Member for Northern Tablelands, Adam Marshall, made the NSW Government grant announcement in Moree last week and said the project would see a total refurbishment of the centre including purpose-built archival rooms, a new common entrance foyer, new offices and galleries, new carpets, painting, furniture and fittings.

“The existing amenities will be upgraded to include disabled facilities and an access ramp will be built. The upgrading will increase the centre’s capacity for storage and also improve management efficiency and public access,” Mr Marshall said.

As the Moree Champion was walked around the centre, newly appointed manager, Chris Binge, described the upgrades and said the centre had plenty to show locals and travellers.

“Basically the building will be shared with the local historical society who has a lot of historical documents and artefacts that they would like to put on show,” he said.

Mr Marshall said the Moree Plains Shire Council would contribute $306,900 to the project for first stage capital improvements and ongoing management costs.

“This is a fantastic outcome for Moree and the Kamilaroi and Gamilaraay people as this centre is the repository for over 100,000 genealogical records of local families, including databases, significant objects, photographs and burial records,” Mr Marshall said.

Work has already begun with the removal of temporary walls, and during the anniversary of the Freedom Ride members of the State Library visited to do archiving.

“The centre is also a founding member of the newly established Aboriginal Culture, Heritage and Arts Association (ACHAA) a developing network of Aboriginal keeping places, knowledge centres and arts centres hosted by Museums and Galleries NSW. 

 “Arts NSW provided the State Library with $200,000 towards collection evaluation and preservation, and assistance with transition to an independent organisation.

“This upgrade represents a significant milestone which will greatly assist the work of the council and State Library and will allow the centre to re-establish public opening hours.

“Currently people wanting to access family records have to make an appointment,” Mr Marshall said.

MPSC director of corporate services, Mitchell Johnson, said the council were “over the moon” about starting internal upgrades.

“This is not only a great outcome for Moree but the whole region as the Dhiiyaan Centre is a cultural keeping place for a huge number of culturally significant, Aboriginal artefacts,” Mr Johnson said.

 “With the purpose-built archival rooms we will also have the capacity to repatriate quite a lot of material that is sitting in storage in a Sydney museum that has great relevance to this area.

“The building that houses the Dhiiyaan Centre will also incorporate a local and military history section so it will become quite a drawcard for locals and tourists alike,” he said.

The council and Mr Marshall also thanked the Moree and District Services Club for its ongoing support as the grant was a ClubGrant.

“The Moree and District Services Club is the largest contributor to the program in the Northern Tablelands, they contribute more than Armidale. It’s great to see some of that money coming back to the local community,” Mr Marshall said.

He said last year out of the gaming tax the club funded $973,702, and a further $91,493 was contributed to the program.

Councillor, Claudia Gall, said as a member of the Moree War Memorial Trust she was ecstatic to hear the “good news”.

“We’ve already got the archival room up and running which is fabulous and once these renovations are complete we will have all the important, historical documents secure and safe,” she said. “Hopefully with these upgrades, the centre will attract more users and Moree’s history will be available and known throughout the district.”