minutes drive from Nowra, it is easy to get to, but the drive up the mountain is slow, with narrow, twisting roads in places.

    Apart from the views, a cafe offers snacks and a lunch menu, with inside and outside seating, depending on the weather. On our visit, it was a great place to warm up after a cold morning start and relaxing by a warm fire was wonderful.

    View From Cambewarra Mountain Lookout
    View From Cambewarra Mountain Lookout
    Cambewarra Mountain Lookout CAfe
    Cambewarra Mountain Lookout CAfe

    Tallowa Dam

    Constructed across the Shoalhaven River, Tallowa Dam is popular with tourists and locals, because of water sports and picnic opportunities. For a relaxing day, the picnic area has a nice grassed area, while nearby, the water is easily accessible. Organised trips by local tour operators, provide the opportunity to kayak downstream.

    The dam wall is not accessible, but a track leads to the downstream side, where you can view the wall and some infrastructure.

    We were luck on our stop there to see some kangaroos that were relaxing in the picnic area.

    Kangaroo at Tallowa Dam
    Kangaroo at Tallowa Dam

    Fitzroy Falls

    One of the highlights to Kangaroo VAlley is a visit to Fitzroy Falls, not only for the waterfall’s 80m drop, but also the surrounding eucalypt forest and views over the gorges and valleys. Parking in the large car park and paying the park’s entry fee, we first stopped at the Visitor Centre. It contains loads of information about the local history, wildlife and birdwatching and walks. With wheelchair-accessible facilities and a short boardwalk to the scenic views of the waterfalls, you do not need to go bushwalking to enjoy yourself.

    West Rim Walking Track

    After a stop at the Visitor Centre, we started on the 3.5km return West Rim Track, which is graded at level three, being slightly undulating but very well maintained. Along the way we found more views of the falls, and amazing views over the valley.

    After finishing the walk, we found that a mobile coffee van had setup shop in the car park. A great surprise after the walk.

    Fitzroy Falls
    Fitzroy Falls
    Fitzroy Falls
    Fitzroy Falls
    View of the Valley
    View of the Valley
    View of the Valley
    View of the Valley
    Sign Post at Fitzroy Falls
    Sign Post at Fitzroy Falls
    Walking Track at Fitzroy Falls
    Walking Track at Fitzroy Falls

    Belmore Falls

    Managed by NSW Parks and Wildlife, Belmore Falls Walking Track is well maintained and although graded 3, has a lot of steps. After parking the car and paying the entry fee we took around 45 minutes to walk the track. We stopped many time to look at the scenery, so if you don’t stop you may be quicker.

    Arriving in the afternoon, the sun was in a bad position for photos. We would advise doing the walk in the morning for a better sun angle.

    Belmore Falls
    Belmore Falls

    What Did We Think of Kangaroo Valley?

    A great place to get away to for a few days or a week. During our visit, we only scratched the surface on what’s available here, as the number of walking tracks is huge. Highly recommended for anyone who like nature and the outdoors.

    Our photos are available for purchase on

    To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.