Corowa Federation Museum

The museum is opened every Tuesday 10am - 4pm, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 1pm to 4pm and will open outside of these hours by prior appointment - please call to arrange. Our charge is $4 per person ($2 for children) plus $2 for Tea & Coffee. Bus groups can have one of our members board the bus and take you on a tour of the town, followed by morning or afternoon tea and a visit to the museum at a cost of $7 per person.

During the 1880's the Government seemed to put Federation on hold. In the towns on each side of the Murray River, the tariffs and charges were crippling businesses and making it next to impossible for householders who had to purchase their food in the opposite states. Members of the Federation League and the Natives Society decided to hold a conference on the border and they chose Corowa because it was central to most of the people who were to attend. It was at this Conference that John Quick, from the Natives Association at Bendigo, put forward his proposal which made it impossible for Government to keep shuffling the problem about and causing them to hold the Premiers' conference in 1895. At this Premiers' conference the Government acted upon the proposal put by John Quick and on January 1, 1901 the Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed and Corowa claimed the title of 'Birthplace of Federation'.

Our museum boasts a very good, clear story about the years leading toward Federation. It is suitable for school children and adults. We have sketches done by a local Aboriginal artist, Tommy McCrae, and we also have other links to artists which are displayed with Tom Roberts painting his wonderful 'Shearing the Rams' on a Corowa property and a Tasmanian convict artist, Constantini, who painted some wonderful oil paintings of one of our earliest families, the Martins, who built the Royal Hotel at Corowa.

We have some lovely old gigs and wagons, lots of saddlery, a locally built gas producer, a number of locally made agricultural implements, and some wonderful displays that bring back memories of how Australians lived in the early years. We also boast a great display of tools used in the early days.

The museum is managed by a group of volunteers, members of Corowa District Historical Society Inc.