Richmond River Historical Society – based in Lismore, New South Wales – has won the ABC Regional Museums Award in Australia.

Now in its third year, the 2010 Regional Museums Award attracted just over 100 entries from museums in every Australian state and territory, mainland and off-shore. Once again the judges relished the opportunity to ‘visit’ so many places and marvelled at the extraordinary passion and commitment of the people who run some of Australia’s smallest museums.

‘Richmond River Historical Society, formed in 1936, was selected as overall winner in the Volunteer-run category, because it performed highly across all criteria. It is a very active museum with a big collection preserving all elements of the local history, has a strong volunteer base and works well with all locals including the Italian and Bandjalung communities to tell interesting and inclusive stories about the district.’

ABC Radio National’s Bush Telegraph program will visit Lismore in October and record a program at the museum for national broadcast.

A representative of Richmond River Historical Society will also have the opportunity, thanks to Museums Australia, to visit Melbourne in late-September for the Museums Australia National Conference where they will participate in the Conference and collect their trophy.

All category winners and commendations can be viewed at the ABC Radio National Regional Museums Award website.

To listen to the ABC Radio National Podcast of the announcement visit the ABC RN Breakfast website.