Tamworth things to do: Tamworth Powerstation Museum family fun day event to commemorate first city of light

Tamworth's Powerstation Museum will hold a free, family-friendly event to commemorate the anniversary of the historic milestone, Tamworth Regional Council (TRC) cultural collections officer Namoi Blakey said.

"The fact that Tamworth is the first city in the southern hemisphere to have municipal street lights and the story the museum tells makes it important to the council to hold this event," she said.

"As the visitors exit we'll have them come out to the engine shed where we'll have the steam engines running.

"One of the special parts of the anniversary is that we will work to run a desktop computer off the steam engines to demonstrate how old-world power can run new-world technology."

With a population of just 3000 in 1888, the municipality became a leader in technological growth.

It was 11 years after 16 Jablockoff electric candle lights lit up the Avenue de lOpera in Paris, the mayoress of Tamworth Elizabeth Piper used a golden key to flick the switch and make the city the first in the southern hemisphere with electric street lights.

Read also:

Anyone who wants to go along to the celebration will need to book in advance due to COVID-19 restrictions.

There are limited spots available, Ms Blakey said.

"The whole Tamworth Powerstation Museum team is thrilled that we're able to go ahead with our annual anniversary celebrations in a responsible way, and we can't wait to welcome the Tamworth region community and other visitors to show off our fascinating history," she said.

The event is on Sunday, November 8.