Cheryl Dearing says the museum will draw interest to the community
When Cheryl Dearing moved back to her hometown of Moreton’s Harbour two years ago, she couldn’t believe the town’s museum she went to as a child was closed.
“Driving by the museum every day and seeing it closed was just breaking my heart,” she said.
“It’s a part of my childhood, and a part of the history of the community that everyone loved.”
Dearing said within a week of moving back to the community, she set her sights on reopening the museum and started gathering information.
“In the midst of doing that, the retired president of the Moreton’s Harbour Museum Committee called me and asked me [if I] would be interested in taking over her position,” Dearing said.
“It’s a little bit of fate, I think.”
The previous committee that ran the museum was burned out and couldn’t keep the building running, but Dearing is bringing some new life to the place.
‘Rich history here’
She said Moreton’s Harbour is beautiful, but it isn’t the thriving place it once was. That’s why, Dearing said, it’s important to keep the community’s history alive.
“There’s such a rich history here, [the museum] will bring a lot of interest to Morton’s Harbour,” she said.
“There a whole other world that we forgot about, there’s a whole other world that we had no idea existed, so I think it’s very important that people know about that and they don’t forget about the places where a lot of us came from.”
It’s no small task to be in charge of all that history, but it’s one that Dearing relishes.
I feel like it’ll be a fresh start or a new beginning for an old piece of history.
– Cheryl Dearing
“It is a big responsibility, but I am excited for it and I look forward to what it’s going to bring to the community over the years,” she said.
“I feel like it’ll be a fresh start or a new beginning for an old piece of history.”
Fortunately, that new beginning wasn’t too difficult, as Dearing said the museum was in good condition, despite being closed since 2015.
“We just had to do some cleaning and organizing and tidying,” she said.
“We didn’t know what we would face, if there would be any water damage or anything like that, and luckily, there wasn’t any damage.”
Items donated
The museum now holds old clothes, furniture and kitchen items, plus numerous church registries and censuses. Dearing said most of the items and documents have been donated from people in the community.
“We have books written up with everything in, who brought it, who owns it, if it was given to the museum or on loan. Everything here is documented,” she said.
Dearing admitted she’s got a lot of reading to do to catch up, but it’s a labour of love, as she’s passionate about the history of her community.
“Everyone calls me Nan, that’s my nickname, so this is my thing that I love to do and I love to be a part of.”
