The BIG Camera
We all know the deal with the BIG Camera. It's a camera museum! What you may not know however is the story and history behind it
Melbourne born and camera enthusiast, Chic Wadley suffered a workplace injury that left him unable to work. This impacted his marriage so severely it eventually ended in a divorce and Mr Wadley walked away from his successful life with an injury that didn't agree with the Victorian climate. So he moved to the warmer environment of Western Australia where he eventually remarried.
Sometime around 1996 unlucky in love Mr Wadley found himself yet again divorced! Paying a mortgage and was left with a measly $50 a week to survive off.
Chic was broke so he did the only thing he could think of. He found a desolate town, in this case Meckering. Meckering had suffered an enormous earthquake in 1968 which flattened the entire town and flooded every winter. The destruction was so great the entire town had to be rebuilt a few Km's down the road. Years went by and the town begin to decay. Mr Wadley found a disused service station that had been vacant for years and made an offer on the building
He was successful in his bid, built a living quarters within the premise and as his camera collection grew so did the rest of the facility. Mr Wadleys passion for photography grew so wild he eventually began to display his cameras and built the front façade of the old service station to give the appearance of a 35mm SLR Camera transforming the old service station into a camera museum.
Today Mr Wadleys collection consists of 1700 working cameras, is open 5 days a week and can be admitted for a $12 fee, half price for children :)
📍 5 Solomon St, Meckering
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