Specimen Cottage Historical research and display upgrade

The Bendigo Historical Society was established in 1935, having its collection of 35,000 items stored at an archive centre . Since 2015 BHS has had a front of house in Bendigo's city centre in the 'oldest residential building in Bendigo'- Specimen Cottage. An upgrade to the walls , flooring, heating and quality display cabinets would enable the development of an area to display the Society's precious collection and provide a stimulating research area for citizens, members, schools and tourists in an engaging manner. Bendigo has a unique and exciting history and it deserves to be explored by all!

Bendigo currently lacks permanent museum space for its general history collection. An upgrade to the wonderful historic Cottage would allow BHS to tell the many wonderful Bendigo stories through displaying its collection in an appealing museum quality space and facilitate Historical research in a comfortable welcoming setting. The upgraded Cottage could become a stimulating hub for history in Bendigo for its citizens and visitors but particularly for local and visiting schools . BHS has approximately 150 members many of whom volunteer their time to share the fascinating Bendigo stories which would be a wonderful resource for visiting schoolchildren.