The main museum building of the Great Lakes Historical Museum was originally the Forster branch of the National Australia Bank. When the bank decided it needed a new building the original building was donated to the museum. The building had to be split in two and transported across the bridge over Wallis Lake and reassembled on a block of land in Capel Street Tuncurry in 1976. With a lot of hard work from the volunteer members of the Great Lakes Historical Society (previously called The Wallamba and District Historical Co-operative Society) the bank building was transformed into the main museum building. Several showcases were built and installed, an office was installed and a research library was installed. The building housed a fine collection of artefacts and photographs relating mainly to the three main pioneer industries in the area. These include shipbuilding, timber-getting and farming.