Explore History At The Ration Shed

20150707 NAIDOC Week — The Barambah Dancers entertained a large crowd with a string of dances on the lawn of the Ration Shed Museum during this year’s NAIDOC celebrations

September 29, 2015

The history of the Aboriginal community of Cherbourg will be on display at the award-winning Ration Shed Museum during the South Burnett & Cherbourg On Show long weekend.

The Museum will be holding a special Open Day between 10:00am and 2:00pm on Saturday morning, October 3.

Visitors will be able to browse the Museum’s extensive displays, which catalogue Cherbourg’s history from the establishment of the original settlement in 1899 through to its declaration as an independent Aboriginal Shire Council in 1991.

Then they can also view authentic Aboriginal art in the Museum’s gallery, or buy a range of DVDs, clothing and other unique souvenir products in the Museum’s Gift Shop.

Alternately, they can adjourn to the nearby Yurri Muntha Cafe for morning tea, lunch or refreshments.

The Ration Shed Museum complex is very large and it serves as the “memory” of Cherbourg, preserving artifacts and original documents and cataloging family, clan and community histories.

In recent years as its fame has spread, it’s also become the cultural hub of the town and is now the focal point for many community celebrations throughout the year such as NAIDOC Week and the annual Reconciliation Fun Run, both of which draw large crowds.

It is a surprise to many people to learn that the dormitory system which split up Aboriginal families and forced them to live in the dormitories (the source of one of the Museum’s principal buildings) was still in operation in Cherbourg until the early 1980s.

Work on the Ration Shed Museum project began in the early 2000s when Cherbourg’s three remaining historic buildings – the Ration Shed, the Superintendent’s Cottage and the former Boy’s Dormitory – were moved to the site, then joined together and restored.

The Museum opened its doors to the public in 2004 and has been operating to growing acclaim for more than 11 years.

These days the Ration Shed plays host to regular tours and educational programs from schools, institutions and groups of visitors year round.

In the last year the Museum has also created special exhibitions honouring Cherbourg residents who enlisted to fight in World War I (“The Boys From Barambah”) and Jeffrey “Mitta” Dynevor, a former Chebourg man who became the first Aboriginal boxer to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal.

Admission to the Open Day is $10 for adults and children, and a tour guide will be on hand through the course of the day to provide periodic tours of the complex.