About The Loxton Historical Village

The Village, situated on the shaded banks of the mighty Murray River, was established in 1970 and it’s aim has been to preserve memorabilia, paper based records, photographs, books, artefacts, machinery and buildings as well as other elements of the district’s history.

The site was selected because of its close proximity to Loxton’s Pepper Tree (and there is more than one version of the story of the Pepper Tree.) It is believed to be thought that the tree was planted after the time the original Loxton’s Hut was occupied by William Charles Loxton.

William Charles Loxton was a boundary rider on Bookpurnong Station and a horseman of some note. William lived here with his wife from 1878-1881 in the modest pine-and-pug hut formerly occupied by his aunt, Mrs Howell, and her husband. The area around this hut was known as ‘Loxton’s Hut’ and eventually, just ‘Loxton’. Part of the termite-damaged Pepper tree collapsed in 1997 after a severe windstorm.

In 2019 the Loxton Community Heritage Group established, and is now managing the Village, known as the Loxton Historical Village Management Committee, to maintain the museum and make recommendations to the council, on the running and development of The Village.

The Village has been a regional and State award-winning tourist attraction, recognised for its high quality displays, marketing activities, presentation and customer service.

The Village boasts a dedicated team of approximately 70 volunteers, shop staff and a manager.

Introduce yourself to if you're lucky the village cats

Vision Statement

To provide a comprehensive representation and interpretation of the history and heritage of the region and to play an important role in the tourism and education structure of the Loxton district.

Mission Statement

The purpose of the Loxton Historical Village is to acquire, restore, preserve and display items of local historical significance to the Loxton, Eastern Riverland and Northern Mallee Districts of South Australia from the cultural era of the First Australians up to and including the 1950’s.
As a regional tourist museum, we encourage visitors to experience rural village life with static and audio­visual interpretive displays focussing on the period from the 1840s to the 1950s. We enhance the potential of the collection by displaying objects and artefacts in a village museum context, depicting the stories, lifestyles, skills, and technical developments of an era now past.
The village promotes tourism by conducting working and Village Alive Days, with many volunteers in period costume, operational displays and demonstrations of machines, stationary engines and tractors.
Coordinated education programs for School groups are conducted to afford students an experience of early rural life in the district.

Strategic Plan

To achieve our mission at the Loxton Historical Village we have a responsibility as custodians of our district’s historical past to preserve and maintain the Village for present and future generations. This involves conserving and cataloguing the collection, maintaining and improving our interpretive displays as well as building maintenance, restoration work, seeking and welcoming new volunteers, and marketing the Village as a “must visit” tourist attraction. It also involves collaborating with like-minded agencies and museums in both our district and neighbouring regions.

Goals

Specifically, under the above, our goals are to:

. Preserve, display, and promote the history and heritage of the Loxton district, the Eastern     Riverland and Northern Mallee Communities of SA on an ongoing basis.

. Provide a comprehensive representation of the history and heritage of our region,                preserving the original and the authentic for education and enjoyment of our local                    communities and our visitors and giving satisfaction to our volunteers.

. Promote the Loxton Historical Village as a regional tourist attraction, supporting regional      tourism, through promotional material brochures at various visitor centres in the region and  an up-to-date online presence, thereby contributing to the economic sustainability of the region.

. Provide an enjoyable, safe, and friendly workplace for our volunteer members and staff as    they contribute to the welfare and progress of the Loxton Historical Village.

. Enhance the status, recognition and credibility and collaboration with like-minded agencies  of the Village by meeting standards as a registered and/or accredited museum under the      Museum and Collections (MaC) program administered by History SA.