Strengthening local communities
The community museums pilot project report:
Supporting historical societies, museums, Indigenous keeping places, mechanics institutes, archives, botanic gardens and genealogical societies
Image: Art Victoria Logo
Image 2: DPCD logo
Prepared by
This report was prepared by Jeanette Pope, Research Manager, Policy and Strategy, Department for Planning and Community Development (DPCD).
October 2009
Acknowledgments
The report is based on case studies collected by Marina Larsson (DPCD), a program achievement audit collected by Karlie Hawking (DPCD), and focus groups and Steering Committee interviews collected by an independent research company.
It was written in consultation with the Community Museum Pilot Project Steering Committee comprising of representatives from Arts Victoria and the Department of Planning and Community Development (Heritage Victoria, Policy and Strategy Division, and Adult Community and Further Education).
Museums Australia (Victoria) award
Karlie Hawking, the Community Museums Officer described in this report, won a 2009 Museums Australia (Victoria) award for her work on this project.
Contact
More information about the program or this report can be obtained from:
Christopher McDermott
Email:
Phone (03) 8683 3202
If you would like to receive this publication in an accessible format, such as large print or audio, please telephone Jeanette Pope on (03) 9208 3849, or email .
Other reports in this series
Other reports in the Strengthening Local Communities series (available at
An overview of research examining the benefits of Neighbourhood Houses. 2005. DVC: Melbourne.
Arts in community settings – the evaluation of two community support funded arts programs. 2006. DVC: Melbourne.
Integrated local area planning in growth suburbs – the evaluation of the Caroline Springs Partnership. 2007. DVC: Melbourne.
Caption: Castlemaine Art Gallery & Historical Museum volunteer with the painting “Three Roses” c. 1910 painted by A. M. E. Bale (1875-1955).
Foreword
Community museums are one of Victoria’s great resources.
Over 740 museums hold more than 1.5 million objects of importance to local communities, many of which are of state and national significance. By reminding us about who we are and where we have come from, community museums help shape and sustain our sense of identity and connection to place.
One of the most obvious features of community museums is that they are run locally by people of commitment and passion. That is their strength. Volunteers commit their time and considerable skills to the important role of making sure that community stories are recorded, unique heritage collections are cared for and protected, and that the history and character of our towns and cities remain accessible to Victorians. The recent bushfires have demonstrated how important a community’s sense of identity and history is to their resilience.
The Goldfields Community Museums Pilot project described in this report arose from the recognition by Government that community museums play a major role in building a sense of place and community pride, both of which are important contributors to the strength of a local community. Its objective was to strengthen the links between community museums and the many government and local community organisations that are in a position to aid museums in connecting with their communities.
This report demonstrates that with the right assistance and links, community museums can establish a sustainable path for their future. It highlights how they provide an important place for people to celebrate their cultural identity, share common interests, creatively present objects and tell stories of Victoria’s past and engage in learning and volunteering.
Based on the success achieved to date, we have extended this project for a further two years.
We want to extend our thanks to all those volunteers and organisations involved in the Community Museums pilot project and we look forward to hearing of future success.
Image: Peter Batchelor MP Signature
Peter Batchelor MP
Minister for Arts
Image: Lily D’Ambrosio MP’s Signatures
Lily D’Ambrosio MP
Minister for Community Development
Image: Justin Madden MLC ‘s Signature
Justin Madden MLC
Minister for Planning
Image: Bronwyn Pike MP ‘s Signature
Bronwyn Pike MP
Minister for Skills and Workforce Participation
Caption: At the Central Deborah Gold Mine volunteers present underground tours for locals, visitors and school groups.
Contents
Foreword......
Introduction......
Conserving our heritage......
Building stronger communities......
Communities, change and sustainability of community museums......
A pilot project to support community museums......
Demonstration projects......
Information forums and training......
Evaluation findings: the value of a community museums broker......
Success factors......
Conclusion......
References......
Caption: A volunteer from the Landsborough & District Historical Group with the DVD titled ‘From Gold to Grapes: The Story of Landsborough’. The DVD, created in partnership with Landsborough Festivals, won the 2007 Victorian Community History Award for Best Audio-Visual / Multimedia.
Introduction
Victoria has more than 740 community collecting organisations – two thirds of which are in regional towns and cities. They take many forms including historical societies, museums, Indigenous keeping places, mechanics institutes, archives, botanic gardens and genealogical societies. They are largely locally formed and involve thousands of volunteers collecting and conserving natural, cultural and Indigenous objects and records. Together they are the local custodians of an estimated 1.5 million cultural heritage items across Victoria (Hallett 2003 (unpublished)).
