Housed upstairs in the old Town Hall’s former council chambers and Mayoral parlour on Clare’s main street, this extensive range of local church, school, council, cemetery and BDM records, photographs, newspapers and publications covering the history of Clare and the surrounding villages has been gathered and preserved by this community group since the 1980s.
As well as local records and newspapers, the collection includes an extensive library of books published about the area, as well as family and district histories. Members of the group receive minutes of meetings and newsletters, with articles of historical interest, an update of members’ activities and additions to the Collection, and excerpts from early newspapers, such as The Northern Argus.
The Clare Regional History Group was formed in April 1984. It developed in response to a community-felt need for a collection to house written and photographic materials relevant to Clare and the surrounding area. Since then, through fundraising, book sales and a $12,000 Bicentennial grant, a range of equipment and software have been purchased to help ensure that written and pictorial history can be preserved and made readily accessible.
