IT WAS a decade in the making, but a long-awaited multimillion-dollar revamp of the Clunes Museum is complete.
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Museum committee president Judith Fawcett said the refurbished museum, at The Warehouse on Fraser Street, included extensive exhibition space, library, seminar room and research area.
Ms Fawcett said it was the result of more than a decade of lobbying state and federal governments to invest in the community icon.
The museum was officially launched earlier this month with founding director of the museum Marny Fenton opening the doors on October 6.
Although the downstairs section of the museum was opened in March, the upstairs remained closed.
A $3 million cash injection is the largest investment ever put into the building since its establishment in 1974. The museum showcases a large collection of memorabilia from the region which span s indigenous history, the first fleet and the gold rush.
Ms Fawcett said among the museum's hidden treasures were items including a grand piano and paintings of renowned Clunes resident Laura Hudson, who lived in the region until her death at 105 years of age.
"The museum is very important to the community because of the history it displays," Ms Fawcett said.
"It takes a person through every stage in history of the region and gives them a rare insight into life at different times in the township."
Ms Fawcett said the historic building housing the museum also had a colourful past.
She said it had been used as a hairdressing salon and was also the former warehouse of contractors Nichol and Wallace, who supplied goods to miners, farmers and residents.
The museum is currently displaying a unique collection of the region's CFA photographs, certificates and awards to mark the organisation's 50th year in Clunes.
It is hoped the refurbished museum will bring an influx of visitors to Clunes.
The project was jointly funded by $2.7 million from the federal government, $50,000 from the state government, $300,000 from the Hepburn Shire and $50,00 from the Clunes Museum.
Hepburn Shire mayor Don Henderson said the renovations allowed the museum to bring out exhibition pieces from storage and put them on display.