This report examines the important role of these organisations in communities – in conserving our heritage and building stronger communities – and describes the results of a Victorian Government pilot project established to support them. The pilot involved employing a Community Museums Officer as a ‘broker’ to work with the different organisations to explore opportunities and address the issues they faced. These included attracting volunteers and audiences, managing and maintaining their collections, and finding new ways to present stories about significant objects and collections.
The pilot has led to some innovative collaborations and projects that have improved the sector, strengthened collecting organisations’ role in communities, and increased access to significant historical objects and stories.
In this report, for convenience, community collecting organisations will be collectively referred to as ‘community museums’.
Caption: The education program at Kirrit Barreet Aboriginal Art and Cultural Centre engages school groups, the local community and tourists with local Aboriginal culture.
Conserving our heritage
A large number of organisations are involved in protecting Victoria’s heritage. The three tiers of government (local, state and federal) all have legislative responsibilities (for example the Victorian State Government administers the Victorian Heritage Act 1995 and the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006) and all run programs that fund and support museums. This includes funding national, state and regional museums (for example, the National Museum of Australia, Museum Victoria, the Sovereign Hill Museums Association Gold Museum). Federal, state and local government also support the local community museums that are the subject of this report, mainly through grants and the provision of land/buildings etc, but these organisations are largely independent from government. They are locally formed not-for-profit organisations that are typically run by volunteers on budgets of less than $5,000 a year (Freeman 1993; Brophy 2002).
The primary function of community museums is to collect, conserve and make accessible historical objects and records that describe the past. The material housed in community museums offers insight into the richness and diversity of generations of Indigenous, settler and migrant peoples. Community museums therefore have a critical role in conserving, sharing and developing Victoria’s identity and sense of place. They connect people to important stories and traditions, and enable us to experience a little of the lives of others. Community museums help tell us about our identity: who we are today, where we come from, and what we aspire to in the future.
The combined community museums collection across Victoria is unique and irreplaceable. Its accumulation represents an enormous investment of community time and effort and the collection contains material of local, state and national significance.
I enjoy working for the Blacksmith Cottage because I believe we need to preserve and enjoy our history. Knowing our history helps us to understand our present. It is good to set up a genuine cottage with items which give the visitors a little insight into the life of the people who lived and worked there.
Moira Smith – Bacchus Marsh Blacksmith Cottage & Forge
It is very rewarding and satisfying to help members and others find information relating to their ancestors. The joy that people experience as they learn to follow clues and make links from the information found in our society’s collection helps to encourage me and other volunteers in our society to provide all the support and assistance that we can.
Joan Hunt – Ballarat & District Geneaology Society
Caption: A volunteer at the Golden Dragon Museum, Bendigo holds the Heritage Council Victoria Heritage Registration (H2120) for Loong the Chinese Dragon. Loong arrived in Bendigo from China in c.1892.
Building stronger communities
While community museums are important for conserving and communicating our heritage, they also generate other benefits for communities.
They foster community participation and provide opportunities for community members to make connections and build social networks (Hoskins & Webber 2003). They provide a network of cultural facilities – exhibition spaces, meeting rooms, workshops, sheds, reading rooms – that Victorians not only visit but use to meet, work, learn and socialise. It has been estimated that more than a quarter of Australians visit museums annually (28% in 2006 (ABS 2006)) and membership of local historical societies and museums has been estimated to be as high as 16% in some communities (Hamilton & Ashton 2003).
As well as general participation, community museums create opportunities for volunteering, work experience and life-long learning (through their exhibitions, genealogy research, seminars, etc) (Hoskins & Webber 2003). These activities create enjoyable social experiences, generate skills and provide an avenue for meaningful activity in community life. In 2006 nearly 37,000 volunteers were involved in the arts/heritage sector (ABS 2006).
I enjoy working with community volunteers to preserve and record our goldfields’ heritage for future generations. I admire their knowledge and skills, and value the opportunity to learn new skills in cataloguing, documenting significance and creating displays, as well as being part of a network of museums.
Tiina Mugler – Talbot Arts & Historical Museum
The Lake Goldsmith Steam Preservation Society owns the 38 acre site which houses the most diverse collection of industrial and agricultural equipment in the southern hemisphere. Our members take great delight in welcoming thousands of visitors to our two weekend rallies each year, in May and November. Of course many thousands of hours are spent between rallies restoring the machines and preparing them for those weekend displays. On the site are some 50 individual display sheds, all but eight of which are privately owned. Each shed houses collections as diverse as large diesel and petrol engines, milk separators, tools, and large boilers and steam engines. The members are never happier than when they tend their displays and this makes for a really enjoyable social scene. Who wouldn’t enjoy working at such a place?
Clive Phillips – Lake Goldsmith Steam Preservation Association
If diverse groups in communities are involved – for example, if museums connect older and younger or recently arrived with established residents – it can promote social inclusion and community harmony (DVC 2006). Volunteering can also lead to involvement in decision-making on committees of management, and this provides an avenue for residents to come together to consider how they could improve community life, solve problems and respond to community crises (DVC 2006). Involvement in community museums is therefore one way residents can have a voice in community life.
