Of course, the hourly rate greatly increases when the Camden Historical Society hires professional labour. So, the rate of $46.62 is probably an undervaluation. Specialist museum consultants can charge $1000 per day and more.
Volunteer survey at the museum
In 2018, Camden Historical Society President Dr Ian Willis conducted a brief survey of volunteers at the Camden Museum.
He was interested in the range of volunteer duties and the number of unpaid hours worked.
The frontage of the Camden Museum Library complex at 40 John Street Camden (HCNSW, 2023)
He found that Camden Museum volunteers and members of the Camden Historical Society, which manages the museum, do a host of unpaid activities.
The activities include: front welcome desk; tours; general administration; research; data entry; social media; writing; filing; committee work; travel; cataloguing; and other sundry duties.
This unpaid labour is essential to keep the museum open and the collection and archives in good condition.
Volunteering is an essential part of the wider society and is generally undervalued by government, businesses and volunteers themselves.
The most obvious unpaid labour is staffing the front desk to welcome visitors to the museum. The museum is open from 11am to 4pm on Thursday to Sunday.
Other unpaid voluntary work takes place behind the scenes, away from the public gaze.
Writing an article for the Back Page of The District Reporter, around 800 words, can take between 15 to 25 hours.
The Back Then page in The District Reporter. (TDR, 23 April 2023)
When the Camden Historical Society’s weekly 240 hours were entered into the calculator, the annualised value calculated was A$590,304. This gives an hourly rate of A$47.41, assuming that most of the volunteers were between the ages of 55 and 64.
The Centre for Voluntary states:
This useful tool is fully compliant for organisations reporting the fair value of volunteering under the Australian Accounting Standard (AASB1058) Income of Not-for-Profit Entities.
The replacement cost of a volunteer is calculated using the average hourly part-time wage of a person of their age in their state of residence, plus 15% employer on-costs (inclusive of superannuation, payroll tax and administration expenses).
Valuing volunteers for in-kind contributions can be challenging to figure out $ values for volunteer hours.
This figure is often required for grant applications.
Camden Museum volunteers lead a school group around the displays (Camden Museum 2018)
Value of volunteering to the Australian economy
Up-to-date research on what volunteering is worth to the Australian economy is either out-of-date or difficult to find.
One report from Flinders University in 2014 stated that volunteering was worth A$290 billion to Australia’s economic and social well-being, including the value of lives saved and emotional well-being.
The impact of Covid-19 has seen a decline in overall volunteering across the country.
According to the latest research in 2022 (UoS):
The ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods (CSRM) estimated a drop from 36% in 2019 to 26.7% in April 2022 in the proportion of adults who had volunteered formally over the 12 months prior to the time of survey.
In its fifth year, Unlock Camden was on again. This year, Unlock Camden 2023 was on Saturday, 2 September, from 10am – 3pm at the beginning of 2023 History Week.
The 2023 History Week theme was Voices from the Past. Unlock Camden encouraged local folk to tell their own story in a social media campaign run by the Heritage Advisory Committee called #mycamdenstory. You can submit your own story or listen to other local stories about events, places and people.
This image is from the #mycamdenstory project which is part of the Unlock Camden 2023 social media campaign (Camden Council)
The Unlock Camden 2023 program celebrated Camden’s history and heritage. The activities were centred around John Street as in the past, with the addition of activities at Camden Library. For the first time, there were activities at Camden Markets located on the Camden Town Farm in Exeter Street.
The official opening was at 10am at the Camden Town Farm Market site by the Camden mayor Ashleigh Cagney.
Unlock Camden 2023 promotional artwork from Camden Council (Camden Council)
Unlock Camden 2023 outside the Alan Baker Art Gallery Macaria in John Street Camden. Here, members of the Camden Musical Society have got into the swing of the vibe and dressed for the occasion in vintage costume. They are standing in front of ‘Clem’ a French 1911 Clement Bayard Roadster, 4 cylinder, 8.6 litre motor, with a 4-speed manual transmission. This car was for a time displayed at the Greens Motorcade Museum at Leppington (1974-1982). (I Willis, 2023)
Starting at the Alan Baker Art Gallery, there were four guided history walks of the Camden town centre starting at 10.30am, then the half-hour until 1.30pm by members of the Camden Historical Society.
Camden Council was awarded $25,000 for interpreting and promoting heritage through the Heritage NSW 2023-2025 Local Government Heritage Grants Program. The grant required a dollar-matched contribution from the council.
Some folk dressed for the occasion at the Unlock Camden 2023 History Festival. These two damsels are from the Camden Musical Society and are dressed for a motoring tour of the historic Camden town centre. (I Willis 2023)
Where it all began
The first Unlock Camden was held in 2019. It was the initiative of the Camden Council Heritage Advisory Committee under the dynamic leadership of committee member Laura Jane Aulsebrook.
The cover of the publicity flyer for Unlock Camden 2019 showing Edithville at 18 Mitchell Street, which was Camden’s first hospital (1889-1902) (Camden Council)
The committee hoped the event would focus community attention on the area’s rich colonial history. (Camden Advertiser, 13 March 2019)
Timed to coincide with the History Week conducted by the History Council of New South Wales, the day was held on the first Saturday in September.
History Week is a fantastic opportunity for member organisations, large and small, throughout NSW to engage and educate the community about the vitality, diversity and meaning of History and its practice.
talks and lectures, behind-the-scenes tours and heritage trails, exhibitions and radio features, film festivals, open historic houses and gardens, book sales and launches.
The first Unlock Camden was based around the Alan Baker Art Gallery on John Street, with several stalls from community organisations.
