THE Ansett Museum was the subject of a decision earlier this month by Southern Grampians Shire Council (SGSC) to explore the feasibility of funding upgrades to the venue, including incorporating the Hamilton Visitor Information Centre on the site.

Considerable time was given by council to debating the pros and cons of the concept, with them requesting a report to see if the iconic museum could learn from the Qantas Founders Museum at Longreach and especially follow the model of the Millicent Museum in South Australia.

Also part of the recommendation tabled by planning and development director, Andrew Goodsell was the allocation of funding “in next year's financial budget in the order of $125,000, which will enable significant upgrade of existing buildings and some additional storage capacity within the building”.

The funding excludes $35,000 already committed, being for finalisation of the exhibition and interpretation work at the Museum via Challis Design.

“Separately, there is also a recommendation for some $25,000 to be made available, which would be for a curator to assist the (museum) volunteer group,” he said.

Mr Goodsell also highlighted the need for a new Memorandum of Understanding as the previous one expired in the middle of 2020.

Councillor, Albert Calvano expressed concern that an existing report commissioned by Council in 2019 and written by experienced museum consultant Roger Trudgeon was considered as operational and therefore not subject to scrutiny and comment from the public in detail.

The scope of the Trudgeon report provided for three broad areas for review - collection assessment and guidance of ‘fit-for-purpose’ assets; policy development including collection management, conservation, storage, themed curation, asset acquisition and disposal; and upskilling of committee members and volunteers to build skills and knowledge of contemporary museum standards and practices.

Mayor, Bruach Colliton in principle supported the idea but moved an amendment to make sure the new report would have “clarification around the next steps necessary for us to fulfil the Millicent model, as per the recommendation in the (Trudgeon) report with the inclusion of the relocation of the Visitor Information Centre.”

“We are wanting to show that we support this project,” he said.

“I think this is a very significant step forward.

“The amendment is asking for a report from the council to make it very clear that we want to know what that's going to look like and how much it will cost.”

Cr Calvano said he supported the idea as a step forward for people visiting Hamilton.

“It's very important for our community for the Visitor Information Centre, in my opinion, to be actually relocated somewhere where actually caravans and tourists can actually visit,” he said.

“I've got this vision of the Visitor Information Centre being on the Glenelg Highway with flags flying … that would draw in also tourists to actually have a look at (the) Ansett museum.”

However, Cr Mary-Ann Brown expressed reservations that the concept would undermine existing discussions.

“I find it hard to understand what the thinking is,” she said.

“We've already commissioned a precinct master plan that's to look at this. So are we pre-empting that? Do we want to walk away from that?

“The intent of this motion … was about support for the Ansett Museum. There was no discussion about the governance, (for example) what other facilities might be co-located? I actually think this is really a poor effort on the part of council.

“Why are we even bothering about a precinct master plan if we're already making a decision here?”

Cr Greg McAdam agreed said “it's a whole new subject and shouldn't be just tacked on to the end of another different motion”.

Cr Colliton said in response that the idea wasn’t new but was purely a step towards examining the feasibility in more detail but was not itself a commitment to its execution.

“It is recommended in the (Trudgeon) report that we go with the Millicent model,” he said.

“It's been talked about in Hamilton for 20 years, that the Visitor Information Centre makes more sense at that facility, so it's not a new idea.

“The motion is that we seek a report and what that exactly looks like - we're not committing to it - but we will get a report on what that looks like.”

Two other councillors also supported the motion, Cr Katrina Rainsford and Cr David Robertson, who said “it enhances the Ansett museum having a tourist bureau there, having staff there, manning it, it goes hand in hand”.

“I’m definitely for it,” Cr Rainsford said.

“I think it's just a part of what you would do with a master plan for the precinct of the lake and the Grange Burn.

“It's efficient to look at it now, because if you're looking at any buildings, location, space - if you're going to relocate the Visitor Information Centre, you will need to retain some space, and look at the road access, all of that … I commend the mayor for bringing it forward.

“I can understand the sentiment behind Councillor Brown with the process … but the motivation is to get a better, more efficient, cost-effective Visitor Information Centre that draws tourists to one of our unsung assets.

“I think the report will provide us a step closer to doing that.”

The motion was carried five votes to two, with only Cr Brown and Cr McAdam not voting for it.