The Mackellar Centre is now officially open to the public three days a week.
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Community members gathered for the first open day on Wednesday with representatives from Gunnedah Shire Council, the Dorothea Mackellar Memorial Society, Gunnedah Shire Band and a number of schools.
Two students from St Xavier’s Primary School, Gunnedah Public School, Gunnedah High School and South Public School recited a variety of poems including The Dawn by Dorothea Mackellar, The Dentist and the Crocodile by Roald Dahl and The Highway Man by Alfred Noyes.
Beth Kirby, Amity Cleal and Laurence Rowe from the shire band played individual pieces and then came together to play Moreton Bay.
Among special guests were Mike Williams from Idemitsu Boggabri Coal and the daughter and grandson of Jean Isherwood whose watercolour collection “My Country” is on display in the Bill Clegg wing of the centre thanks to the persistence of local artist Anne Knight.
Jacqui Debron and her son Joe travelled over from Tamworth for the occasion and said it was the first time they had seen the paintings hanging in the centre.
“It’s really good to see them again,” Ms Debron said.
“It’s really good to see it all together in one place and permanently.
“It was a lifelong thing that she had about producing a Dorothea Mackellar collection.”
Ms Debron said her mother’s concept was given wings when she met Mikie Maas who encouraged her.
“The two of them got together and they were like fire bugs,” she said.
“They shot off each other.”
The Mackellar Centre was first opened in September but at the time the Memorial Society did not have funding to complete the interior and open regularly to the public.
The centre on the corner of Bridge Street and South Street will now be open from 10am-4pm on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
Further volunteers are welcome to enable the centre to open on more days. Contact Owen Hasler on 0429 686 373.
