Queenscliffe museum gets moving towards new hub

A DRAFT design for the Queenscliffe Hub has been released by the Borough of Queenscliffe council for comment, and the borough’s museum is keen to see it realised.
The Hub will be a new building that combines the Queenscliff Library, Queenscliffe Historical Museum (QMH) and Visitor Information Centre under a single roof at the existing address in Hesse Street.
Eddie Loughnan, publicity officer for the QMH committee, said many activities might be in lockdown but the committee was continuing to actively work to support the future museum.
“The Museum Committee believes it now has a workable plan in which it can work and is taking the opportunity to begin focusing on how to best utilise the spaces allocated to the museum.
“A well credentialed ‘Museum Specialist’ consultant is about to be appointed by the Committee of Management to assist the architect with this task. We are expecting the result to prove quite spectacular in terms of a totally new visitor experience.”
As well as a small increase in the main exhibition floor space, the basement will be increased in size and serviced by a lift – an improvement that will make it much easier to change displays.
The basement will accommodate the museum’s archives as well as providing a collection studio for the preparation of displays, accessioning, digitising and cataloguing new items.
Mr Loughnan said the first moves had begun to pack and prepare the contents of the museum for transfer to a temporary storage facility during the rebuild, and volunteers were adhering to numbers and distancing according to coronavirus guidelines.
“Options for a temporary museum research facility and collection storage are still being investigated by the Project Manager and a decision is anticipated shortly.”