Federation Council engaged a structural engineer to complete a thorough inspection of the building, which was deemed unsafe and closed to the public and volunteers of the Yarrawonga Mulwala Historical Society in March this year.
The question now is, what becomes of the priceless collection of Australian history still housed inside the condemned building?
The engineer’s report confirmed the extensive structural issues from the original construction and deterioration since.
Federation Council general manager, Adrian Butler said the report unfortunately concluded the building was at the end of its life.
“The report has been provided directly to the Historical Society, and to manage the immediate risk, Council is reviewing a draft plan for the temporary propping and supporting of the building,” Mr Butler said.
“This is necessary to allow for the safe removal of all of the contents, including the museum exhibits, to then allow the controlled demolition of the structure.”
A report is expected at the December council meeting and staff are maintaining a close communication and collaboration with the Historical Society to ensure they can ultimately remove the contents and museum exhibits.
In the longer term, Mr Butler said council remained committed to working with the Historical Society to explore all avenues.
That could include assistance to seek a grant for a new, purpose-built facility or identifying an alternative location for the museum.
Yarrawonga Mulwala Historical Society president Kaye Reeves said the society members were devastated by the museum’s closure and the latest engineer’s report.
Looking ahead, the society has submitted an Expression of Interest to potentially house the museum’s collection on the redeveloped site of the old Yarrawonga Primary School.
But even if that proves to be a viable option, there’s a lot standing between then and now.
“Some people would like their things out of the museum now,” Kaye said.
“We’d like access so we can take photographs and start looking at the collection.
“Shifting it all is an enormous job but if we could get in there, it would be very useful to start sorting everything and making a start.
“But council needs to do all the propping work first and tenders have just been called.”
With no income, the society has written to Federation Council to ask if they could take on responsibility for paying the electricity bill.
While everything else is at a standstill, the little things continue to add up.
25°C