About Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum
The Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum is a heritage industrial museum in Lithgow, New South Wales, housed in the original 1912 Lithgow Small Arms Factory buildings. It preserves Australia's principal military small arms manufacturing site, which produced rifles and machine guns for the Australian Defence Force through both World Wars and beyond. The museum displays an extensive collection of firearms, machinery, tools and archives illustrating Australian manufacturing and defence history.
Visitors guide
Visitors can expect to explore the original factory buildings and heritage-listed site on Methven Street, with indoor exhibition halls displaying thousands of firearms including Lee-Enfield rifles, Bren guns and modern Australian service weapons, plus original factory machinery, tooling, and production line equipment. Displays cover the factory's history from 1912, wartime production, and social history of workers. Guided tours, interpretive panels, and a gift shop are available within an industrial heritage setting.
Key highlights
- 01
Extensive collection of Australian military and civilian firearms produced at Lithgow from 1912 onwards
- 02
Original heritage-listed factory buildings and preserved industrial machinery and tooling
- 03
Exhibits on World War I and World War II small arms production and Australian defence history