Three people have been charged over an August break-in at the Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum. The alleged theft of 27 guns from the museum forced the temporary closure to allow for extensive security improvements. The museum has since been paying $5000 per week for overnight security guards, while waiting on approvals for building upgrades.
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NewsTranscript
00:00It's been devastating. The museum's been here for 26 years. It's more than just a firearms museum.
00:06It's a historical museum. It's part of Australia's history. Since 1912, the factory was supplying
00:12firearms to our military forces, as well as making commercial things. It brought Australia
00:18back after the Second World War with commercial enterprise. It's been a complete part of
00:23Australia's history. And you can't explain how devastating it is for the volunteers,
00:28the local community, and Australia in general. One was a Rossi revolver that was presented to
00:34Sonia McMahon, the wife of Prime Minister Billy McMahon at the time. She didn't like
00:39firearms, so it ended up coming into our collection. But that thing's irreplaceable.
00:44There was another one that was presented to an Australian major by the Sultan of Oman.
00:49So you can't replace that type of thing.