The iconic Lithgow Small Arms Factory is being considered for inclusion on the NSW State Heritage Register as part of ongoing efforts to preserve what is widely regarded as one of the best firearms museums in the Southern Hemisphere.
The museum has been essentially closed since a brazen burglary last year, with its funds rapidly draining due to the requirement for on-site guards and security upgrades to the premises.
Further complicating things is a dispute with site owner Thales over ownership of the museum buildings, with the museum requiring ownership of the buildings to carry out important preservation, restoration and security work.
NSW MP for Barwon Roy Butler and MP for Orange Phil Donato have taken up the cause and contacted the NSW Heritage Minister, Penny Sharpe, formally asking for the Lithgow Small Arms Factory to be included on the state’s heritage register.
The museum’s Heritage Application is now being considered by Environment NSW and is open for public submissions until 25 July.
Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum secretary Kerry Guerrin said a heritage listing would mean the museum’s buildings would be protected and preserved as a vital part of Australia’s history, and give the museum certainty in its operations and forward planning.
“A heritage listing makes it a lot harder for an owner to change, destroy or knock down a building; it saves [the building] for future generations,” he said.
The heritage application not only covers the three buildings of the Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum, but the entire complex — currently leased by French company Thales under contract to the Commonwealth Government — including the historic rifle range, understood to be the oldest operating in NSW.
Mr Guerrin said there had been attempts over the years to get the Lithgow Small Arms Factory site heritage listed, but all of them had been rejected before getting to the public consultation stage.
“This is the furthest we’ve ever gotten,” he said.
He said from the museum’s perspective, the focus was on the three buildings currently comprising the museum facilities — the general machine shop, the administration building and the canteen.
“The general machine shop has our machinery collection of 135 machines going back to 1912, including some of the original Pratt & Whitney equipment, up to a couple of [post-WWII] CNC machines,” he said.
The museum itself is housed in the administration building, while the canteen building is currently being used for storage pending plans to have it restored to some sort of food outlet for visitors to eat at.
The museum personnel had been overwhelmed by the support they had received, not only from within Australia but around the world, Mr Guerrin said.
He highlighted the work of volunteer Bronwyn Hanna, who previously used to work for the Heritage Commissioner and is doing the heritage nomination pro bono for the museum.
Mr Butler said it was vital the museum site was preserved, as it was an integral part of the history of not only Lithgow, but Australia itself.
“The Small Arms Factory means a lot to many people,” he said.
“I had family who worked at the nearby munitions factory. They were bakers delivering lunch to the workers. I know there are many people out there with similar family history.
“The factory is integral to Australian military history.
“The museum has a comprehensive collection of firearms from around the world and shows the production processes and social history of the factory and commercial and domestic production, which, between the wars, provided the factory’s lifeblood and preserved the valuable skills of its workforce.”
NSW upper house MPs Robert Borsak and Sam Farraway have also spoken about the museum in Parliament, calling for it to be supported and preserved.
Mr Guerrin said the application needed all the support it could get, and anyone in the world could make a submission — not just NSW residents — and it did not need to be long or involved, either.
“A submission can be as little as ‘Yes, I believe this site should be heritage listed’,” he said.
“We need support — contact local politicians, talk to Thales, talk to federal MPs.
“Governments only look at numbers.”
Submissions on the museum’s nomination for the State Heritage Register are open until 11 July and shooters and historians are encouraged to have their say on the issue via Environment NSW here: https://apps.environment.nsw.gov.au/dpcheritageapp/ViewHeritageItemDetails.aspx?ID=5051569
NSW residents can sign a parliamentary petition supporting the expediting of the heritage listing process here, before 29 May: https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/la/pages/epetition-details.aspx?q=iRYZVofsgPOgBsMVEG9Sag
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