The Chiltern Athenaeum Trust has received $8405 from the Victorian government to preserve its collection, but more funding is needed if the historic items are to survive the next generation, volunteers believe.
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The trust is among four North East projects and 53 across the state successful in applying for the Public Record of Victoria’s local history grant program.
Chiltern Tourism and Development president Kevin Mayhew said the trust would use the money for shelving, textile boxes, and storage.
“We sometimes have to store donations on the piano for example, and it’s not the best way – this funding will allow us to have that storage in place,” he said.
“We are working to preserve the collection.”
While the grant is welcomed, independent curator Ali Rowe said the second half of the trust’s application – to fund training for volunteers to adequately handle the collection – was knocked back.
“The whole project included training – it was going to be open to everyone, and they didn’t fund that,” she said.
“It’s a lack of understanding of problems faced by rural museums.
“There’s a lack of skill and you need that skill to deal with these objects.”
Hundreds of items, when not on display, are housed adjacent to the heritage-listed trust building, in the annex opened in 2000 in honour of John McEwan.
Included in the collection is a slouch hat warn during the Battle of Beersheba.
Trust volunteer and former president Christine Hay said the storage system needed work, and there were plans to better utilise space within the annex.
“What has happened over time is we’ve collected or put items on display, it’s now that we’re really taking steps to conserve our collection,” she said.
“Museum Victoria said if we don’t start now, our display won’t be here for generations to come.
“This funding has come at the right time and it will get us on the way.”
Ms Rowe said the costs would be large, considering textile boxes alone were worth $100 each.
“Everything needs to be documented and re-housed into non-acidic boxes,” she said.
Of 236 applicants in the grants program, 53 were approved sharing in $345,000, including:
- The Upper Kiewa Valley Community Association, awarded $2000 to design and install interpretative signage at the newly-named Hydro Park in Mount Beauty
- Benalla Historical Society, awarded $14,500 for digitisation of Benalla Standard newspapers
- Benalla Migrant Camp, awarded $9500 for the group’s 1949-1967 Digital Storytelling Project