Meroogal
![Close up view of a garden with ceramic edging tiles visible in one corner with flowering plants and shrubs in the garden bed.](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/ca99e43b2f934538abae34054b33bb7e.jpg)
A 1920s garden revisited
The garden at Meroogal, dating from 1886 was a source of pride for the Thorburn and Macgregor families
![Sepia toned photo of Meroogal house exterior with three figures behind fence.](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/4179a1cadda24a7ab388bb11c19dccc7.jpg)
A home of their own
A young woman of the Victorian era, Tot Thorburn had suitors and male friends but chose not to marry. She enjoyed a long and happy life with her sisters at Meroogal
![](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2023/03/55f581167a8644599136763bf7ebaf2d.jpg)
A manuscript cookbook from Meroogal
Cooking was an integral part of the rhythm of life for the family at Meroogal, near Nowra on the south coast of New South Wales
![DES_HR93_0201_1_2c.jpg](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2023/02/3b6cf5e5b01d4f3a88d1f25a1be520d5.jpg)
Baubles, brooches & beads
We wear jewellery as articles of dress and fashion and for sentimental reasons – as tokens of love, as symbols of mourning, as souvenirs of travel
![Rendez-vous by Vita Cochran](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/ec601563866d44a4aaf97a40eaa29fbc.jpg)
Celebrating women artists across NSW
The Meroogal Women’s Art Prize, now in its 19th year, was launched on 16 September 2022
![DES_M86_2067a.jpg](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2023/02/01828ae4848549988523ab146357070c.jpg)
Close to the heart
Expressions of love and endearment have long been embodied in keepsakes or jewellery worn or held close to the body
![Exterior view of Meroogal and garden](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2023/05/c07d4e0b7f7b4649b6ad24dd4fe279b7.jpg)
Latest News
Conservation in action: Meroogal exterior painting
We're working with specialist painters to restore damage and prevent further deterioration to the building