The Australian Country Music Foundation (ACMF) is an amalgamation of the ACMF and Australian Country Music Trust or Heritage Hall Group.

The ACMF has its headquarters at the Hall of Fame at 93 Brisbane Street, Tamworth, in the former Tamworth Mechanics Institute (click here for more on the actual building).

Objectives of the ACMF are-

• To collect, protect and preserve for the benefit of the community, all aspects of Australia's musical heritage, with particular emphasis on Country Music.
• To promote knowledge of, and interest in, the history and heritage of Australian Traditional Music and Country Music, and the people who created and performed it.
• To carry out and support research into all aspects of Australian music, with particular emphasis on Country Music and Traditional Music.
• To provide an Archive in which historical material of all kinds relating to music composed, recorded, performed and listened to in Australia, in particular Country Music, can be safely preserved and made accessible to students and the public.
• To undertake or support any activity or programmed which will ultimately serve to fulfil the objects detailed above.

The original purpose of the ACMF and the Heritage Hall Group was to establish a permanent Country Music Archive and Resource Centre in Tamworth - Australia's Home of Country Music.

The Foundation is a fully-incorporated, publicly accountable body, registered as a charity and a member of the Australian Museums Association.

Since formation, the ACMF has undertaken numerous activities and has been provided with tenancy of the former Mechanics' Institute in Brisbane Street following restoration by Tamworth City Council (now Tamworth Regional Council).

An association has been established with the Archive and Heritage Departments of the University of New England (UNE) to implement and execute appropriate collection and preservation policies and other firm relationships with like organisations are currently being negotiated.

Achievements

In just a few short years, the Foundation has already recorded some remarkable achievements. Among them...

• creation of a major country music asset and tourist attraction for Tamworth (Australia's Country Music Hall of Fame),
• conducted the major Slim Dusty Exhibition,
• expanded the Slim Dusty Exhibition into the permanent Hall of Fame exhibition (the majority of the items in this display have had to be returned to to Sydney so they can be catalogued prior to opening of the Slim Dusty Museum at Kempsey),
• hosted the Country Music Awards 25 Years And On exhibition and Robyn McIntosh's Stan Coster Tribute,
• set-up the Channel 10 Theatrette showing current and past footage of major country music stars and events,
• established Australia's significant and substantial national country music archive,
• co-ordinated the Country Music Hands of Fame annually on behalf of Tamworth Regional Council,
• assumed ownership and control of, and co-ordinated, the Country Music Roll of Renown,
• established the Australian Country Music Broadcasters' Hall of Fame,
• established the Eric Watson Award for major Australian country music literary works
• supported establishment of the Tamworth Regional Entertainment Centre,
• supported establishment of the Walk A Country Mile country music interpretive centre.

Activities

In working towards achievement of our objectives, the ACMF has undertaken and/or supported many activities for the cause of country music in Australia. These have included...

• regular concert activities during the annual Tamworth Country Music Festival. More recently, these have taken an Australian heritage theme and have been conducted in the Smoky Dawson Room at the Foundation,
• the Country In The Courtyard events held monthly,
• special activities through the year, both one-off and in conjunction with other events,
• activities hosted and/or staged in conjunction with the mid year Hats Off To Country Festival.

Information about all these events and activities can be found on this website.

The Future

Some of the significant possibilities we have for the short and medium term include...

• building a larger Australian Country Music Hall of Fame in Tamworth, Australia's Country Music Capital,
• building the National Country Music Discography listing all commercially-released country music recordings in Australia,
• building the Australian Country Music Living Archive... a continually updated reference base on all country music artists in Australia,
• establishing major archives covering all country music events and organisations in Australia,
• building our collection of video and sound recorded material,
• building a major database of all country music clubs and festivals in Australia to highlight the great strength and wealth of our country music,
• establishing an Internet site to promote the Foundation, our activities, Australian country music and Tamworth,
• publishing a range of historical and other reference material from ACMF resources, including biographies of major figures in the development of Australian country music and major events (like the Tamworth phenomena and the Golden Guitar Awards),
• establishing or improving educational resources available in the Australian education system so our children will have a better understanding of Australian history.

And this brief list covers just a sample of what the Foundation will be able to achieve as it consolidates and grows in the future.

One of our core long-term aims is to establish a larger country music hall of fame in the city (the Legends exhibition is the beginning of this).

The Hall Of Fame at 93 Brisbane Street, Tamworth (between the Imperial Hotel and the Centrepoint car park),is open every Monday to Friday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm and on Saturday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. These hours are extended during January and July festivals (and at other times by arrangement).

The Foundation is lucky to have the support of many local and country music industry businesses and individuals, and new sponsorships are always welcome.

We currently operate entirely on a voluntary basis and welcome the involvement of anyone committed to our objectives