Middle of Nowhere
Photographer Simone Rosenbauer traveled across every state in Australia in search of the tiny museums lost in the landscape, functioning thanks to custodians and volunteers that keep local culture alive.
Over the course of four years, the German-Australian photographer visited 35 small museums, capturing their structures, installations, objects, and the dedicated individuals behind them. The names of these places — quirky, nostalgic, precise — often hint at the eccentric collections and histories inside.
SM34 Apple & Heritage Museum, Huonville TAS © Simone Rosenbauer
SM24 National Road Transport Hall of Fame, Alice Springs NT © Simone Rosenbauer
SM08 Wing Hing Long & Co, Tingha NSW © Simone Rosenbauer
SM07 Uralla Historical Society, Uralla NSW © Simone Rosenbauer
Shot in a typological style, the images are paired with testimonies from the guardians. Former jails, orphan dormitories, and opal mines become unlikely homes for memory, where each building, artifact, and portrait holds a number—transforming the book itself into a museum.
SM37 The Australian Golf Museum, Bothwell TAS © Simone Rosenbauer
SM39 W.A. School of Mines, Kalgoorlie WA © Simone Rosenbauer
SM07 Uralla Historical Society, Uralla NSW © Simone Rosenbauer
The book “Small Museum” is published by GOST and available at the price of 55 Euro.
