UPDATE: 3rd August 2015 We have been informed this museum is now closed
Despite being located next to the iconic former cement works silos, a landmark that can be seen from many spots across the city, the Geelong Cement Retirees Museum is one of Geelong’s hidden gems.
The museum is located in a former protestant orphanage that closed in 1935 and was later purchased by the adjacent cement works in 1939 for use as an employee recreation club. The building was even used as housing for migrant workers during the early 1950’s. A small museum collection was added to a few rooms in the late 1970’s that has since grown to cover almost every nook and cranny of the 27 room heritage building.
The museum mostly covers the history of the area as well as the history of the Geelong Cement Works itself. The museum features several displays of old equipment, from some of the early hand tools that was used in the quarry right up to some of the office equipment you may have found residing in the works offices. One interesting display is the scale model of the cement works site that shows just how big the scale of the cement works was. The outline of the Moorabool River deviation project can also be seen on the model, this project was completed in the late 1980’s and allowed the quarry to expand under the former run of the river
The Geelong Cement Retirees Museum is run by volunteers, many of who were former workers at the cement works. The dedicated group will gladly answer any questions you may have about the facinating displays.
The museum is located at the end of McCurdy Road in Herne Hill, just past the cement silos and the cement works bowls club. The museum is open on Sundays from 2pm to 4pm and Monday nights 7pm to 9pm. Entry to the museum is free but we do suggest a donation in their donation box to help keep this wonderful piece of Geelong’s history alive.
UPDATE: 3rd August 2015 We have been informed this museum is now closed