Local history buffs can now explore some of the Shire’s past with the transfer of over 750 items from Wingecarribee Shire Council’s Archives to the Local Studies Room at Bowral Library.
Council Minutes, Valuation and Rate Books dating back to 1886, Infectious Diseases Registers, Burial documents and historical administrative trivia are among some of the items available to the public.
Council’s Manager of Customer and Information Services, Andy Carnahan explained the transfer of information.
“There’s a growing movement to return historical documents to the community rather than place them in restrictive archives,” he said. “Our Records staff took the initiative and worked with State Archives to enable the community to access a glimpse into the past through the documents of the day.
“Both the content and beautiful copperplate hand– written script reflects an era that has largely passed,” Mr Carnahan said.
All of the documents available have been catalogued by the Library’s Local Studies Librarian and as State Archive are held in custody by Council.
A detailed list of collection holdings can be found in the Local Studies section on Wingecarribee Shire Council’s library’s website at www.library.wsc.nsw.gov.au
The collection can also be viewed in person at its permanent new home in the Bowral Library’s Local Studies Room in the Old Bowral Town Hall which is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2pm to 4pm.
“The Local Studies Room is not just for historians,” added Mr Carnahan. “It’s open to all members of the public who’d like to take a look back in time through the window of our documents.”
