Paterson Historical Society aims to promote and preserve the history and heritage of the Paterson district and help people find information about their forebears from the district. Our publications cover many aspects of the district's history.
Acknowledgement of Country
Paterson Historical Society acknowledges the Aboriginal people of the Paterson Valley ... read more.
Museum opening times
Paterson Court House Museum is open from 11.am to 3.00pm on Sundays.
We are closed Sunday 21 & 28 December 2025 and reopen on Sunday 11 January 2026.
Group visits
Groups visits outside outside normal museum opening times are welcome by prior arrangement. Email patersonmuseum@gmail.com for further details.
Special individual visits to Museum
The museum can open outside normal times for individuals or couples by prior arrangement. A fee of $50 applies and is subject to availability of volunteers. Email patersonmuseum@gmail.com.
Book launch Saturday 29th November – Musings and Memories of Paterson
Our new book "Musings and Memories of Paterson" by Bill Keppie will be launched at the Paterson Court House Museum at 2pm on Saturday 29 November 2025. Bill Keppie was a well-known Paterson identity who spent his whole life in the district. Over that time he held a variety of jobs and was involved in many community activities. With his wife Mabs, he was deeply immersed in the local community.
The book is an edited transcript of notes that Bill wrote by hand in pen and pencil on foolscap pages and in an old exercise book. Bill had a wonderful recall, and his memoirs are a precious record of life in and around Paterson in bygone days. His memoirs have been illustrated with many photos from the Society's collection. The book will be on sale at the launch and afterwards in the Society's online book store.
Family, friends and those with a particular interest in the history of Paterson are welcome to attend. There will be afternoon tea after the launch, so attendees are invited to bring a plate to share.
"Paterson Historical Society – 50th Anniversary 1974-2024"
Our Society has released a new book "Paterson Historical Society – 50th Anniversary 1974-2024" by Dr. Robyn Dunlop to mark 50 years of operation. The 52-page book includes sections on the Aboriginal presence in the Paterson Valley, creation of the Courthouse Museum, publications, the work of volunteers and many other interesting facets of the 50 years of activities. It is available as a free e-book using the following link download e-book.
"Gresford to Carrabolla – People and Places"
Our new book "Gresford to Carrabolla - People and Places" by Dr Brian Walsh was launched in March 2025. It costs $30 and can by purchased from MacDonalds Book Store in Maitland, at Paterson Museum on Sundays, or at Paterson servo and Paterson cafe. It is also available by mail order in our online bookstore.
The book reveals how a whole new European Society emerged along the Paterson River above Gresford, albeit at the expense of the dispossession of Aboriginal people.
The book provides information on the land owners, convicts, immigrants and colonial born who worked on the estates or leased parts of them as tenant farmers. It features the many "selectors" who took up small blocks in the remote bushland, hills and mountains of the upper Paterson. Despite floods, poor roads and isolation, they made it their home. With hard work, bush skills and resilience, they raised families there.
The book highlights the formation of the schools, churches and post offices that became a vital part of the social fabric of the upper Paterson. It also shows the dramatic impact on the many families that lost their farms when Lostock Dam was built. This was followed by the drastic contraction of the dairy industry and the depopulation of the upper Paterson. Table of contents and index.
Aboriginal and European people in the Paterson Valley
In 2022 we released a book to recognise and reflect on 200 years since the start of large-scale dispossession of Aboriginal people from their land in the Paterson Valley when the area was thrown open to land grants.
Before and After 1822 – Aboriginal and European People in the Paterson Valley is written by historian and Society member, Dr Brian Walsh. It describes Aboriginal people in the Paterson Valley during the last Ice Age; early contact between Aboriginal and European people in the Valley from about 1800; the pace and scale of dispossession; the impact on Aboriginal people and their decline, survival and resilience into the early 1900s.
You can buy the book at Paterson Court House Museum on Sundays, at MacDonalds Bookstore in Maitland or online from the Society's bookstore.
How to join the Society
New members are always welcome, and annual membership is only $5. Please join to help us preserve the history and heritage of the district. You can join quickly and easily in our online store.
Online bookshop
Purchase our books by mail order and pay securely by credit card.
Online photo collection
Paterson town walk – phone app
Enjoy our Society's popular self-guided Paterson town walk on your mobile phone.
Travel/tourism guides from other providers
Dungog Region Horseshoe Drive. A unique tour of the region.
Upper Hunter Arts Trail Weekend.
