Chairman's Report 2010

CHAIRMAN’S REPORT FOR 2010 – 2011

Once again it has been a very busy and rewarding year within our branch. The generosity of some people never fails to amaze me and I must say that during this particular year many things within our branch have only been achieved by this kindness and the appreciation of certain people.

The Solar Flare housing has just been finished and this was achieved by the generosity of one of our members who also assisted in the purchase of display cabinets within the museum. It was difficult to decide on where to place such an important object but I believe between the agricultural machinery and leading into the horse drawn vehicles is most appropriate.

A donation of $600.00 from the volunteer local craft shop was received to help with the television and audio part of this display. A grant also has been applied for, this is to finish this display professionally and give it the prominence that it so deserves, so that the future generations will appreciate what Strathalbyn students did to help with enhancing the suns power.

We have made many changes and improvements to our displays within the museum and I find it hard to keep up with all these new faces that keep on cropping up. It is a pity that they don’t move around a bit and help with the workload but they certainly enhance the displays and they will not talk back which is excellent. Also the yard out the back keeps on being updated but of course this is ongoing and needs to continually happen inside and out, for our own appreciation and that of our visitors. The comments of our many visitors cements the fact that what we are doing is right, and this goes a long way to help us keep our branch vibrant for the future.

The forgotten job of putting all the information about our artifacts into Mosaic continues diligently, and last I checked the written book still has a long way to get through it but I am confident this will eventually be completed and when that happens will be an excellent record of all the information that is relevant to an object, a person or a particular building of importance.

Restoration of the exhibits continues with two of our horse drawn vehicles being completely restored. The wagon shed has been changed around again but at long last I think we have it right and all that remains when funds are available is to address the floor problem and make it wheel chair safe. If and when this happens will in my view finish off our museum and make it inviting to any person who visits.

Grants have been an ongoing process throughout the year to help offset our funds to improve this branch, and where we have been successful with some we have been unlucky with others but I can assure you all this has not happened due to a lack of trying.
The funds we did receive for the grants have certainly gone a long way to improving the branch and its outlook. One grant in particular was for the finalization of our program to protect all the Argus newspapers which allowed us to purchase the last acid free containers. This project has taken considerable time but with our branch purchasing some and the rest through the grant this has finally been achieved with spares to take us well into the future.

It should be said that through the kindness of Littlehampton Bricks and their donation of four pallets of pavers, we were able to bring our courtyard to life. The Rotary Club of Strathalbyn, helped with labour and also funds but in particular, a resident of Strathalbyn, Mr. Terry Jarred gave his time on Saturdays without hesitation to steer all volunteers in the right direction to get the final result. I believe everyone at our branch is amazed at how well this project came out and of course are enjoying the new surrounds with friends and visitors alike.

The new front fence was another major achievement and through the generosity of the McLean family this became a reality. I think all must agree we wanted to do something about the 1960,s wire fence but could not afford it, and with this kind donation we at the branch have given our location and the National Trust SA something that all should be truly proud of. The design of this fence has been done to replicate the original fence of the 1850,s as much as possible, but to keep the security of our branch intact. It was like giving a grand old lady a facelift which made everyone sit up within Strathalbyn and take notice. To have Mr. Kym McHugh, the Mayor of the Alexandrina Council dedicate this fence on our open day was a great plus for us and I certainly believe Jack and Jean Mclean would have been very proud to be remembered in this way.

The list of all the things we have achieved is long for this year, some small and some large but all these helped us take a huge step forward. In this report I think it is only fair to single out the major ones but please be assured that all the efforts from all the volunteers on whatever project they were involved in was certainly greatly appreciated by me and certainly I hope has gone a long way toward cementing the future of this branch. I may be the Chairman but without everyone working toward a common interest this would not have happened.

I think it should be said that since I became the elected Chairman what has been achieved by all the volunteers in my time has been huge. We have transformed the Strathalbyn branch of the National Trust into something that our community and ourselves should be very,very proud of. In my view it has been transformed from a typical country museum into something that all visitors appreciate and enjoy. The future of all the artifacts that have been entrusted to this branch have been displayed where possible within our exhibits and the overflow has been stored in such a way to stop any further deterioration. One of my greatest achievements for me personally was to build a safe storage room, free of vermin, fire proof and a controlled moisture free environment. This I believe will keep all those original photographs and other irreplaceable items safe, for others to appreciate in years to come. Keep in mind that we do not have collections, but we have artifacts that when put together and displayed properly tell the story of Strathalbyn history and heritage. This as we all know takes time, and quite a bit of money but I certainly feel that the money has been spent wisely and of course the hours that volunteers have done goes way above the 3 hour working bee on a Thursday.