Nathan Pharaoh has taken leave from the National Museum of Australia to join the team at the Braidwood Museum. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Since receiving $3.75 million in grant funding from the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund in 2022, it’s been a collaborative effort to finalise the works at the Braidwood Museum, which saw further donations from the Bendigo Bank Braidwood and the Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council to ensure stage one was completed.
With stage one works close to completion, the museum has landed itself a big fish in the form of Nathan Pharaoh to take the museum into its next stage of life as a financially viable business.
Employed on a part-time basis for six months with further grant funding, Nathan has taken long service leave from his role as the senior conservator at the National Museum of Australia in charge of large technology.
Just over a month into his role, Nathan has big plans to ensure the financial future of the institution that was founded in 1969, and he’ll be using all the skills in his arsenal to give it a red hot crack.
“I come from a cultural sector background, so I’m trying to employ what I’ve learned to make it work. I would like to see it financially viable in six months, which is a big feat. I’m going super hard with it,” Nathan says.
The vision held by the Braidwood and District Historical Society and championed by Nathan is to build the museum into a heritage skills college where people can come from around Australia to learn rare heritage skills.
“The way I look at it is Braidwood is a heritage-listed town, but I’m thinking of it as a heritage university campus,” Nathan says.
“In the future you would be able to come through the heritage centre, and you could get a certificate four in pottery from the potters down the road, learn ag practice through the local agricultural supply shop, blacksmithing, dressmaking, any of those rare trades.”
The collection at the Braidwood Museum is nationally significant. This escort coach was used to transport gold between towns in the region. Photo: Tenele Conway.
An integral part of that plan is onsite accommodation that is in its final stages of construction. The six-room hotel at the rear of the museum has a large common area and kitchen and will act as a hub for course participants to base themselves.
Having been based in Braidwood for 11 years and fallen in love with the living history of the town, Nathan’s mission would not only benefit the museum, the nationally significant collection housed there, and the town itself, but it would also ensure his future career trajectory.
“I’ve been commuting for 11 years; if I can make this work then I may get to stay,” he says.
True to his calling, he sees his mission to secure his roots in the area much like the footsteps walked by others throughout Braidwood’s history.
“That’s a story that resonates through time, people coming here, and some succeed and some don’t. Thomas Braidwood Wilson, who put the first settler roots down in the area, was one who didn’t succeed here,” he says.
The new extension on the back of the museum houses a gift shop and has a large collection of local history books available to buy. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Keen to not suffer the demise of one of Braidwood’s founders, which ended in bankruptcy, Nathan is calling his first month in the role ‘Blue Sky Month’ where big ideas and out-of-the box thinking aren’t constrained by practicalities.
While big thinking has him excited, Nathan has already implemented practical new revenue streams such as an extensive bookshop stocked with local historical resources and even branded merchandise using the fun tagline ‘Braidwood Hysterical Society’.
It might be time to head on over to the museum, grab a mug and support the cause.
The Braidwood Museum is located at 186 Wallace Street and is open 5 days a week from Thursday until Monday. You can keep up to date with what’s happening at the museum on its Instagram and Facebook pages.
