A SPECIAL exhibition at the Bulli museum is part of what has been labelled Australia’s largest community-driven celebration of heritage.

As part of the Australian Heritage Festival, the Black Diamond Heritage Centre is featuring ‘Sandon Point – Spirit of a Place and Its People’ at the old Bulli Railway Station museum.

For more than 40 years the National Trust has connected the nation through the Australian Heritage Festival celebrations.

From the city to the regions right across Australia, the festival provides an opportunity for the community to immerse themselves in the country’s rich and diverse heritage, offering unmatched access to special exhibitions, tours, talks, workshops, food fairs, ceremonies, demonstrations, dinners and more.

Returning in April and May with the theme Connections, the 2024 festival celebrates the rich and diverse stories of our nation, strengthen cultural and historical ties and encourage the community to forge new bonds. It acknowledges our link to people, places and the past, and the enduring connections that will shape the future of heritage.

Black Diamond District Heritage Centre’s Kerrie Anne Christian said through the Millennia, Sandon Point at Bulli has been a gathering place.

“Aboriginal peoples came together here – from the north, south and west; then Europeans came,” Ms Christian said.

“Our exhibition features images, stories and memorabilia of past decades and today – capturing Sandon Point – the Place and Its People.”

The exhibition is also a tribute to the 40th anniversary of NIRAG (Northern Illawarra Residents Action Group) and its involvement in protecting the region’s heritage and environment.

“We are grateful for photographs and information supplied by Ross Dearden – long time NIRAG member, also Facebook Groups and Pages – Sandon Point Then and Now, Lost Wollongong, Looking Back Old Bulli Shire North Illawarra History and Back in Time Photos from the Illawarra – we are grateful for all of this assistance.”

The museum, located in Franklin Avenue in the historic Bulli Railway Station building, also has a permanent display of local coal mining and railway history – and memorabilia from Sherbrooke, the reclaimed fruit growing village on Bulli Mountain.

The museum is open Sundays from 1pm to 4pm and can open midweek by arrangement – email bdhcbulli@gmail.com

More information can be found at the museum’s website HERE.

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