New era in the history of the tropics as Cairns Museum re-opens its doors after two-year hiatus
ABC Far North
By Brendan Mounter and Emilia Terzon
The Cairns Museum is preparing to re-open its doors for the first time in two years following a $10 million renovation to the School of Arts, the far north city's oldest public building.
The new museum, which is owned and operated by the Cairns Historical Society, features four galleries that showcase various eras from the stories of the Traditional Owners right through to contemporary times as a tourist hotspot.
After two years and $10 million in renovations, the museum in the CBD is finally reopening on Monday.
The ABC and a lucky group of international students got a preview today... meaning you do too!
Community collaboration key to representing city's diversity
Museum manager Suzanne Gibson said the displays were put together with extensive community input through a team of 100 volunteer curators.
Cairns Museum manager Suzanne Gibson with a new exhibition.
"All the objects and stories that you see in here have been selected by members of the community and a lot of them have been loaned by members of the community," Ms Gibson said.
Diane Kearney was a volunteer curator and will continue on at the museum as a tour guide; she said researching for the project has been a journey.
Blending old and new creating a future asset
Cairns Regional Council funded the $8.69 million School of Arts renovation and $1.6 million museum fit-out.
Mayor Councillor Bob Manning said it believed contemporising the historic School of Arts building was money well spent.
"This will now become an important asset to the city; this will become a tourism feature for the city," Cr Manning said.
"Retaining buildings like this [is] an important part of creating a city with a meaning and a spirit and I think Cairns is that.
"Your future and your past need to be linked."
From: (
visit link)
"I've learnt so much from being a volunteer and I'm just really lucky to have had that opportunity and to be able to share it with our visitors and the people of Cairns," Mrs Kearney said.