Cobar Shire Council is making progress with significant upgrades to put its museum on the map.

Contractors have been on site and the historic building housing the Great Cobar Museum is receiving a facelift.

Shire General Manager Peter Vlatko said he was excited at the future vision for the museum, which will include the construction of a new purpose-built facility and an interactive underground mining experience for visitors. 

“This will offer insights into the challenging working environment faced by our miners,” he said.

Construction this month marks ‘Phase two’ of the project which received a $2.4 million refurbishment before a grand opening in 2021.

A render of the upgrades being made at the Cobar Museum. Image: Supplied.

The museum was fenced off earlier in the month with Dubbo-based builders on-site. When visitors enter the completed site they will be able to get a very real sense of what it was like to mine in the region.

The museum pays homage to the rich history of mining in the Cobar Basin, which is currently undergoing a resurgence in fortunes with multiple companies setting up or building up production in the Cobar Basin.

The Great Cobar Museum wins at the National Trust Heritage Awards 2022

Work on the refurbishment of the museum in 2021 set the tone for the current work, with multiple prizes at the National Trust Heritage Awards in 2022.

The Great Cobar Museum and Dunn and Hillam Architects were awarded with the top prize along with two other major awards.

The National Trust Heritage Awards is an annual celebration of outstanding practice in the field of heritage, awarding excellence in conversation, protection, and interpretation of aboriginal, built, natural and cultural heritage over the past year.

The tourist attraction and its architects took out the judge’s choice award following the completion of stage one project renewing and restoring the old heritage building.

The Great Cobar Museum also won the conservation – build heritage award and a highly commended in conversation – interior and objects category.

Honouring the mining industry

Mining at Cobar in the late 1800s revitalised the Australian copper industry when the important South Australian copper mines were in decline.

During this period Cobar was one of the largest mining centres in Australia and provided 75% of the copper production in the state.