Months and months of hard work; of labour and sweat; of drying out the town’s stories went into recovering the pillar of history on Tallarook St.
On Sunday, October 26, members of the society and the volunteers who worked on the space gathered to celebrate the reopening.
Joined by local councillors and state Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland, the society’s president, Geoff Halpin, welcomed the crowd to the new and improved display.
“It’s been just over three years since the flood went through the building, and 12 months since we came back to inhabit the building again,” Mr Halpin said.
“This place has required many hours of sorting and shifting, unpacking boxes and finding homes for the collection.
“I would like to recognise the society’s members and other volunteers for their dedication in getting the building and display back up and running again ... I would like to say thank you because without you, this wouldn’t be possible.”
While the day was, ironically, considerably rainy, the wet weather didn’t dampen the spirits of the many attendees who perused the artefacts and history on display.
The Telegraph’s old printing press stood tall in the corner of the room, with the paper having its very own set-up.
Before cutting the ribbon, Ms Cleeland expressed her gratitude for what the society symbolised in town.
“What perhaps fewer people, other than the people in this room, realise is that the flood didn’t just damage the buildings and the streets, but it also threatened our stories,” she said.
“The Seymour and District Historical Society is more than a collection of artefacts, it’s where our shared memory lived, it’s our history ... and it’s our identity.
“And when the waters rose, they didn’t just soak papers and photographs, they reached into the heart of our history.”
The Seymour and District Historical Society will soon reopen to the public, with the town’s stories on display for all in the building opposite the Seymour Police Station on Tallarook St.
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