The Border Watch: February 25, 2009

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Museum proposed BY SANDRA MORELLO Email: [email protected]

THE proponents of a $4m Mount Gambier museum proposal are calling for the ambitious project to be placed back on the agenda and believe the world-class facility is now achievable. Moves are afoot to resurrect the dormant steering committee, which was buoyed by an invitation last week to present their detailed proposal to a city council workshop. The museum, which is mooted to be built alongside the Lady Nelson Visitor and Discovery Centre, would showcase the district’s rich cultural, geological and human history and potentially lure thousands of tourists through its doors each year. The 1260m² facility would not only showcase the Mount Gambier district’s indigenous rock engravings — which are considered to be the most valuable engravings of their kind in the world — but would reveal hidden folklore such as the possible German submarine submerged off the coast of Port MacDonnell. It would also allow the community to recognise famous and prominent characters in Mount Gambier’s history, such as Sir Robert Helpmann and the late Mr Allan Scott AO. Mount Gambier resident Colin Thompson — who is the public face of the museum plan — told The Border Watch yesterday it was time the proposal was “cranked up”. Mr Thompson said the project had gone up considerably in cost compared with two years ago when the blueprint was developed. “We can’t move forward without council support,” he said. “We have already spent $15,000 on developing a detailed proposal and business plan, so it is ready to go.” While acknowledging the hefty $4m price tag, Mr Thompson said cities and towns across Australia had museums, which were vital tourism and community infrastructure.

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According to the business plan, the museum could have an operating deficit of $270,000 per year. “Council spends $1.2m on parks and gardens and that is an operating deficit; a museum would also add charm to the city,” Mr Thompson said. “Such an attraction would entice tourists, it would hold visitors in the town and would showcase the Mount Gambier district.” He said it was also vital infrastructure to allow Aboriginal artefacts — being housed at the Adelaide Museum — to be returned to the community. Mr Thompson said it was believed some valuable Aboriginal artefacts from the Mount Gambier district had already been sold to collectors in France. “We definitely have community support for the project. We have a lot of volunteers who would help run the facility,” he said. “We also have written support from the Education Department, as well as schools in the city.” Under the blueprint, the museum would include 10 separate galleries, an exhibition hall and café. Interactive world-class displays would feature throughout the facility. “The community has been pushing for a museum since at least the 1950s,” Mr Thompson said. He said he felt there was a growing support within the council membership for the project. But Mayor Steve Perryman said council could not afford to subsidise the operational costs of the museum. “That is not council’s core business,” Mr Perryman said. He said council invited museum proponents to a workshop so new councillors could be briefed on the proposal. While council could not allocate financial resources for the project, Mr Perryman said council would support proponents in their efforts to gain State Government funding. “Council hasn’t considered it formally, but we do know it would require a large capital cost and large ongoing costs,” Mr Perryman said.

Mount Gambier Today - Fine. Partly cloudy. 27o – report page 23

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pABOVE: The museum would capture the history of Mount Gambier’s RAAF observer school which accommodated more than 1000 service men and women during WWII. Twenty-six lives were lost in the district due to accidents during training. The wartime interactive display would also unearth folklore about a German submarine submerged off the coast of Port MacDonnell.

pRIGHT: Long-time museum campaigner Colin Thompson holds a photograph of a number of prisoners of war, who were housed at a war camp at Nangwarry during WWII. The district’s rich wartime history would be showcased in the museum.

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