Established in 1988, the Georgetown Heritage Society cares for the local history archives and resources which consist of a large collection of historic photos, maps of the town and other documents and memorabilia including the community records of the Georgetown Hall, Sporting Clubs, Coursing/Racing, Football, Cricket, Bowls, Tennis and CWA.
The Georgetown Heritage Society also holds the Georgetown Cemetery records from 1870 although some are at the Northern Areas Council offices at Jamestown. The cemetery is located south of the town.
The local history archives and resources are housed in the Georgetown Heritage Society’s building on the main street – next to the Georgetown Memorial Hall and almost opposite the Georgetown Hotel – which is open by appointment.
There is also a collection of farm machinery manufactured in Georgetown by the pioneers circa 1890s displayed in Federation Park across the road from the Society’s building.
Georgetown was one of the first towns to be surveyed in the mid north area of South Australia when the Strangways Act was passed in 1869 to authorise reopening of pastoral leases to enable closer settlement for more intensive farming purposes.
The group has also produced local history publications:
- Georgetown Centenary (Barrett, 1969)
- The Families of Georgetown SA (John and Helen Fogarty, 2009)
- Georgetown General Store Building Centenary (Fogarty, 2012)
The Georgetown Heritage Society are organising a ‘Back to Georgetown’ weekend on Saturday and Sunday 30-31 March 2019 to celebrate 150 years of settlement. They are planning to update The Families of Georgetown SA book to be launched during the weekend celebrations. If you have information to add please contact the society by 30 September 2018.