AT the Bright Museum, inside the former train station that is their headquarters, is a miniature stove.
It's not a toy, but a detailed sample, so when salesmen went door–to–door they could show exactly what was for sale.
"That was a favourite of the people who came in yesterday," Pauline McCall said, secretary of the Bright and District Historical Society.
The stove sample is just one of many intriguing pieces of history showcased by the Bright Historical Society during the town's Autumn Festival.
During the festival, running from April 28 to May 7, the Bright Museum is open extra hours, while the historical society is running tours and an afternoon tea at the Bright State Battery.
Why not join local historian Diann Talbot on a walk through the streets to learn about Bright history's darker side in their 'Murders and Mysteries' tour, or take a bus down to the Buckland Cemetery to learn of the local stories buried there?
Ms Talbot will bring to life some of Bright's most peculiar or violent stories, like an anti–Chinese riot on the banks of the Ovens River or the doctor's manservant who was actually a woman in disguise, said Ms McCall.
Meanwhile, on April 29, visitors can catch a glimpse into Bright's gold–laden past at the Bright State Battery, an intact quartz crushing battery just over Dougherty's Bridge in Morse's Creek Road.
Visitors can also inspect the mining museum in the old manager's quarters.
But the mysteries don't stop there – the museum has a few peculiarities of its own.
A piece that takes pride of place along the station platform is a large piece of hardwood carved into a boat found under the bank of the Ovens River in 1972.
It's not made by indigenous people, not with the metal hooks driven into the wood, but according to Ms McCall no one has ever come forward to explain why it was made, or why it was hidden under a bank.
"No one seems to know who made it," she said.
The Bright Museum is open from 2pm–4pm on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday during the Autumn Festival.
The 'Murders and Mysteries' tour begins at 6pm at the Bright Visitor Information Centre on Gavan Street on May 4, while the Buckland Cemetery tour starts at 9:30am at the Bright Museum on May 2.
EFTPOS is not available for any of the events and if it is raining tours are cancelled.
