How you can help

🏛 Support Heritage Listing

The Heritage Council of NSW has notified of its intention to list the Lithgow Small Arms Factory on the State Heritage Register. The public can make submissions to the NSW Government on the site's significance from 12 April to 11 July 2025.

Learn more →

Write a Submission

♥️ Donate

While we fight for the museum’s future, we’re moving ahead with the work we can do now - starting with essential security upgrades to protect the collection. Your donation will support our efforts to secure a future for the museum.

Other methods of donating & how your donation will be used →

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📝Parliamentary Petition

Sincere thanks to everyone who signed and shared our parliamentary petition to help secure the future of the Museum. The petition has now been officially presented to the NSW Parliament, and we’re currently awaiting a response from the Minister. We’ll keep you updated as soon as we hear more.

Read the Petition

NSW Parliamentary Petition

Facilitate site ownership for the Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum

To the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly,

The national and international significance of the Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum has been recognised in NSW Parliament by the Minister for Tourism and the Arts. The museum is at imminent risk of closure due to restrictions imposed by its landlord, preventing critical security upgrades and repairs, following a break-in and theft in August 2024. Thus, the museum is forced to pay thousands each week for security guards. This could quickly extinguish remaining funds, which would result in relinquishment of licences, leaving the museum no choice but to dispose of the precious collection.

The French multinational Thales Group, the museum's landlord, issued a draft contract, in 2022, to sell the museum its integral heritage site for a nominal price. This has now been downgraded to an offer of a long-term lease, retaining the obstructive approval process for all works, and disturbingly, the right to evict the museum and repurpose or demolish the buildings. The current expert volunteers want to rebuild the museum and secure its future by transitioning to salaried staff. The autonomy of site ownership, as promised by Thales, is critical to this aim.

The undersigned petitioners ask the Legislative Assembly to call on the government to support and expedite a requested heritage order (request number 38145) and facilitate the purchase of this important site by the museum, allowing it to complete the essential work to retain its licences, to reopen, and to continue, unhindered, with its exciting future plans.

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Donate

All donations over $2 are tax deductible in Australia.

Donate via Paypal

Other Methods of Donating

If you prefer to donate via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT, or direct deposit) or via credit card, please contact us for details.

How Donations Will Be Used

The Museum is currently closed, having suffered a break-in and theft last August. Since then, ongoing challenges with our landlord have placed our future at great risk. The entire site is integral to the museum - it’s not just our home but part of the story we preserve. This history and its legacy belong to all Australians, and it’s vital the museum stays on its site to honour and protect that connection. Your support helps us give this museum the future it deserves.

The two main things we need funds for at present are security for our collection and stage one of the security upgrades required by the Firearms Registry (estimated $200,000), which Thales has now approved.

We feel it isn’t right asking for donations to cover security guards, as they don’t directly advance the Museum’s mission. We have been covering these expenses from Museum funds, which is placing a significant strain on our resources.

Donations will be used for the security upgrades, rebuilding the Museum, and completing the display upgrades we were partway through before the disruption.

With site ownership, we aim to reopen bigger and better, with plans for an onsite cafe and community venue in the old Factory canteen, and a new initiative to develop an adjunct International Firearms History Centre to cater for researchers and enthusiasts.

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Write a Submission Supporting Heritage Listing of the Small Arms Factory Site

The Heritage Council of NSW has resolved to give its notice of intention to list the Lithgow Small Arms Factory on the State Heritage Register, recognizing its significant role in Australia’s industrial and military history. Established in 1912, the factory is Australia’s oldest munitions factory and played a key role in both World Wars.

Listing will provide legal protection under the Heritage Act 1977 (NSW), safeguarding the site from demolition and ensuring its preservation for future generations.

The public submission period runs from 12 April to 11 July 2025. Everyone is invited to share their thoughts on this important heritage site.

You can upload a submission or you can simply make a comment on the Have Your Say website. Submissions don’t need to be long or formal—just a few lines in your own words is enough.