Built as a flexible multipurpose facility, the Slim Dusty Centre hosts the famous Slim Dusty Museum along with a gift shop, art gallery, cafe and is also a venue for hire. The Gift shop offers signature Slim Dusty Merchandise, as well as showcases local products from our region, including Akubra Hats!
The Slim Dusty Museum, an “Australian Life In Song” is a major tourism drawcard, making this facility a must see on the national and international visitors’ scene.
Picture by Todd Connaughton courtesy of the Macleay Argus’ SF
SLIM WAS CLOSELY INVOLVED IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE PROJECT, AND IN THE YEAR HE PASSED AWAY, HE SAID
Joy and I look forward to the eventual opening of a venture that will showcase not just my music and my life, but the role that Australian Country Music has played in the culture of the North Coast of NSW, and indeed, Australia. It is my hope and ambition that this Centre will show the integration of country music and the different facets of life in this country; also that it will assist young artists and musicians in their studies and careers. I believe too, that it will be of great benefit to the town of Kempsey and the district of the Macleay Valley.``
Slim Dusty AO MBE, 2003
“An Australian Life in Song”
The Slim Dusty Museum exhibition features objects and images from the Kirkpatrick family’s own extensive archive, as well as contributions from fans and friends from all over the world. Visually rich and astonishingly varied, the display provides a look into Slim’s first steps into show business, the early years of adventures with Joy and their mates touring the towns and villages of Australia’s outback and the glory days of life on the showgrounds of Australia with artistes and performers of vaudevillian delights. Memory acts, dental trapeze and comedy skits were all part of Slim and Joy’s shows for years, until they settled into the type of performances for which they became famous; rollicking country music and Slim’s natural good humour, all with a very Australian flavour.
Enjoy the costumes, the images of Australian life and its people, the music of some of Australia’s finest musicians and the insights into Australia’s vast history and geography that only Slim and Joy’s sixty years on the road can provide.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
