The Leeton Family and Local History Society presented local maps of historical significance to the Leeton Museum and Gallery.
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The society have collected information about Leeton's history for many decades and have acquired historically significant documents that have been cared for and maintained by the societies team of volunteers.
Currently, the society stores their collections into the basement space of the Leeton Museum and Gallery after the Leeton Shire Council acquired the space in 2019.
Over the past year volunteers have worked tirelessly to gather their collections from various safe storage spaces and transport them to their new home. In the process, many items of value were rediscovered that had previously been locked away for safekeeping.
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Of particular interest, were original maps of the McCaughey land with signatures of not only Samuel McCaughey, who used his position as a Member of the NSW Legislative Assembly to promote a large scale government funded irrigation scheme in the area, but also Commissioner Leslie Wade, the very first Commissioner of Water Conservation and Irrigation, who was appointed January 1, 1913.
A new grant $2000 from Leeton Shire Council has enabled the society to have the map now digitally and physically copied.
These copies were donated to the Leeton Museum and Galley, the Whitton Museum, the Yanco Museum and Yanco Agricultural College.
President of the Leeton Family and Local History Society and Leeton Shire Councillor Tony Reneker said that the find was extremely exciting.
"The maps are historic in regards to the European settlements in the areas. We have the original signatures dated from 1913, the Leeton township wasn't even on the map at that stage," Mr Reneker said.
"These maps have been hidden from view for 100 years so its quite exciting, just a terrific find for the society."
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