Hall School Museum Annual Report

HALL SCHOOL MUSEUM – HONORARY CURATOR REPORT FOR FINANCIAL YEAR 2012-2013

We have completed another successful year for the Museum. I started to list the achievements under particular headings and have been amazed by the amount of work that has been done by our group of dedicated volunteers. I must start by acknowledging them all as without them the Museum would not be the success that it is. Well done Team!!!

One of the greatest successes that has been achieved over this past year has been the development of an unofficial community hub at the Hall School site! The regular Thursday mornings the gathering of the Museum volunteers together with the Mens Shed Group, who are busily working away down the pathway, has become a social event. We share morning teas and enjoy a combined group monthly BBQ. Not forgetting the Pre-School with teachers Cindy and Wendy together with wonderful little ones who fill the scene with their chirping and laughter.

'Friends of Hall School Museum'

This group are the backbone of the Museum. Their support has been enormous, particularly from those who have dedicated their time and energy into the many small and large projects that were carried out throughout the year. The number of 'Friends' has grown throughout this year and we aim to continue to recruit further members of this auspicious group.At the end of this report is the membership/renewal form to become a 'Friend' or to renew your' Friendship'.

Support from other Organisations

I acknowledge the continued support of the ACT Government with the Community Services Directorate giving us access to the Hall School site for the operation of the Museum and heritage exhibitions; also the ACT Heritage Unit that have funded some of our special projects through their annual Grants Programme and ACT Tourism for helping us to promote the museum. This support has not been limited to a financial nature, as friendships have developed with the staff of these agencies. I greatly value these friendships.

Other organisations and people I wish to acknowledge are:

• The Village of Hall and District Progress Association;
• The Rotary Club of Hall;
• The Hall Mens Shed;
• Territory Energy (Shaun O'Connor);
• Hall Collectors Club;
• The Australian National Museum of Education;
• Elizabeth Burness (Tuggeranong School House Museum);
• Diana Body (St Johns School House Museum);
• Andrew Leigh MP, Federal Member for Fraser;
• Shane Rattenbury MLA, Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Housing, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Ageing;
• Alistair Coe MLA, Member for Ginninderra & Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the ACT Legislative Assembly. Canberra;
• ABC Radio 666 (Elliot Dunne, Louise Maher and Genevieve Jacobs);
• Canberra Chronicle;
• Yass Community Radio;

Hall School Building

Allen Mawer has been busy with the display within the old school building to show in part how it looked in 1913. He has also researched and displayed the appropriate school furniture up to the 1950's. The Hall Mens Shed carried out the restoration and carpentry work to the furniture and the building.

An assessment of the building was recently carried out by Phillip Leeson, a Heritage Architect. His report has been sent to ACT Heritage and the remedial work may be the subject of a further ACT Heritage Grant.

Equipment and Furniture

Thanks to the generosity of the Rotary Club of Hall and the Village of Hall and District Progress Association, I am in the process of upgrading second hand IT and copying equipment for the Museum. The Museum will soon have the latest equipment for scanning, copying of documents, photographs, negatives and other items in the collection as well as a new computer to mount all the digitised information. To protect the collection, a number of security cameras with the associated hard drives have been installed.

The Community Services Directorate is clearing the Hall School Office building and items of furniture that will be useful has been made available to the Museum. This offer has been gratefully accepted and furniture removal is currently underway with the items to be used in various areas of the Museum.

Grants (Current)

The Museum has been successful in obtaining Grants and financial support for the activities of the Museum and for special exhibitions and projects:

• ACT Heritage 2012-13 Grant: 'Early Schools of the ACT' -$6140
• Federal Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities: 'Oral History Project: Hall District" - $3500
• Village of Hall and District Progress Association: Assistance with the 'Hall & District 1913' Exhibition - $1000 and Provision of IT Equipment - $1500
• Rotary Club of Hall: Provision of Digital Copying and Security Equipment - $1500

Grant Applications

There are Grant applications also under current consideration:

• National Library of Australia( Community Services Grant): Assessment of Hall School Museum and Collection as being of National Significance'; and
• ACT Heritage Grant 2013-14: Provision of a Disability Ramp to the Museum; Display Furniture and the Museum's Heritage Project for 2014 'Pioneer Families of the District featuring the role of Women and the relationship between the Indigenous groups and the Early Settlers'.

