Albury LibraryMuseum

About

Australia's first combined library and museum under one roof, an award-winning Ashton Raggatt McDougall-designed building on the corner of Kiewa and Swift Streets, Albury. It presents engaging interactive exhibitions on the region's history - anchored by the permanent Bungambrawatha: Stories of Albury exhibition (opened July 2025, successor to Crossing Place) - alongside national and international touring shows, reading and research facilities. Operated by AlburyCity.

The collection

The museum cares for the AlburyCity Collection of objects, photographs and documents telling the story of Albury from First Nations heritage through pastoral settlement, the river crossing and the railway to the modern city. The permanent exhibition Crossing Place: A Story of Albury (refreshed in 2025) presents highlights of the collection, supported by education programs, audio tours and guided tours. Temporary and touring exhibitions fill the Lane Gallery and temporary exhibition spaces.

Objects of note

• 

  The Bonegilla CollectionNational significanceDomestic Object

  1947-1971 (collected 1990s-present) · Bonegilla Collection

  A collection of 1,295 museum objects and photographs documenting the Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre, the first Australian home for up to 320,000 post-war migrants from more than 30 nations. Collected by AlburyCity over more than 25 years, it comprises things migrants brought from their homelands for comfort - photographs, domestic appliances, children's toys, books and clothing - plus written memories of those who passed through. Managed by the Albury LibraryMuseum in partnership with Wodonga Council's Bonegilla Migrant Experience, it illuminates the immigration policies that transformed Australia economically, socially and culturally.

  The major public collection of Australia's largest and most significant post-war migrant reception centre.

  Provenance

  Objects owned by former residents of the Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre, collected by AlburyCity over 25+ years.

  Collection record →

• 

  Bonegilla suitcase cabinetState significanceFurniture

  suitcases c. 1940s-1960s · Bonegilla Collection

  The dominating feature of the 'Sharing Bonegilla Stories' exhibition display: a cabinet constructed from genuine post-World War II suitcases, which can be opened and pulled out to reveal two- and three-dimensional Bonegilla artefacts, each suitcase telling a different story about the camp and the people who lived there. The suitcase - the universal emblem of the migrant journey - is here turned into the display architecture itself.

  An evocative, award-worthy piece of exhibition furniture built from authentic migrant suitcases, central to the LibraryMuseum's Bonegilla interpretation.

  Materials

  vintage suitcases, timber

  Provenance

  Constructed from post-WWII suitcases for the Sharing Bonegilla Stories exhibition.

More in the museum's online collection · objects checked 2026-09-05

What's on

• Yinarr JourneyExhibitionFree

  24 June – 5 Aug 2028

  The art journey of Gamilaroi woman Patricia Cerminara, using weaving and other art forms to reconnect culture, people and Country.

  Event details →

• Cats & Dogs All at SeaExhibitionFree

  7 Apr – 28 Nov 2026 · Mon-Thu 9.30am-5.30pm, Fri 9.30am-6pm, Sat 9.30am-1pm

  Historic 20th-century maritime photographs by Sydney's Sam Hood celebrating the bond between sailors and their animal companions. Showing at Lavington Library.

  Event details →

More at the museum's what's-on page · checked 2026-11-01

Programs & courses

• Group guided toursGuided TourBook on request

  All ages

  Bookable guided tours of the LibraryMuseum for groups.

  Program details →

• Touring exhibitions for loanOutreachBook on request

  Professionals

  Touring exhibitions (including Memorial Boxes, I Love a Sunburnt Country, Australia's Dutch Connections) available for galleries, museums, libraries and community spaces to borrow.

  Program details →

• Meeting room hireVenue HireBook on request

  Professionals

  Meeting rooms available for hire at the LibraryMuseum.

  Program details →

Provenance

Record verified 2026-08-29 · Confidence: high · Coordinates: derived from OpenStreetMap

• LibraryMuseum | AlburyCity — accessed 2026-08-29
• Bungambrawatha: Stories of Albury | AlburyCity — accessed 2026-09-05
• Albury Library Museum - MGNSW — accessed 2026-08-29