The Werribee District Historical Society (WDHS) has found a new home and is calling on the community to help members prepare to move their delicate collection.
The volunteer group has come to an agreement with the Uniting Church and will relocate to a 140 year-old church-owned bluestone manse at 21 Duncans Road.
Since 1989, the group has operated one of Melbourne’s last suburban museums out of the old shire offices at 49 Watton Street, Werribee.
In August, Wyndham council told the group it had to vacate the heritage-listed building before November 19 to allow for a $750,000 refurbishment.
WDHS president Lisa Heinrichs said they were able to secure the manse due to United’s community-first ethos.
“I approached the Uniting Church before we even got an official notice that we were going to have to vacate,” she said.
“We are grateful that Uniting has worked with us and we hope it will be a long term arrangement that is beneficial to both of us.”
According to Ms Heinrichs, there may be a silver lining to the eviction.
“It has the perfect lighting conditions, the ideal wall thickness and actually has a water tight roof,” she said.
“It is going to provide similar if not better conditions than the previous building and actually is going to provide better access with no stairs to climb.”
She said the group had been blown away by the Wyndham community’s support following the eviction notice and the amount of help they have already received.
“It just shows how much people living in the area value the history of the area, heritage and the work we do.”
However, the WDHS still needs a hand.
“We do require help packing because we do think we are going to need professional movers because we have glass cabinets that weigh more than 100 kilograms and some other fragile and delicate items.”
The goal is to have a grand reopening in mid-November.
“We have some big things we want to do next year, but just haven’t had the space to until now.
“With the community’s support, nothing is stopping us.”
There is a GoFundMe page where people can donate to assist with the moving expenses: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-werribee-district-historical-society-and-museum
