Wadambuk is now home to the St Andrews/Queenstown Historical Society, which has pulled together a wealth of images, maps, documents and other materials tracing the history of the area. is an Aboriginal word, chosen in consultation with Aboriginal community leaders ‘Wadambuk’ from the and is a reminder of the Wurundjeri nation. It means ‘renewal’, community’s resilience in the wake of the Black Saturday bush fires of 2009. A memorial to the lives that were lost in the fire, sits just inside the new centre. Many homes, and some historic homesteads, were destroyed, although the town centre survived due to a wind change. It was this change that resulted in nearby Kinglake and Marysville being destroyed. The building was designed by award winning architect, Greg Burgess, who integrated the new mud brick building with the original St Andrews School building from 1875 (relocated from Smiths Gully in 1882). Wadambuk is run by community volunteers, and contains a dedicated gallery space that is managed by the Wadambuk Arts Group (WAG). WAG hosted an to exhibition called ‘Renew’ coincide with the opening of Wadambuk and more than 40 artists from the St Andrews area took part. WAG is keen to reinvigorate community art participation in Wadambuk. are also keen to increase the number of people who use Wadambuk’s management committees the centre, which is located slightly away from the the well- known town’s ‘hub,’ centred around St Andrews Saturday Market site. At present, the greatest use of the centre comes from art and craft, health and fitness, and language groups that use the hall throughout the week. The is also in regular use. neighbouring Men’s Shed Alongside the gallery space, Wadambuk offers two rooms (one with hanging systems), a communal kitchen/meeting and working space, a large veranda and native garden at the back of the hall and a beautifully-shaped roof and exterior. Wadambuk Building exterior – Wadambuk Internal mud brick wall leading to gallery space –
Wadambuk is now home to the St Andrews/Queenstown Historical Society, which has pulled together a wealth of images, maps, documents and other materials tracing the history of the area. ‘Wadambuk’ is an Aboriginal word, chosen in consultation with Aboriginal community leaders from the Wurundjeri nation. It means ‘renewal’, and is a reminder of the community’s resilience in the wake of the Black Saturday bush fires of 2009. A memorial to the lives that were lost in the fire, sits just inside the new centre. Many homes, and some historic homesteads, were destroyed, although the town centre survived due to a wind change. It was this change that resulted in nearby Kinglake and Marysville being destroyed. The building was designed by award winning architect, Greg Burgess, who integrated the new mud brick building with the original St Andrews School building from 1875 (relocated from Smiths Gully in 1882). Wadambuk is run by community volunteers, and contains a dedicated gallery space that is managed by the Wadambuk Arts Group (WAG). WAG hosted an exhibition called ‘Renew’ to coincide with the opening of Wadambuk and more than 40 artists from the St Andrews area took part. WAG is keen to reinvigorate community art participation in Wadambuk. Wadambuk’s management committees are also keen to increase the number of people who use the centre, which is located slightly away from the town’s ‘hub,’ centred around the well- known St Andrews Saturday Market site. At present, the greatest use of the centre comes from art and craft, health and fitness, and language groups that use the hall throughout the week. The neighbouring Men’s Shed is also in regular use. Alongside the gallery space, Wadambuk offers two rooms (one with hanging systems), a communal kitchen/meeting and working space, a large veranda and native garden at the back of the hall and a beautifully-shaped roof and exterior. Wadambuk – Building exterior Wadambuk – Internal mud brick wall leading to gallery space