Maffra Sugar Beet Museum development

3. Current Development Projects
     As manager of the Maffra Sugar Beet Museum, the Historical Society has drawn up a set of plans for the further development of the museum facilities.
     Part of any museum's role is to collect and preserve items in accordance with its collection policy. This inevitably raises the question of storage facilities. Are they large enough? Are they secure enough? Do they provide adequate standards of archival protection? Our collection has grown so much since we first began over thirty years ago that unfortunately the answer to each of these questions is "No".
     We have identified the various potential storage areas, have assessed their present status and have determined an order of priority for improvement appropriate to our human and financial resources. Naturally we can't hope to emulate the archival capabilities of a major museum, but we certainly can improve on what we have at the moment.

Location	Status	To be done/completed
main display rooms	limit use of original photos or documents; low lighting & UV window protection	complete displays in main room; prepare second room with AV presentation
strong room	most secure and temperature controlled, therefore store most valuable items	complete lining; install shelving & storage cabinets
old toilet building	not secure, ideal for storage of building materials	install vandal-proof door; provide shelving
metal storage shed (1)	not weather/dust proof; reasonably secure; limited space	expand area; concrete flooring; line to weather-proof standard; install shelving
metal storage shed (2)	not weather/dust proof; reasonably secure; adequate for larger machinery items	put on hold until more urgent improvements have been undertaken
Maffra Library archives	major repository of photos and documents; items secure; acceptable temperature control; acceptable archival standards	complete cataloguing and archivally storing balance of photo and document collection
Winnindoo Robotic Dairy	only 3-D items on display; reasonably secure; reasonably weather-proof	maintain watch on condition of items

The "Big Shed" before we started:

Early November: The area to be concreted has been cleared by a small working bee...

...and work has started on patching the brick walls ready for lining.

21st November 2008: the shed floor has been concreted and the electrical work completed. Now we wait for the floor to "cure".

The Society would like to acknowledge the assistance we have received from Museums Australia (Victoria) and Arts Victoria, which has enabled us to proceed with the major improvements needed in the "big shed".

November 2009: The strong room has been completely lined and insulated. Shelves, cupboards and filing cabinets are in place, and the archivists have started transferring and cataloguing items.

The Society would like to acknowledge the assistance we have received from Wellington Shire Council Community Assistance Grant Scheme, which has enabled us to proceed with the major improvements to the archive storage facilities.