Capturing the essence of Manildra in words and pictures was our aim when Central West Libraries staff travelled to Manildra  Library as part of Australian Library and Information Week in May 2007.

We had asked the community to bring along photographs of people, homes, farms, shops, buildings and landscapes relating to Manildra to build our Local History Collection.
 

Nothing prepared us for the overwhelming response from the community with more than a dozen people bringing in their photos and stories.  In a short space of time we had amassed 100 photographs for the collection depicting just some of the industry, buildings, scenery and characters that make Manildra unique.  This included sons going off to World War 1, pioneering farmers in the field, early shop owners, significant buildings such as the Flour Mill, Railway Station, School, Scout Hall, Baptist Church and amazing aerial shots.

Library staff helped to jog people’s memories about the photographs by writing down the stories behind the photographs and scanned in the images on the spot.  

Manildra Library’s Mrs Barbara Gosper and her team successfully promoted the event to the Manildra community and continued to provide us with information to add to the project over the ensuing years.

We welcome additions to the Manildra Memories site, contact us via the website.