Meroogal
Home to four generations of women over 100 years
Loved and maintained by four generations of women from one local family, Meroogal has barely changed since it was built in the 1880s. The house still overflows with their favourite belongings, and the garden with fruit and produce that hint at their self-sufficiency and hospitality. Books and ornaments, furniture, photographs, diaries and journals, clippings, recipes and receipts – all tell a multitude of stories about the pleasures and labours of daily life, the Meroogal women and the south-coast community in which they lived. It’s also home to the biennial Meroogal Women’s Art Prize.
Learning programs
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Meroogal student tours
Tours are available at Meroogal for students in Stages 4, 5 & 6, exploring aspects of the collection relating to food technologies, textiles technologies and Industrial technologies – timber
Then and Now: Playing with the Past
Students investigate how home life has been changed by the domestic and leisure technologies introduced since the late 19th century as they explore Meroogal, built in 1886
Meroogal
Corner West and Worrigee streets, Nowra NSW 2541- Wheelchair accessible
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Meroogal hosts the Shoalhaven Museums & Galleries Breakfast Series
A great opportunity to share ideas and insights to support cultural and heritage tourism
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Meroogal stories
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Make yourself at home
Meroogal became home to four generations of resilient and resourceful women, whose house was their livelihood as well as their home
Meroogal: preserving the story of a family
Meroogal is more than just a charming 1880s timber house: it’s a significant piece of social history and a living testament to a family
Conservation in action: Meroogal exterior painting 2025
At Meroogal, the ongoing conservation of the beautiful timber detailing of the Juliet balconies, the bargeboards and fascia boards of the gables, weatherboards and masonry chimneys requires specialist knowledge and skills
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
Meet the artist – Meroogal Women’s Art Prize 2024 winner Jackie Streit
'Vexations in blue' by Jackie Streit has been awarded first prize in the Meroogal Women’s Art Prize 2024
Celebrating women artists across NSW
The Meroogal Women’s Art Prize, now in its 19th year, was launched on 16 September 2022
Learn more about Meroogal
Discover the history of the house, the people who lived there, and the collection still held within the walls of this historic property
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Annual Giving: Interpreting our Past
For the first time in more than two decades, the Justice & Police Museum is embarking on a bold transformation that reimagines how stories of justice, crime and community are told
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