HISTORY buffs are on tenterhooks about the opening of a new permanent exhibition at the Port Macquarie Historical Museum, and it isn't hard to see why.
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Federation Comes to Port will be opened by Lyne MP David Gillespie tomorrow at 10am.
Port Macquarie Historical Society's Debbie Sommers said the exhibition features pieces of national and local significance.
"Most of the objects are unique," she said. "You really wouldn't expect to see any of them in a collection."
"It (the exhibition) tells the little known story of Port Macquarie's role in the federation of Australia," she continued. "The people of the Hastings and Macleay electorate played an important role in the re-election of Edmund Barton to NSW Parliament in 1898 at a by-election enabling him to pursue federation within Parliament."
Ralph Ferrett's Federation Comes to Port Macquarie, published in 2000, developed the electorate fascination with Barton and led to the commissioning of the statue on Town Green. The exhibition continues that interest and explains why Barton's statue is so prominently located, Ms Sommers said.
Nelson Illingworth's bust of Barton, ballot box and papers from the first municipal council elections, an invitation to Australia's Centenary State Banquet in 1888 and Federation commemorative beaker are among the heritage items which also include an ornate pelmet. The decorative piece features several thousand dollars worth of green velvet and silk embroidery which are overwhelming in their opulence.
The exhibition was made possible through funding from the Australian Government's Your Community Heritage Program, which Ms Sommers said was developed to assist communities tell their heritage stories.