Charlotte Varcoe
THE Mary MacKillop Interpretive Centre will undergo a facelift in the coming months with new exhibitions being sought out.
Costing more than $30,000, a number of new displays will be presented at the popular tourist attraction, depicting more history of the local Saint Mary MacKillop.
Having the displays well underway after three years of planning, volunteers are excited to get the area up to date.
Centre coordinator Marie Valenzuela said some of the displays will include the original 1998 displays from the centre which will be upgraded and add a new dimension to the Saint’s story.
“Saint Mary’s early story is what we are looking at now, including her family’s Scottish heritage and the history of the pastoralists of this area,” Ms Valenzuela said.
“We have sought a lot of the artwork from Scotland and England and overseas and the artwork is emotional and provokes people to think about what they went through then with people leaving their homeland.”
The new displays will also focus on the clans of important historical figures from Scotland including founder of Penola, Alexander Cameron.
“We are tying in local history and the social and economic issues of the time including education, poverty, immigration and more,” Ms Valenzuela said.
She said the volunteers at the centre were very happy to have the exhibition coming together despite a number of setbacks due to Covid-19.
“Despite the setbacks we are happy it is moving ahead and should be completed by late May this year,” Ms Valenzuela said.
“This exhibition will be more engaging to people coming in and emotionally provoking while giving a greater understanding of Mary’s story.
“It relates directly to what was happening in the 1800’s and how Saint Mary saw a need in the community and did something about it.”
Volunteers at the centre hope the new displays will entice more and recurring visitors to the area.
Currently, due to Covid-19, the centre is open every day from 11am until 3pm.
