GRUBBY FINGERS MUSEUM GUIDE
Aviation, Military, Transport and Technical Museums
LITHGOW SMALL ARMS FACTORY MUSEUM
Lithgow Small Arms Museum, Lithgow, NSW, 2014
Official Website: https://www.lithgowsafmuseum.org.au/
DUE TO A BREAK-IN AND THEFT OF MANY HANDGUNS, AND ALSO DUE TO ONGOING PROBLEMS WITH THE LANDOWNERS, THE MUSEUM IS CURRENTLY CLOSED AS AT JAN 2025. I URGE YOU TO SIGN THE VARIOUS PETITIONS ON THEIR WEBSITE TO TRY AND PREVENT THE CLOSURE OF THIS MAGNIFICENT MUSEUM, AND THE LOSS OR DISPERSION OF ITS UNIQUE COLLECTION.Lithgow is located about a two hour drive north-west of Sydney in New South Wales' Blue Mountains. The Lithgow Small Arms Factory there has been making weapons for Australians since 1912.
It's best known products are the Short Magazine Lee Enfield (or SMLE 'Smelly'), Bren light machine gun, SLR (Self Loading Rifle) and Austeyr bullpup-style personal weapon for the Army. It has also produced many fine sporting rifles and firearms over its history.
Non-firearm products have included golf club heads, sewing machines, tools and replacement tread-links for Army tanks and armoured personnel carriers.
The museum, on the factory site, is a tribute to the people and the works that have done so much for the country and its armed forces. Apart from the detailed and informative displays showing what life was like working at the factory and how its various products were made, the museum houses an astonishing collection of firearms of all types. There are several rooms quite full of handguns, machine guns, rocket launchers etc. It is almost as if the Factory was required to get a sample of every type of gun available to assist in their own design and production.
There are also detailed displays of the specific guns Lithgow Small Arms Factory is famous for, Particularly the Lee Enfield and the SLR. It's an interesting glimpse into a world that not many of us come into contact with and well worth a visit.
Image Gallery
Click here to see a photo gallery of my own visit.
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This page was last updated 5th January 2025
