120 people attended the Oberon District Museum’s Open Day to launch the recently completed Forest and Timber display. Andrew Gee, the Local Federal member, opened the new pavilion, and Jason Molketin, the Regional Manager of the Forestry Corporation, also gave an address to the gathering, many of whom have spent their entire careers in the local timber industry.

Timber in Oberon today is a multi-million dollar industry, and a cornerstone to the town’s economy. The industry employs over 600 people, harvests and processes over 1 million tons of round wood annually and supplies timber for a flourishing house building industry in NSW. The Museum’s Forest and Timber pavilion contains much information on the history of this industry, as well as displays provided by the Forestry Corporation and Borg explaining their current operations. Visitors to the Museum are often very curious about the factory complexes in town and the displays provide answers to many of their questions. For example, did you know that Borg (now called Australian Panels) employs over 480 people in Oberon, and has 27,000 solar panels on its rooftop – the largest rooftop solar system in the country, spanning 8 hectares? When Australian Panels purchased the Oberon site in May 2010, it had a footprint of 60,000 square metres. By 2022 the company has expanded the facility to an incredible 160,000 square metres.

The Museum would like to thank all those who have assisted in this project, especially the Foundation for Regional Rural Renewal who provided financial backing.