Over and above participation, some community museums make an important contribution to tourism and therefore local economies. Benefits can include new businesses, jobs, higher property values and diversification of local economies (Cultural Heritage Tourism 2009). The development of tourism can also improve quality of life for residents as they take advantage of the services and attractions tourism brings (Cultural Heritage Tourism 2009). Cultural tourism provides one way communities can develop economically, and improve their amenity, while holding onto the characteristics that make them special.
Finally, community museums contribute to a community’s sense of identity and local pride. They foster feelings of belonging to, and enjoyment of, living in a place (Sandell 2002; Hoskins & Webber 2003; Crooke 2007). They can act as ‘memory hubs’ that link people to place and affirm why and how particular communities matter (Hoskins & Webber 2003).
The role of local museums is to engage with their surrounding histories, cultures and environments. They seek to interpret and reflect on the local past and deepen understanding of the present. They collect and preserve significant aspects of a region’s material and visual culture. They provide a window on the creative talents and cultural expressions of a region. If they are truly connected with their surrounding community, they operate as fora for public debate and reflection.
Ian McShane. Article on Inside Story website (McShane 2009).
Caption: Talbot Arts & Historical Museum volunteers stand on the concrete slab of the new facility for the communications collection.
Caption 2: Volunteers learn and use computer skills in their work at the Clunes Museum.
Communities, change and sustainability of community museums
Community museums, like all community organisations, are not static. They change as their communities change. Over time communities grow, decline and change composition. Their circumstances change, as do local economies, and the social aspects and interests of their members. Change brings new challenges and community organisations need to be dynamic to survive and thrive (DPCD 2007).
Community organisations are often at the forefront of meeting changing patterns of community interest and social need. Their ability to grow and innovate is crucial to their long term sustainability.
Stronger Community Organisations Project report (DPCD 2007)
In addition to these broad changes, community museums face specific challenges related to the demands of protecting/expanding their objects and records over time, revitalising ageing facilities, developing skills in the sector, finding ways to connect to visitors and running organisations on small budgets and volunteer labour.
Volunteering represents a particular challenge. Victoria’s Volunteering Strategy 2009 shows volunteering is changing. There is an increasing preference, particularly amongst young people, for episodic volunteering rather than ongoing commitments (DPCD 2009a). Young people are also increasingly looking at volunteering as a way of gaining skills and an entry point to employment, and volunteers in general expect higher levels of management and support systems from organisations (DPCD 2009a). Community organisations are therefore faced with increasingly complex and formal management of activities for volunteers (such as skills development and training) but with less time commitment in return (DPCD 2009a).
The Victorian Government understands the challenges faced by community museums and strongly supports attempts to strengthen their role in social and economic life (DPCD 2007). Supporting the sector however, is complex because of the huge diversity of organisations involved. Government wants to recognise and promote this diversity and support the autonomy of small organisations to develop in their own ways. This means finding ways to be flexible in addressing the different issues faced by organisations, both large and small. One-size-fits-all support is unlikely to work in this area.
For these reasons the Victorian Government decided to test a model of support to community museums through a Community Museum Pilot Project.
Caption: Both past and current service history are on display at the Bendigo RSL & Soldiers Memorial Hall & Museum. A volunteer stands in front of a uniform worn by an Australian soldier in Iraq in 2005 holding a telegraph sent to the parents of Pte A Symes who died at sea during WW1 .
A pilot project to support community museums
In 2007 the State Government established a two year pilot project to examine ways it could support community museums.
The pilot, run by Arts Victoria and the Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD), was focused on the Central Goldfields region of Victoria (Figure 1) – which spans the Local Government Areas of Ararat, Ballarat, Central Goldfields, Golden Plains, Greater Bendigo, Hepburn, Loddon, Moorabool, Mount Alexander, Pyrenees and Macedon Ranges. Appendix A describes the Arts Victoria and DPCD policy context under which this work fell.
The pilot involved employing a Community Museum Project Officer as a broker to run demonstration projects to explore opportunities and address the issues faced by individual community museums in:
–attracting new and diverse volunteers and audiences;
–forming new collaborations and partnerships to increase opportunities for learning and growth;
–managing collections and accessing resources, skills and infrastructure needed to ensure collections are properly maintained; and
–identifying and presenting stories triggered by significant objects and collections.
Caption: Volunteers at the Linton & District Historical Society share morning tea.
Image: Figure 1. The Central Goldfields region – the location of the pilot.
In addition to the demonstration projects, the broker organised information forums and training for the sector and was a source of expertise and knowledge for non-demonstration project community museums looking for assistance for issues such as: