Gympie Bone Museum forced to close

The Gympie Bone Museum is gone for now after becoming the latest casualty in the rental market crisis but its owners hope someone in the community might have the solution.

The Gympie Bone Museum has been forced to close its doors, becoming the latest enterprise to succumb to the shortage of space for living and working in the city.

Bone Museum co-founders and owners Debra and Jaimie Cook, were asked to vacate the premises in Fraser Road in early January 2022. The doors finally closed on Tuesday, May 31, after no new home could be found for the business.

The impact of Gympie’s flooding disasters of 2022, coupled with the ongoing rental and housing shortage, had made commercial renting very difficult, Ms Cook said.

Storage space had also become scarce, with many displaced people in need of a safe place for personal belongings.

Visitors to the Bone Museum on its last day of operation put their entrance fees generously into the donation box after the couple announced their last day would be free of charge, Ms Cook said.

Ms Cook said she was touched by the supportive responses and suggestions from Gympie region residents.

It had given her inspiration and energy to keep growing the museum, she said.

“I am twice as determined to keep going now.

“The community spirit in Gympie is strong.”

The bone collection have many local animals and stories, which the couple wants to keep on display for their Gympie visitors.

Ms Cook said she was grateful to Gympie Regional Council for trying to find the Bone Museum a new home.

The Bone Museum is reluctant to disassemble many of the skeleton displays to safely store away.

This scientific couple originally started their business to help bring more tourism into Gympie with their unique premise.

Mr and Ms Cook had been running a scientific supply business for 13 years.

They opened their first bone exhibit in 2017.

They occupied a Mary Street shop between 2018 and 2020 before moving into the Woodworks Museum in October 2020.

Ms Cook said she had not been worried about finding alternate location for the museum until she realised how long the town has been recovering from the February floods.

Come May, she and Mr Cook felt “really in trouble” after the third flood hit. They decided they could not afford to move the museum into a flood prone building.

They will now have to split their collection and store boxes among family and friends until a new space is available.

“Somebody out there has a brilliant idea, we just need to hear it,” Ms Cook said.

Ms Cook’s long-term goal is to launch a packed museum, filled to the brim with skeletal scenery and scientific passion.

“When we’re up and running again, come and see what you’ll look like later.”