AMID fanfare and celebrations a new cultural milestone was reached on Saturday with the opening of the Orange Regional Museum.
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Orange mayor John Davis said the opening came a day after the 170th anniversary of the proclamation of Orange as a village and the museum will have a huge role in the region’s future.
“I would like to point out it’s not the Orange museum, it’s a regional museum in Orange,” Cr Davis said.
“We’re already seeing this building make a huge difference to the civic square. The grass roof, the new visitor’s centre and the Groundstone Cafe at the front of the building are all fantastic additions to the precinct that the Orange community is enjoying.
“It will reflect and celebrate the region’s cultural heritage and deliver new ways to grow the cultural resource of the community into the future.”
Cr Davis said the $8 million museum was first conceived of in 1997.
Construction started in 2015 and was completed in April this year, despite having to stop for 140 days of inclement weather.
Funding came via a $4m Federal Government grant, land provided by the NSW Government, community fundraising and $2 million from Orange City Council.
Federal member for Calare Andrew Gee said the last museum in Orange closed in 1998 and the new building is the perfect place where stories from the district can be told.
“One of the fantastic things that history gives us is who we are, where we come from and, particularly in our country communities, our sense of identity,” Mr Gee said.
Orange and District Historical Society patron Marie Hammond attended the first museum discussion almost almost two decades ago and said she was excited it was open after so many years of planning.
One of the first exhibits for the museum has already been revealed: an “irreplaceable” wagon used by Cobb and Co to travel between Orange and Sydney.
The wagon was given to the museum by the Orange Regional Museum Fund, who also handed over a $105,000 in fundraising.
Fund chairman Russell Tym said the wagon would be one of several iconic items which illustrated part of Orange’s history.
After being used on the 32-hour journey to Penrith, the wagon was used by Westpac as part of their bicentenary celebrations.