Appreciating our history

Joanna Seczkowski talks about the future for the Mining Hall of Fame

Some of the museum's plans are very exciting and are based on improving the administration of the museum. One new and exciting project is to expand the existing concept to include a large mineral collection on the museum site.
The NT government has agreed to loan the collection to the Mining Hall of Fame and provide funds to professionally house the collection. Another project I am initiating is the establishment of a collection management policy.
We don't know the provenance of many of the items up here on Battery Hill and so I will be doing research into how the items came to be here. If someone donated them, then we'll contact them and confirm what information we have about the item.
If it was already here when the Department of Mines and Energy owned this site and handed it over to become a museum, we will be looking at where it might have come from before then.
It's about looking at the historical significance of this site and that's very exciting for me. My role encompasses many aspects, for example, the administrative side of things such as the finances.
The Mining Hall of Fame has recently become incorporated, which means that we are now going to become a member of the Tennant Creek Regional Tourist Association (TCRTA). Previously we have been a sub-committee. The TCRTA executive committee and a separate sub-committee have been trying to operate the day to day functions of this site. They've now employed myself as a manager to take over the administration, promotion and growth of the site as well as establish collection management procedures.
Being as we are on the same site, Joan Small as general manager of the TCRTA, and I will be working closely together but we are two separate organisations. We will still rely on the RTA's assistance in promoting our tourist attraction, as do other organisations.
Norm's Gold and Scenic Tours are working for us and with us. Norm operates the daily tours. We are looking at how we can continue the promotion of our site together.
We've run the daily tours and as well we can book in groups. We have two tours that go through the underground mine as well as two that go through the Battery. Both are about history in action as I call it, where you get to hear the noise and see the movement and just get a little glimpse of what it's like to be a miner underground or retrieving gold from their ore.
Normandy Mines set the underground mine up and it's mirrored on how their own underground mines are. The Battery on the other hand illustrates how ore had to be crushed before retrieving the gold. The tour shows the entire process of how we get the gold out of the ore, plus occasionally Norm organises a 'gold' pour. The tour guides fire up the furnace, using the crucibles and we pour a 'gold' bar. It's history in action.
The daily tour times are 9:30am and 3:30pm for the Underground mine tour and 11:00am and 5:00pm for the Battery tour. For group bookings Norm organises a tour time to suit their travel arrangements and often provides catering as well.
As we move into the wet season it is best to book ahead as minimum numbers do apply for the tours. Phone Joanna on 08 8962 1281 or Norm on 0418 891 711 for more information.