In May 2002, ten local people formed the Heyfield and District Historical Society. 

Our current Museum,  in Harbeck Street Heyfield, has been open since 11 September 2004. The society has been fortunate to occupy its  small current home, by means of a peppercorn lease from a generous local businessman, since that time but we now feel it is time to create a permanent larger home for our collection.

Built in 1925, the town's Post Office building has become available for purchase. The building is itself a  piece of Heyfield's history and to have the opportunity to purchase the building is exciting, and we believe an opportunity not to be missed!

Our aim is to buy the Post Office building situated in Temple Street, Heyfield and make a permanent Museum for our town and surrounding districts. The building has a vast amount of space (four times larger than the present museum) which will be needed to properly exhibit the hundreds of items collected by our group over the years. Many of our items have not been able to be housed or exhibited at our current  location due to climatic conditions and security issues. 

If our campaign is successful we will be able to create a permanent home for our collection and preserve the history of Heyfield.

Our members busy at work...but also having fun

The funds from this campaign will be used for Stage One - the purchase of the former Post Office building. We have made an offer of $140,000 and are hopeful that it will be accepted.  We have set our target at $145,000 to cover the purchase price and transfer fees.  Grant funding is not an option for the purchase of the building so we are relying heavily on a successful pozible campaign.

Once the purchase is complete, we can move onto Stage Two - modifying it to enable use as a public building and Stage Three - the transfer of artefacts and documents and the grand opening! 

The modifications, estimated to cost between $30,000 and $40,000, are potentially eligible for other sources of funding.  These include a major upgrade to the toilet/washroom and an entry ramp will be built to allow all abilities access to the museum.  Further costs include set up of the nursery at the rear of the building, interior painting, erection of shelving and purchase of display units and boards.

The Heyfield Historical Society comprises a small yet committed group of volunteers.  It wishes to purchase the former Post Office building to give the Heyfield and Districts Museum a secure home with plenty of room for exhibits.

The main challenges faced by our group are financial. Foremost, the raising of capital to purchase the building, then to have money for modifications for all abilities access particularly with regard to entry and toilet facilities and finally ongoing running costs.

Grants have been explored by the group and it is clear that there aren't any around for the purchase of land and buildings.  There are some possibilities for grants to go towards modifications and these will be pursued by the group at Stage 2 of the project.  In order to meet ongoing costs, the group will establish a small Nursery at the rear of the proposed new Museum. 

A further challenge is to create increased interest and increase involvement in the Museum and the history of Heyfield and surrounding districts. To meet this challenge, historical snippets are now a regular feature in the local weekly newsletter "The Heyfield News".  During 2015 our group created a Heyfield and Districts Museum facebook page.  This has sparked interest in our history with many a heated discussion over the identity of the person or place in the photos featured!  It has also helped connect our group with the younger members of our town and given them an interest in their heritage.

We also hope that this fundraising campaign will further increase interest and support for the preservation of Heyfield and Districts history.