After major conservation efforts and many months of hard work by local volunteers, the revitalised Port Pirie National Trust Museum is once again welcoming visitors. Historical archaeologist and community historian Christeen Schoepf explains what’s been involved in this major undertaking.
The Port Pirie Railway Station forms part of a heritage precinct that incorporates the former Customs House and original Central Police Station. Together, these buildings comprise the Port Pirie National Trust Museum, which has reopened following extensive preservation, conservation and remedial treatments funded through the Silver to Sea Way project.
Completed in 1902, the railway station building was saved from demolition when the Port Pirie Branch was formed in 1967 with support from then mayor H.B. Welch. The branch initially opened a museum in the Customs House (1882) in 1970. After the National Trust purchased the railway station the following year the museum was extended, with thousands coming to watch a Cavalcade of Transport held as part of the opening ceremony in 1972.
At the mercy of the elements including sea salt, pigeons and proximity to the town’s smelter, both buildings received only minor repairs across the decades, until the Australian Government provided $6.6 million from its Building Better Regions Fund for the Silver to Sea Way project. Marking the ‘sea’ end of the heritage tourism route, the Port Pirie museum and its buildings was one of three sites identified for major regeneration.
For volunteers and the committee, the closure of the museum in early July 2023 was bittersweet as the tired and dated displays and artefacts were dismantled and packed into boxes to clear the way for the much-needed conservation projects that would repair unique architectural features, create new and vibrant spaces and bring the heritage building, sometimes kicking and screaming, into the twenty-first century.
Extensive repairs to the decorative roof and veranda areas by Australian Pressed Metal included hand-cutting smaller pieces of zinc to replace the many from the roof that were rusted and corroded. A skilled team also replaced the metal letters from the front of the building and removed the lead paint. An early twentieth century metal mouldings catalogue was used to recreate and replicate the folded pieces of the veranda ceiling and building façade. In 2024, the company was rewarded with the Association of Walls and Ceilings Industries ‘Award of Excellence’ in the decorative/heritage section for their work.
Meanwhile, the Customs House was converted into an immersive sound and light space by creative arts company Illuminart Stories in Light. The 35-minute experience affirms the attachment of the Nukunu people to country and shares dreamtime stories relating to the formation of the Flinders Ranges and Spencer Gulf. It also portrays the competitive nature of French and English exploration and the naming of the gulfs, the first white people who tried their luck in the new settlement of Port Pirie, and the people from many countries who chose to make Port Pirie and the Mid North of South Australia their home. A ‘Meet the People’ segment features local actors filmed in short skit-style vignettes retelling aspects of life in Port Pirie and the stories of notable people whose economic vision supported the fledgling town and created its unique character.
The Customs House is also the location of Story Lab, a sound studio where museum volunteers, locals, students and oral historians can record the memories of local people and visitors who have stories to tell about ancestors, or local events and experiences. Recording is currently available on Mondays and Tuesdays.
As a collective, the objects and artefacts housed within the museum reflect the industrial focus of Port Pirie, the railways, and the social, recreational and economic growth and diversity of the people who often struggled to survive under the shadow of the world’s biggest lead smelter. The museum is now a community space where locals and visitors can grab a coffee and snack from the new onsite cafe, Sweet Icings by JJ, and admire the piece de resistance – the large windows extending across the rear of the museum complex that reveal the industrial sights and sounds of the wharf, river and railway line. Visitors can sit and take in the tugs slowly ushering the international ships to be loaded with grain and ore concentrates to the wharf, the train shunting lead and zinc ore into Nyrstar for smelting and processing, and the peacefulness of the river and the ranges on a calm morning.
Port Pirie members and volunteers look forward to sharing these spaces and local history with you all soon.
Plan a visit
For information about the museum and opening hours visit nationaltrust.org.au/places/port-pirie-railway-station/ or call 08 8632 3435. Bookings for the immersive experience, and hire of the studio and facilities are also available by calling the museum. To keep up to date with other activities visit the Port Pirie National Trust Museum Facebook page.
