It might have a population of only 50 people, but Adrian Bennett made his dream come true by moving from Bradford, England, to the tiny dusty town of Silverton in the NSW outback.
The reason Adrian moved his wife and three children to the other side of the world to a rural village on the NSW/SA border? Because he is a Mad Max super fan, and he wanted to build a museum in the rural area where the second movie, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, was filmed.
The English family moved to the country in 2006, and while it was always their intention to open the museum, Silverton became their home four years later when the Mad Max 2 Museum was finally erected.
Despite having such a small population, the town has a stretch of road with several galleries on it, including The John Dynon Gallery, and of course, Adrian and Linda’s Mad Max museum.
The small wacky building is instantly recognisable as a museum dedicated to George Miller’s post-apocalyptic movie.
Adrian and Linda Bennett (pictured) made their dream come true by moving from Bradford, England, to the tiny dusty town of Silverton in the NSW outback
It is a must-see for any film buffs, as it is filled with a large collection of photographs from the movie, character costumes, and an impressive collection of original and replica vehicles from the flick – including two interceptors.
While speaking to Adrian, it is clear that he is obsessed with the movie franchise, and building and running the museum was a dream come true for him.
‘Some people think I’m joking when I talk about how much I love the movie,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
The couple built a museum in the rural area where the second movie, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, was filmed
Adrian first saw the action movie when it was released in cinemas in the UK when he was 18-years-old.
His wife, Linda, said she wasn’t one bit surprised when he came up with the plan to relocate to Australia and start the museum.
‘The first thing he said to me when we met was, “Have you seen a movie called Mad Max?”‘ she said.
‘So when we had been together forever I wasn’t surprised [he wanted to move to Australia].
‘And I always thought it would be nice to come out here, he was always planning it in his head.’
Mel Gibson in the first Mad Max film that was released in 1979
Despite their clear passion, the couple said many people thought they were mad to start a business in a town that has a population of just 50 people.
‘There are two comments I remember from certain people and one was, “You’re a bit of a financial genius aren’t you, starting a museum in a town with a population of 50 people?”‘ Linda said.
‘And I said, “Financial genius? Yes, this town gets hundreds of thousands of tourists.”‘
Adrian said that on top of the town being popular for tourists, Australia needed to have a dedicated Mad Max museum.
‘They needed this museum, it didn’t make sense not to have something like this,’ he added.
‘When we moved in 50 people were living here but I said yes, the financial genius gets 160,000 tourists coming through [the town every year].
‘If I got a dollar off every 160,000 people coming through I’d be doing alright wouldn’t I?’
Despite their clear passion, the couple said many people thought they were mad to start a business in a town that has a population of just 50 people
While it costs $7 to enter the museum, there is also an abundance of merchandise on sale.
However, the couple said despite their success, it has never been about the money for them.
They’ve just always wanted to live comfortably while living their dream of owning a Mad Max museum in the outback.
‘We have never been driven by cash, we just want to live comfortably, for me I’m living the dream anyway,’ Adrian said.
Linda added: ‘It was built from a passion and if this door shuts tomorrow because no one was coming in we still wouldn’t sell up.’
The museum is a must-see for any film buffs, as it is filled with a large collection of photographs from the movie, character costumes, and an impressive collection of original and replica vehicles from the flick – including two interceptors
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