Having the drive to give time
NOW more than fifty years old, and housing seventeen trams as well as thousands of documents on the city’s formerly-used mode of public transport, the Ballarat Tramway Museum is a place run solely by volunteers.
With about 70 helpers, some of whom are active anywhere between once a month to just twice a year, volunteer coordinator Chris Phillips said the museum is always in need of new people.
“We’ve got 19 qualified drivers, a number of conductors and museum and maintenance staff. Some are only here a few times a year so at times we struggle to keep the museum running,” he said.
“Ideally, we’d like to have two or three people here every time we open but sometimes we run on skeleton staff. Since we opened the museum in May 2022 we’ve attracted about a dozen people.
“I’d like to see about 10 to 20 new people. A majority of our volunteers are in their 70s so we’d really like to attract younger volunteers, particularly drivers.”
BTM staff have held three volunteer introductory morning teas since June last year as a way of reaching out to potential new recruits, with their most recent one having taken place on Saturday.
Mr Phillips estimated there’s about a 50/50 split with their volunteers between those based in Melbourne and those living locally.
He said donating their time to the place can lead to career opportunities for volunteers.
“Our youngest driver is 23 and he’s hoping to use the experience to get into the railway industry,” he said.
“There is that prospect for younger volunteers and it provides good work experience in general. We have a number of people with disabilities who’ve learned new skills from this.
“We have two people who come into the workshop on the weekends who are looking to build their employability.
“We’ve also got our restaurant tram relaunching in September so we’re looking for people who want to train as waitstaff or baristas.”
Greg Allingham has been volunteer as an office clerk with BTM for the past 18 months following his retirement, selling tickets and souvenirs, as well as performing general cleaning, maintenance, and IT duties.
With no prior knowledge of trams and being a self-proclaimed “armchair history buff,” he said his role has been an opportunity to learn more about Ballarat’s history while meeting new people.
“I really enjoy hearing the stories from the old-timers here and a lot of customers who come in will tell you how they rode the original trams,” he said.
“The most rewarding part is definitely meeting people from interstate to overseas. I just enjoy talking to them and hearing their stories.
“This is giving me an occupation and a reason to get out of bed in the morning and an interest to keep involved with people and life.”
Peter Waugh joined the organisation about a decade ago when he was researching the history of Geelong’s trams, two of which were housed at the museum at the time.
With his role ever-shifting from managerial positions in marketing and facilities, he said the freedom in exploring different interests has kept him involved with BTM.
“As a music teacher and with a degree in educational administration, I didn’t think I’d be using those skills when I retired,” he said.
“When we got given the restaurant tram, my wife and I had experience running a motel so we got that on its feet. When the museum started we got in on the ground floor with displays and interpretive signage.
“It’s not like a job. If you’re sick of doing one thing, you can move onto another. I’ll often be down in the kitchen just making coffee for people coming in and they’re always happy to have a chat.
The Ballarat Tramway Museum is Australia’s first volunteer-run accredited museum.
The site is currently open on Tuesdays between 10am to 3pm, and weekends from 11am to 4pm.