Kiama Historical Society is reframing local history with an insightful display of Indigenous artefacts at Pilot’s Cottage Museum.

KHS Vice President and Director of the Royal Australian Historical Society Tony Gilmour said that in the museum’s 40 years of operation, there has been glaring oversight when it comes to placing a spotlight on Aboriginal voices.

Over the past nine months, Gilmour has partnered with Dr Aunty Joyce Donovan to delve into the past and curate an exhibition that delivers a more nuanced and inclusive perspective to the public.

“[The museum] has always shown colonial settler history and so we’ve never really had a comprehensive display of any Aboriginal history … We’re reinterpreting some of the earlier colonial stories as well,” he said.

“Aboriginal people were not only significant before settlement. They’ve had a role in the community afterwards as well, which hasn’t often been appreciated.”

One out of the museum’s four rooms has now been dedicated to embracing these overlooked cultural identities, a stark increase in coverage.

Gilmour’s mission to provide a platform for Aboriginal culture in the pre-colonial age was not an easy one, with little documentation of the area before its first newspaper began publication in the 1850s.

He states that most of the obtainable records are written from a settler perspective, omitting details of the Indigenous contributions toward cedar gathering, agriculture and quarrying.

Because Aboriginal history is largely an oral one, collating information required Gilmour to engage with Elders and family members, including the great-grandchildren of Aboriginal leader and pioneer for indigenous rights, King Mickey Johnson.

“Whilst I can trawl through innumerable written documents, it’s actually fun to talk to people. It makes it much more real,” Gilmour said.

Pilot’s Cottage Museum is open Fridays and Saturdays from 11am-3pm.

This Saturday’s event featuring words from Elders and Dr Aunty Joyce Donovan will take place at 2pm at Kiama Library for an entry fee of $3-$5.