Bright future at Coal Creek Community Park & Museum

COAL Creek Community Park & Museum’s long-term future looks bright, with its team leader Kim O’Connell applying his passion and experience in organising large scale projects to rejuvenating the site and ensuring it becomes a major drawcard.

Getting trains rolling again at Coal Creek is a key goal, with train engineer brothers Rodney and Robert Reid already at work to help make that vision a reality.

Work has already been taking place to tidy up the park, including the removal of dangerous trees and spraying of weeds.

There are plans to clear weeds from its lake and watercourse in the near future and replace them with appropriate plants.

Engineers have also been commissioned to undertake assessment of 13 of the park’s buildings to determine the overall condition of each.

That will enable decisions to be made on obtaining quotes for works, or carrying out further assessment depending on the outcomes for each building.

Obtaining an overall picture of what needs to be done at Coal Creek is crucial, Kim said.

He explained that the aim is to get the whole site into good condition, ensuring it can be well maintained, rather than relying on stop-gap repairs.

In order to achieve that aim, a strong understanding of what has to be done and the costs that will entail is needed.

That will enable efforts to secure funding from various sources, including grants.

The recent installation of a $20,000 concrete workshop floor, and other improvements taking place there, demonstrates a strong commitment to the future, with the aim of creating a proper workspace.

While fencing off the lower section of the park recently caused expressions of concern that the area would not reopen, Kim is keen to revitalise it.

Kim started at Coal Creek in August last year, having previously moved to Korumburra while still working on a major project in Collingwood.

He was the inaugural operations manager for ‘Collingwood Yards’, an ambitious $20 million project that transformed the old Collingwood Technical School into an arts precinct incorporating 47 arts organisations.

Kim outlined why the chance to oversee the future of Coal Creek appealed.

“It was a really exciting opportunity, partly because of the passion of the community for Coal Creek; it was clear people held strong opinions about Coal Creek whether they were negative or positive,” Kim said.
He added that many local families have a strong connection to the site, having family items displayed there.

“If I was going to make a permanent move to the country, this was an amazing way to get involved in the community,” Kim said of his decision to apply for the Coal Creek role.

From the moment he became team leader there, Kim has focused on building a strong relationship with councillors and council staff, promoting Coal Creek’s exciting potential.

While he hopes to add a blacksmith to the park to broaden its live onsite demonstrations, and is working to bolster volunteer numbers at Coal Creek, Kim is also keen to embrace the use of technology to create an engaging experience for visitors.

He sees potential for Coal Creek to function not only as an attraction in its own right but to promote South Gippsland as a whole.

Kim noted that the museum’s extensive collection comes from across the South Gippsland region, not just Korumburra.

Efforts are underway to organise that collection through measures such as digitisation and a consistent approach to recording the whereabouts of all items, believed to number 30,000.

Curatorial and cultural collection officer Rachel Jones assumed that role in late August, applying her knowledge and qualifications in visual arts and object conservation.

She has worked in museums and art galleries, predominantly in the not for profit and local government sectors, and started at Coal Creek as its cultural services officer.

Rachel has undertaken work to secure the reaccreditation of Coal Creek as a museum, with a report on that expected soon, with the park currently accredited.

Preparations are also taking place for a March exhibition based on the theme of women in textiles, with the aim of linking the past and present.

In addition to such historical exhibitions, events at Coal Creek are seen as a terrific way to engage locals and visitors.

December’s ‘Carols at the Creek’ was a starting point.

There are plans to hold musical performances at the park in the near future.

June’s ‘Korumburra Southern Lights’ evening, run in conjunction with its Korumburra Business Association founders is set to be a large-scale event.