This is the information page in the publicity flyer for Unlock Camden 2019. The flyer shows images of Alan Baker Art Gallery at Macaria (1860), The Honey Sippers, Camden Museum (40 John Street) and Brookfield House (30 Hill Street, 1896) (Camden Council)
On the day, the windy spring weather proved challenging for stall holders and caused havoc with tables and umbrellas, while other events in Camden were cancelled.
Heritage Advisory Committee Chair Councillor Cindy Cagney said, ‘It was an exciting idea and a positive for the community’. (Camden Advertiser, 13 March 2019)
Committee member Laura Jane Aulsebrook, a ‘local identity and Camden’s living piece of history’ launched the #mycamdenstory social media campaign.
Unlock Camden 2023 cutout of Elsie Pyrke at a Camden Hospital Carnival. Elsie worked as a receptionist for Dr Robert Crookston. The cutout was located outside of Camden Library. (C Cagney 2023)
“Residents are encouraged to share photos and stories that showcase their Camden story, historic and modern photos, and anything that shares why they are in Camden and why they love Camden,” said Ms Aulsebrook. (Camden Advertiser, 19 August 2019)
The day was highlighted by walking tours of the historic town centre, live music, and displays at the Alan Baker Art Gallery and Camden Museum.
The Camden Heritage Walking tour and brochure were relaunched, music was provided by the Camden Community Band and the Honey Sippers, and their owners displayed several vintage cars.
Organiser Ms Aulesbrook said, ‘This was a chance to learn more about their history and why they are so important to the fabric of the community.’ (Camden Advertiser, 10 September 2019)
This image shows the Unlock Camden 2019 organiser Ms LJ Aulesbrook posing for a photograph in one of the vintage cars that were displayed on the day in John Street outside the Alan Baker Art Gallery located in the former gentleman’s townhouse Macaria (1860). The community stalls are shown on the gallery forecourt in the rear of the image ( Brett Atkins/Camden Advertiser 10 September 2019)
The day was quite successful despite the council not allocating any specific budget for the occasion.
Covid-19 forces Unlock Camden online in 2020
In 2020 Unlock Camden Council held its second event as a digital online event because of the outbreak of Covid-19 and the associated restrictions.
For the first time, the council allocated a small budget for the event of $3500.
Events included virtual tours of the historic town centre, the #mycamdenstory social media campaign, and a series of historic sites highlighted through the council website and on social media.
Unlock Camden 2023 cutout of the Thomson sisters, Annette and Elizabeth, of Maryland. The sisters worked with the Royal Agricultural Society and had a herd of prize-winning dairy cows. The cutout was located in the market area of the Camden Town Farm. (C Cagney 2023)
Camden Mayor Cr Theresa Fideli said:
Unlock Camden allows us to celebrate the history, culture and achievements on Camden that we are all incredibly proud of. We are lucky enough to be living in an area with a great historical significance and while it is unfortunate that we cannot open the doors to our historic buildings and locations this year, our Virtual Historic Tour will allow residents to walk through Camden’s heritage precinct and key historic locations right from the comfort of their own homes.
Camden Council Website 20 August 2020
Unlock Camden 2021 online again
Unlock Camden 2021 was an online event due to Covid-19 restrictions and included virtual tours, a #mycamdenstory social media campaign and the promotion of historic sites on the Camden Council website. The event had a small budget of $2900.
Things look up at Unlock Camden 2022
The 2022 Unlock Camden celebration of our local history was first held after Covid-19 restrictions were lifted. The event was held away from History Week on Saturday, 15 October.
The day’s events ran from 10am-3pm using the theme of unlocking stories and images.
Similar to 2019, the event was centred at the Alan Baker Art Gallery with walking tours of historic Camden town centre by volunteers from the Camden Historical Society, community stalls and historical games in the gallery forecourt, vintage car displays in John Street, music, and an online photographic display.
The day aimed to ‘Unlock the stories, the people, the images and the history of Camden’. (LJ Aulsebrook, CCHAC)
The increasing importance of the event in a post-restrictions Covid-19 environment regarding community resilience and cohesion saw an increased budget from the council of $10,000.
This is part of the #mycamdenstory social media campaign for Unlock Camden 2023, showing well-known Camden identity Llewella Davies (Camden Council)
The legacy
The aim of the day and the associated events has been to tell the Camden story through walks, art, images, stories, and a host of other activities.
The Camden story is about what the town centre represents in the narrative of the Australian story. Founded on Dharawal country, the colonial period started with the Cowpastures the Macarthur private town on Camden Park Estate in 1840. Growing into the market town in the late 19th century, the early 20th century saw the town become a regional hub. The development of the Interwar years created a prosperous country town that was subsumed by the Macarthur Growth Centre in 1973 and Sydney’s urban growth.
Unlock Camden was an initiative of the Camden Council Heritage Advisory Committee to tell the Camden story and has been ably assisted and coordinated in conjunction with the work of Camden Council staff.
Over the past five years, the program of events has offered another view into Camden’s past as we celebrate Unlock Camden 2023 and explore our history and heritage.
This image was part of the 2019 Unlock Camden social media campaign generated by organiser Ms LJ Aulsebrook (Camden Council)
A group of notable locals at the tree planting commemorating Llewellas Davies, who donated The Camden Town Farm to the Camden Community, for Unlock Camden 2023 at the Camden Town Farm ‘Sheep Dog Paddock’. From L-R are Mr Buckely CTF, Cr Cindy Cagney, Dr Ian Willis CHS, …..Glenda Chalker CCHAC, Mayor Ashleigh Cagney, Sally Quinnell MP Member for Camden, … (M Willis, 2023)
Unlock Camden 2023 Mayor Ashleigh Cagney planting the commemorative tree (I Willis, 2023)
Updated 3 September 2023. Originally posted on 22 August 2023.
Camden History Notes 
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