We are Open!

What a wonderful day!

There was large crowd of friends from Stratford and compatriots from other historical societies



Above - Wemyss Struss, the society president, outlines the history of the building before inviting Tim Lee to open the door.



Above: Inside the Museum, just before the opening.

Thank You, everyone, for being part of a wonderful day. And it didn't even rain until 2.30pm. And the scones and jam and cream were verrrry nice.

Now, the good news. We will be open every Tuesday from 10am to 3pm, and on the second and fourth Sunday of the month from 2pm to 4pm. Access to the archives is still by appointment only until further cataloguing takes place. Appointments can be made on 0418 573 828

Just in case you were wondering .....

Jus in case you were wondering - this is how the interior of the museum looked before restoration started.

And this is how it looks now:

Not bad, eh??? And with the exception of some professional painting, and wonderful assistance from Geoff from Newry on the floors, the whole lot was done by voluntary work by George, John, Martin and team.

ESSO funds new computer

The Society has been delighted to receive advice from ESSO-BHP Billaton of a grant of $1,000 to fund a new computer to allow better cataloguing and access to the Society's photographs and archives. The support of ESSO, who also funded the paint for the Museum restoration, is very much appreciated.

Signature Cloth

Work is progressing most satisfactorily on the major exhibitions for opening on the 30th - and we are excited that Tim Lee, whose father first opened the doors on the Museum about 25 years ago, will officiate.

One of the smaller exhibitions will be "New Acquisitions" - items that have recently come into the collection. Not all are ready for exhibition, and the Methodist Church Signature Cloth falls into this category.

This cloth appears to be a fund-raising effort from 1918, and requires extensive work before it can be exhibited.

But hopefully all signatures will be transcribed soon, and it will be possible to work out who paid to have their signatures embroidered onto the cloth.

Books for Sale

The Society has a number of difficult-to-find local histories for sale. These include a number they have published themselves. Many are listed HERE.

Progress at the Museum

So, what has happened at the Museum once it was closed (apart from the shed, of course)?

The really big news is that the Museum building (the former Methodist church), was completely emptied, and the walls stripped and painted, and the floor stripped and painted. Somewhere, Martin has pictures of how the walls were before - they were revolting.

Here is the inside, after the walls have been painted, and with George and John working on the floor.

And here is how the floor looked when it was finished (Stunning is a word that comes to mind)

So, what happened then?

As soon as the Cataloguing Teams were allowed on the floor, they demanded furniture, and exhibits.

Here is the Courthouse table leaving the shed

and going into the Museum. The first piece to return home.

The cataloguers really wanted a table on which to work. But were they happy with that? No way.

This is what really happy cataloguers look like:

History of Farming Photographs

Amid much hustle and bustle at the Museum, one of the first exhibitions for the opening is almost ready, thanks to the work of George and John.

This is the excellent exhibition of early photographs of farming in East Gippsland, put on in 1985 by the Department of Agriculture for the 150th Anniversary of Victoria. After the exhibition finished the boards (there are twelve large panels), were stored in the Maffra Sugarbeet Museum. Although people talked fondly about the exhibition, it has not been displayed since.

Last Tuesday a ute pulled in to the museum at Maffra, they were loaded up, and have since been cleaned and readied for display again.

And they look stunning - and will be unveiled with the other new exhibitions in the Museum on 30 April.

News from Stratford Historical Society

Hello Everyone,

This is a new blog to pass on news from time to time from Stratford Historical Society.

We are all very excited, as the Museum has been closed for over a year, and is reopening on 30 April, after stunning internal renovations by an incredible team of volunteers and supporters.

Cataloguing is happening in the recently outfitted office/back room.

Back soon with more news and views