MILLTOWN is a living history project that celebrates the people of the historic Milltown area of Bathurst, and their connection to place and communities of the past, through the lens of the present.

Arts OutWest and Museums Bathurst hosted a Garden Party on Thursday 27 March 2025 at Chifley Home and Education Centre for people who had lived in the South Bathurst/ Milltown area in the 1940s to 1970s.

The Chifley Home is the former house of Prime Minister Ben Chifley (PM from 1945-1949) and his wife Elizabeth, a house museum showing 1940s life, located in Bathurst’s historic railway district. The Chifley Home and Education Centre is one of the museums owned and managed by Bathurst Regional Council through Museums Bathurst.

We asked guests to reminisce about life in the pocket of historic Bathurst, “What did you grow in your garden, cook and eat? Did you know the people in your street? Where did you work? What did you do for fun?”

People were interviewed inside the Chifley Home, among domestic objects from the house museum.

From interviews a new living history film work was made to celebrate the people of Milltown, their connection to place and communities of the past, through the lens of the present, created by local film maker Henry Simmons.

The film

Filmed and edited by Henry Simmons. Produced by Arts OutWest and Museums Bathurst.

The film features interviews with Bathurst locals who lived in the Milltown / South Bathurst area in the 20th century. Their memories are woven together with personal film footage and with stories of Ben and Elizabeth Chifley to create a beautiful celebration of life by the railways.

From visiting circuses to games of street cricket, to long lost ways of life, the memories and now the film capture what was special about growing up in this working class part of Bathurst.

This film will become part of the ongoing screenings at the Chifley Home and Education Centre in Bathurst, seen by visitors of all ages, including school groups.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this film.

Also see this suite of stand-alone interviews.

The film was launched at Bathurst Rail Museum on 12 November 2025. The film will now become part of the visitor experience at the Chifley Home and Education Centre.

Below is the WIN News story about the garden party.