by Gill Oxley
Inverell Pioneer Village is located on the southern edge of Inverell at 64 Tingha Road within the Pioneer Village Heritage Conservation Area. Established in 1955, Inverell Pioneer Village aims to provide a window into early pioneering lifestyles and the district’s farming and mining histories. It comprises a collection of restored historic buildings from Inverell and district which have been relocated to the Pioneer Village to conserve them and to allow access to them by the community and visitors to the area.
Among these, is the original homestead building, The Grove, built on Tiengha Run by the Darby family in 1840. We now know from New South Wales birth, death and marriage records that Chinese shepherds, and later Chinese tin miners, lived and worked at The Grove, sometimes with their European wives and their children.
Within the diverse range of authentic local historic buildings that have been moved to the Pioneer Village is the former village hall from the locality of Rob Roy. The Rob Roy hall houses not only the renowned George Devine Photography Studio collection, but also a number of important artefacts and objects from Chinese temples of the New England North West.
Inverell Pioneer Village is open Tuesday to Friday from 10 am to 4 pm and on Saturdays and Sundays from 9.30 am to 1.30 pm.
For more information visit https://www.inverellpioneervillage.org.au/
