THE telling of Cohuna’s rich and storied history has turned a new chapter.
The Cohuna and District Historical Society (CDHS) opened their much-anticipated extension, giving new life to treasured artefacts and archives.
The front room, previously an outside garden, celebrates the town’s industries and includes a rotating feature display.
CDHS secretary treasurer and archivist Jeanette Kline said the sleek, extended archive storage room would likely be the envy of historical societies across the country.
“All those records were jammed into a little area, in boxes under everything, and you could never find it if somebody came in asking for something,” Mrs Kline said.
“But now you know exactly where it’s going to be, sometimes even easier than a Google search.”
The CDHS is a trove of meticulously kept town records, including over 62,000 index cards.
Visitors often travel to Cohuna from interstate in search of family history.
Earlier this year a young woman from Manchester, England, came to town while holidaying in Australia.
“She came in looking for her grandfather who lived here briefly in 1928, and we found a couple of articles about him,” Mrs Kline said.
“He worked on one of the farms and was mentioned in the Farmer’s Weekly, so then we knew where he lived, and we could tell her to go out to a certain road to see the area where he lived.
“She didn’t think she’d find anything, so when we did find stuff for her it was quite special.”
The CDHS digitise historical papers on-site and have currently scanned copies of various local publications spanning from the early 1900s to 1980s.
Mrs Kline said being the keepers of Cohuna’s history is no small responsibility.
“In a small town with so much history, there’d be a lot to lose if we weren’t here,” she said.
“If we weren’t here a lot of this stuff would be in the tip, because most people just don’t know what to do with it.”
The extension cost an approximate $250,000 and was equally funded by the Gannawarra Shire Council, along with proceeds from the adjacent CDHS operated Trash and Treasure op-shop.
Gannawarra Shire Council Mayor Cr Garner Smith, who was present at the official opening of the extension, said the displays and dedication of CDHS volunteers was extremely impressive.
“It is an amazing amount of information that is there, all so professionally laid out and stored,” Cr Smith said.
“I recommend thoroughly everyone take the time to go through and see what they have there.
“Whenever there is a newspaper article about someone, they cut it out and store it.
“You just don’t realise the richness of information they have on everyone in the region.”
The trash and treasure, archives and museum are open Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 9.30am-12noon, or by appointment.
