Meroogal
Handed down through four generations of women from one local family, Meroogal tells a multitude of stories about the ‘Roogal’ women and the south-coast community in which they lived.

Side of the house facing Worrigee Street, Meroogal, 2008 MER08_0007
Entry
Adult | $15
Concession | $12
Family* | $38
Members | Free of charge
Children under 5 years | Free of charge
*2 adults & 2 children or 1 adult & 3 children
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From Friday 29 January 2021, Sydney Living Museums recommends that all visitors wear masks inside when visiting our museums, however in line with the latest public health advice wearing masks is not mandatory. Find out more including any exemptions via the NSW Government Health website.
Please check our property pages for current opening days and times. You can also discover our places, stories and collections online and across our social channels. Stay connected to be inspired and entertained.

A few blocks from the town centre of Nowra on NSW’s south coast, Meroogal is a rare and precious gem. Barely changed since it was built in the 1880s, the distinctive ‘Carpenter Gothic’ house has been loved and maintained by four generations of Thorburn and Macgregor women through the pleasures and labours of daily life. The house still overflows with their belongings – favourite books and ornaments, furniture, photographs, diaries and journals, newspaper clippings, receipts and recipes, appliances and clothes – and the garden, although reduced from its original size, still provides fruits and fresh produce that hint at their self-sufficiency and hospitality. Meroogal invites us into their lives, and through their private histories draws us into a shared and living past.
The latest at Meroogal
Learning
Twilight Teachers’ EventWednesday 17 February 2021
Teachers are invited to join us at Shoalhaven Regional Gallery for the launch of new programs for primary and secondary students in 2021.
Media release
Reflections on IdentityThursday 4 February 2021
Sydney Living Museums, with NSW State Archives, announce a bold, expansive and thought provoking program for 2021.
New online
Year in review: 2020Wednesday 3 February 2021
We hope you enjoy this snapshot of some of our favourite moments from 2020.
Fun Activities on offer these Summer holidaysThursday 10 December 2020
School holidays
Summer 2021: opening hoursMonday 7 December 2020

Exterior view
Exterior view of Meroogal and garden

Meroogal 1903 by John Samuel Browning
Meroogal 1903, John Samuel Browning, watercolour on paper. John Samuel Browning (1831-1909) was a friend of the Thorburn family. He was a retired civil servant who had been Commissioner of Crown Lands and Chief Surveyor in Nelson, New Zealand.

In the kitchen
Stove and oven in the kitchen, Meroogal.

View into big balcony bedroom
A view into the big balcony bedroom from the upstairs (first floor) hall, Meroogal.

Exterior, around 1887
Photograph of Meroogal exterior, circa 1887. The man in the bowler hat is Robert Taylor Thorburn and the women are his sisters Belle Thorburn (left) and Tot Thorburn (right).

Front verandah, facing West Street
Front verandah at Meroogal, facing West Street.