Exhibitions

The major exhibition this year was the 'Hall 1913 Exhibition' staged in April as part of the Canberra Region Heritage Week and our contribution to the Canberra 100 celebrations. The great work done by the Museum Team in preparing and presenting the exhibition, and in particular the widely acknowledged mural painted by Shaun Robson saw the number of visitors in the region of 2500. This exhibition was complemented with numerous other exhibitions that included:

a. old Hall school room
b. 'Bush Schools' exhibition
c. 'Memory Lane' heritage display
d. Mens Shed display of early tools and trades
e. recreated Wattle Park Church
f. recreated Kinlyside theatre showing Charlie Chaplin silent movies

The Hall Collectors Club displayed old vehicles and the Hall Bushfire Brigade also provided a display. There was a variety of fun activities including bush dancing, hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, folk music, a blacksmith demonstration, face painting, spinning, sausage sizzle and a wonderful quilt exhibited by Yvonne Williams.

Our next exhibition will be the 'Early Schools of the ACT' which will be launched on 25 October to co-incide with World Teachers Day. This exhibition will feature a number of schools the were in existence when the boundaries of the ACT were established in 1913. The work of several of the teachers of this time will also be featured. As a basis for this exhibition a large amount of research work is currently being carried out by 'Friends of the Museum'. Their findings will be added to a new database as part of the Hall Museum webpages: museum.hall.act.au

Visitors

The number of visitors to the Museum has grown in the last year, primarily due to increased promotion and to the popularity of the Hall 1913 exhibition. There has been a substantial increase in group visits including Probus, church groups, a Respite Care group, and the children from the Pre-school who dressed in heritage outfits to become part of the exhibition. Some of these groups were also treated to a sumptuous Devonshire Tea prepared and served by the 'Friends' prior to the exhibition visit.

We hope to encourage more group visits as the feedback from the visitors has been fantastic.

Donations and Loans

There have been wonderful items that have been donated or loaned to the Museum to enhance the displays. The artefacts, documents and photographs that were made available by the descendants of the early Hall district residents brought the 'Hall & District 1913' exhibition to life.

I am very grateful to all those contributors as I know that in many cases these items have particular family significance. Loaned items are being progressively listed on a data base.

Future of the Hall School Site

The Museum continues to occupy a number of buildings within the Hall School site that are under the ownership of the ACT Government and administered by the Community Services Directorate. I am unaware of future plans to change the status quo in the foreseeable future due to the current financial situation of the ACT Government.

Future Plans for the Museum

• Continued promotion of the Museum;
• Increase the numbers of the 'Friends of the Hall School Museum';
• Carry out the works as detailed in the Grants Schedules;
• Carry out the remedial work on the school building as detailed in the conservation management assessment;
• Accession and recording of the Museum's collection on a computer based platform;
• Improved signage;
• Lobby for the use of/gain access to, the old Hall School office and library building (at least until the long term plans for the site are decided;
• Continue lobbying of ACT politicians to ensure the Hall School site is recognised as a Hall community facility, and assist the Government where possible to achieve this aim.

FRIENDS OF HALL SCHOOL MUSEUM MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS

Finally, for the current 'Friends of the Hall School Museum' and those who wish to join our team, the annual cost is $20. This comprises $10 for the 'Friends' and $10 for membership of the Village of Hall & District Progress Association for insurance purposes. These renewals are due now, except for those new 'Friends' who have joined us at the April 'Hall 1913' exhibition or since.

These subscriptions are important to the income of the Museum as they enable us to purchase the very basic conservation materials and provide for office needs to carry out the work of the Museum.

The 'Friends of Hall School Museum' membership application and renewal form with all the details are on the Hall Village website at: www.hall.act.au/documents.html

Phil Robson
Honorary Curator
Hall School Museum and Heritage Centre
19 July 2013