History Week is back from 6-14 September 2025 with a full schedule of events.
This image is of last years first Film and Sound archive screening.
The screening included a chronological walk through different events of Gundagai’s past with a two part black and white silent film from 1920, a colour silent piece from Anzac Day 1960, another sound and colour video from 1988 and a short sound recording with still pictures, from a local resident recalling the days of the old dance halls.
History Week is back for 2025 from 6-14 September, and the Gundagai History Group have put together a big program of events to help Gundagai celebrate its rich history. The theme for History Week 2025 is ‘Water Stories’.
Organised by the History Council of NSW, the ‘Water Stories’ theme will explore the diverse and significant ways water has shaped the past and present, including how it has been cherished, diverted, contained, or contaminated.
The schedule of events across the week is as follows:
• Monday 8th September at 10 am – Family History for Beginners Trove/Ancestry Resources session held at Gundagai Library
• Tuesday 9th September at 11am – Adjungbilly Cemetery Plaque Unveiling at Adjungbilly Cemetery
• Wednesday 10th September – 10 am – Coolac History Crawl, meeting at Coolac Store
• 10-12 pm – Family Military History at Mirrabooka
• 2 pm – The Great Flood History Field Trip
• Thursday 11th September – 10-12.30 pm -South Gundagai Tour with John Veitch. The bus leaves from Mirrabooka.
• 7-9 pm – Family Military History at Mirrabooka
• Friday 12th September – 10 am – Endeavour Gundagai to Voyage 100th Anniversary at Gundagai Library
• 2.30 pm – Gundagai Library Film and Sound Archive at Gundagai Library
Cindy Smith from the Gundagai History Group said they are encouraging people to come along and learn about Gundagai’s rich history.
“We would love people to come and learn about and experience Gundagai’s rich history. We’ve got road and rail history here, but especially this year because it’s all based around water themes, so we’ve got our river crossings, the Great Flood, the rail that also goes across the river, all of our roads go across the river – and it just has a really interesting and full history.”
“We’ve picked out a lot of stuff that is to do with water, and we are still lucky enough to have John Veitch, who’s doing a bus tour over South Gundagai, which is ending up at the old pump station, which he actually worked at many decades ago when it was still running,” Cindy said.
“There is also the Great Flood tour; basically, anything with Gundagai is connected to water. Even the Gabriel Collection has the river features as well.”
“And we also have The Endeavour. The Endeavour was an old steamer that sailed from here. The relative of one of the passengers who was farewelled here at Gundagai is giving a presentation as it is the 100-year anniversary of the voyage down the Murrumbidgee River to the Murray and eventually down to South Australia,” Cindy said.
Throughout the week, there will also be free Gundagai Museum entry for residents, free Gundagai Gaol tours for residents, and displays of the Gabriel Collection Slideshow Display and the 80th anniversary of WW2 Newspaper Articles, both on display in the library.
History Week is the annual, statewide celebration of History organised by the History Council of New South Wales.
Contact the Gundagai Library on 69440270 for more information, or to book for one of the events or workshops.
– Emily Flint
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