Thursday 17 April 2014

Greenough Museum & Gardens

Not too far from Carnamah is the Greenough Museum & Gardens.

The scene of this 'living' museum is set in and around the two-storey Home Cottage, which was originally the homestead of John and Elizabeth Maley. One can't help but feel a sense of history as the old staircase is creakily climbed. Speaking of sounds, there's headphones on hand so you can listen to recordings of what this historic homestead sounds like!

The museum is a blended mix of contemporary interpretation, traditional displays and an array of rooms in which you can interact with the objects and furnishings.


As organisations we have more than a few stories in common. A number of John and Elizabeth Maley's children, after growing up at Home Cottage, carved farms out of the landscape at Three Springs. The family played a pivotal role in the development of both communities and we have entries for many members of the family in our Three Springs Database.

It's also interesting to note, despite the distance and travel involved, that the Maley family were well acquainted with the Macpherson family, who were at that time living almost in isolation at Carnamah. When John Maley died in 1910 his widow and daughters left Greenough for a three week break - which they spent in Carnamah as the guests of Donald, Bessie and Maggie Macpherson.

Local history certainly doesn't end with a district or shire boundary. It extends to other places and weaves into a much broader story.

Greenough Museum & Gardens is located 10 kilometres south of Geraldton just off the Brand Highway on Phillips Road. Impressively, it is open everyday from 9:30am to 3:30pm.

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