Eskbank House Museum

Eskbank House Museum is a heritage-listed former residence at 70 Inch Street, Lithgow in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales. Built in 1841-1842 by Scottish immigrant Thomas Brown, it was the first substantial house in the Lithgow Valley. Associated with the Eskbank Colliery and later the Eskbank Ironworks, it is linked to the origins of Australia's iron and steel industry. Now operated as a museum, it displays period interiors, industrial artefacts and local history collections.

Visitors can expect a two-storey colonial stone and brick house set in heritage gardens with courtyard and outbuildings. Inside, period-furnished rooms and exhibition spaces display furniture, textiles, photographs, domestic objects and artefacts relating to Lithgow's coal mining and iron and steel heritage. Interpretive panels explain the house's construction and industrial associations. Visitors can explore ground and upper floors, garden areas and temporary exhibitions, with guided tours available on request.

Built 1841-1842 by Thomas Brown, a Scottish immigrant pastoralist and coal mine owner, Eskbank House is the earliest surviving house in Lithgow. It became the centre of the Eskbank Colliery, the first coal mine in the Lithgow Valley, and later the Eskbank Ironworks established in 1875, which pioneered commercial iron and steel production in Australia. The house and estate illustrate the transition from pastoral settlement to industrial development and are listed on the New South Wales State Heritage Register.

The museum preserves and interprets the social and industrial heritage of Lithgow and the Central Tablelands, showcasing domestic life, coal mining and iron and steel making traditions. It serves as a community cultural centre and repository for local collections, reflecting the identity of Lithgow as an early industrial town.