Emerald Museum to get permanent officer

Since opening in 1981 the museum, initially located at the Emerald Community Hall and relocated to its current building at Nobelius Heritage Park in 1993, has been run by a committee of management and staffed by a dedicated team of volunteers.

Cardinia Shire Mayor Cr Brett Owen said the contribution of volunteers was invaluable to the Museum’s operations, however Council recognised the need for additional resources to support its day-to-day running.

“The Emerald Museum houses more than 3,000 artefacts including household items, photographs, agricultural machinery and documents relating to the early history of the area. Selected items from the Museum’s Nobelius-related display have also been declared of ‘national significance’ by the National Library of Australia,” Cr Owen said.

“The committee of management and team of volunteers have done a fantastic job over the years collecting and cataloguing the many artefacts that make up its valuable collection of local history and the new part-time museum officer will be a great addition to this team, helping to spread the workload.

“The position has been created in recognition of the significance of the contents of the museum, the resourcing needs to ensure the its future sustainability and to support the volunteer committee.”

Emerald Museum Committee of Management President Pauline Murphy said they were thrilled to be receiving the support of a museum officer to help direct the museum’s activities into the future and ensure the sustainability of the collection.

“It will be wonderful to have a professional person to guide us and work in conjunction with our volunteers as we strive to make the museum the best it can be and attract more volunteers and more visitors,” she said.