Woolmers Estate’s Nigel Peck Centre opens on Thursday, almost 18 months after the first foundation stone was laid.
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The $5.3 million building will play host to functions and exhibitions in its two galleries – the Nigel Peck Long Gallery and the Francis Mary Archer Gallery – while also acting as an information centre for guests.
The centre will become a focal point of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, according to business administration manager Sue-Ellen Groer.
“There will be different displays from time-to-time, which will be something to engage our guests and give an additional feature to Woolmers,” she said.
“The first exhibition held in the Nigel Peck Long Gallery will be an antique toy exhibition.
“Some of the collections from the homestead are leaving the homestead for the first time in 200 years to be put on-show.”
It’s a passage through time really - the current, the historic and the very earliest time when Aboriginals walked the plains will all come together here.
- Woolmers Estate business administration manager Sue Ellen Groer
Meanwhile, the first show in the Francis Mary Peck Centre opens on Friday and will be called Convicts and Colonial Artists.
Ms Groer said the location of the new centre – it backs on to Woolmers’ iconic rose garden – handed guests a front-row seat to Woolmers’ colonial history.
“Walking directly out from the visitors centre to the rose garden is beautiful,” she said.
“The built heritage is very visible [from the site] – Brickendon, which is the other part of our world heritage listing, has a visual connection with us now.
“It’s a passage through time really - the current, the historic and the very earliest time when Aboriginals walked the plains will all come together here.”
The centre’s namesake, Mr Peck, contributed $5 million to Woolmers for restoration work and the construction of the new visitors centre.
He bequeathed about $3.5 million to Woolmers to help fund the centre, with the remaining balance paid by the state government.
Mr Peck, who died in 2017, was the great-great-grandson of Thomas Archer – Woolmers Estate’s founder and original patron.
Stefan Boscia
Stefan came to The Examiner after working as a copywriter at a digital media firm in Melbourne and interning at The Conversation. He is enthusiastic about reporting on business, local government and environmental issues. When he is not chained to his work desk, Stefan enjoys getting brunch, reading Saul Bellow novels and watching Carlton games.
Stefan came to The Examiner after working as a copywriter at a digital media firm in Melbourne and interning at The Conversation. He is enthusiastic about reporting on business, local government and environmental issues. When he is not chained to his work desk, Stefan enjoys getting brunch, reading Saul Bellow novels and watching Carlton games.
