Shepparton Heritage Centre board members Kristy Rudd and Peter Ryan, along with the remainder of the board, have big plans that are set to make history.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Redirecting a river to bring water frontage to a historical tourist attraction might seem an unrealistic goal; however, the water once naturally flowed there before man changed its course, so is it?
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It’s one big idea of many that the new Shepparton Heritage Centre board visualises in the historical precinct’s future.
With a restructure of governance earlier this year, the passionate and determined new cohort undertook an organisational review and has set a vision of “preserving the past to inform the future”.
Its mission is not so different from what it’s always been: to collect, archive, curate, promote and display heritage items that tell the story of Greater Shepparton, by operating a high-quality museum and presenting displays, exhibitions, education and research services to promote the heritage and history of the region and community.
But it’s the strong governance and community support that the board hopes will propel the Shepparton Heritage Centre to long-term viability.
Board member Peter Ryan paid tribute to the volunteers who had kept the centre going throughout the years.
“If it wasn’t for the volunteers that ... have got it to this point, we would have nothing,” Mr Ryan said.
“The place would be just like the post office. The only thing left is the bell.”
He credited the now executive officer, Kristy Rudd, and other volunteers she worked alongside for many years before her new position became a paid one after the restructure.
“Now, you know, we’re going to argue we've got about the best board in town when you look at the quality of the people sitting on it and their experience,” Mr Ryan said.
“But let us prove it with what we do.”
Along with Mr Ryan and Mrs Rudd, John Dainton and Don Kilgour sit on the board as chair and deputy chair, respectively, with Andrew Furphy, Judy Hanlon, John Evans, Tony Mercer, Kerry Betts, Ruth Bowles and Margaret Guppy filling the members’ seats at the table.
Shepparton Heritage Centre executive office Kristy Rudd and her assistant Georgia Bovalino are now paid staff members since the restructure of museum operations.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
Mr Ryan said the goal was not to develop a museum to attract tourism, but rather to collect, preserve and interpret the history the region has for the people in the region, with a strong focus on welcoming school, club and group visits.
However, in the longer term, he visualises a precinct of shops and eateries that face towards the river, boats shuttling patrons between McGuire’s Punt at the rear of the museum and the Australian Botanic Gardens in Kialla, and working historical displays along the banks, perhaps with live ancient canoe craft demonstrations.
McGuire’s Punt was once sitting in the Goulburn River, before the river was redirected away from it. The redgum it was built with is deteriorating because it is not sitting in water the way it was designed to.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
A new multi-storey museum building is also on the wishlist.
With philanthropic support providing a more sustainable model for the centre than potentially inconsistent government funding could, the centre will remain community-driven.
“Having a philanthropic base, we’re also basically saying the community has already paid for this once, this is a service that the community, through philanthropy, is giving back to you, and so charges will be at a minimum,” he said.
With no political alliance, the board can make independent decisions about the history it keeps, free from influence or bias and documenting it simply and factually.
“We won’t be saying anything about whether something was a good thing or a bad thing; we’ll be saying on this date, this happened, these people did that,” Mr Ryan said.
“I know enough histories that I’ve been involved in being written when nothing like what I remember happened, you know, whoever wins the war writes the history. We’re not going to fall into that trap.”
A special general meeting was held on April 7 to elect the board, followed by its first official meeting on April 14.
Already, renovation plans have been drawn up, gardens have been manicured, a new air-conditioning system has been organised, and restorative works will soon begin on some outdoor features.
The board is busily applying for National Library grants to support volunteers working specifically in historical environments, to develop their identification, provenance, preservation and curation skills.
“The idea is not to try and be a specialist in something that the rest of the world is doing, because you're never, ever going to be able to compete,” Mr Ryan said.
“What we can compete in and win is being uniquely Shepparton and the region, and the things that are special here, and you can only come here to get them, is what we're doing.”
There are already historical artefacts along the stretch of river behind the history museum that would be worked into the outdoor educational displays.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
And how about that river idea?
“Rivers have been trained and redirected all over the world, let’s not think, ‘oh, the river’s there and it floods, and don’t touch it, it’s too much trouble’,” Mr Ryan said.
“We should think about, well, it doesn’t change the river too much if you brought it back around a little bit more.”
Sub-committees have been formed under five pillars: marketing and fundraising; museum operations, financial management and compliance; building and facilities, and; heritage research and history.
New volunteers are invited to join any that interest them.
