A timeline of Cundletown Museum as told by Allan Eyb at the Coleman Pavilion official opening
Near the end of 1995, Bob Ezzy advised Margaret Love there was a filing cabinet in his office full of written record collected for the 125th anniversary of Cundletown School in 1982 and he sought Margaret’s help to recruit another member to collate these records.
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Shirley Burne accepted the challenge and the rest is history – as the saying goes!
The vacant school residence was offered to the ladies and the job quickly grew out of all proportion.
Finally, a year later in September 1996, a committee of volunteers was formed and the “Melvie Chick Historical Centre” was opened to the public, two days per week on Thursdays and Saturdays.
Over time, and with the input of further donations of memorabilia and written records, the old school house, just wasn’t big enough to house these precious artifacts.
It was also decided that the local dairy industry needed to be documented for posterity, seeing that two factories had closed and the farm gate transportation of raw milk was carried by water and road transport.
A reunion of dairy and factory workers in 2009 realised the urgent need for bigger premises to protect larger items of interest.
This search concluded by an overwhelming majority of Cundletown residents allowing the struggling Hall Committee to lease the entire premises to the Cundletown Museum.
In 2011, a 20-year lease was signed and the current display in the Hall was officially opened to the public in April 2012 (the museum opened its doors in January 2012).
The struggle to achieve the Coleman Pavilion hasn’t gone without many hitches in the planning stages, as the hall is classified as a heritage item.
Community fundraising and various grant applications came and went, placing only medium dents on the overall cost this community group had to carry.
For many years, Pam and Allan Eyb have assisted in the planning stages of the development of Coleman Pavilion. Allan also acted as project manager for some time and assisted during the official opening.
