Katherine Museum’s $1 annual lease renewed by Darwin council

THE Katherine Museum will have its $1 lease continued for a further five years, after the Katherine Town Council accepted the renewal.

The Katherine Museum. Picture: Supplied

THE Katherine Museum will have its $1 lease continued for a further five years, after the Katherine Town Council accepted the renewal.

The motion passed unopposed at council’s meeting which will see a number of other conditions continued through the contract.

Katherine mayor Fay Miller said the renewal of the lease was rather a run-of-the-mill process, after delays

“There was just some wording that needed to be changed that wasn’t accurate, some minor administrative things to be fixed,” she said.

“We were waiting for that information from the museum and it has come through now.”

Negotiations to renew the lease have been ongoing for a significant period of time with administrative issues delaying the process.

The Historical Society of Katherine Inc requested the expiration to be extended to June 30, 2022.

The deal will see previous conditions of the contract continue, including its use as a museum and function centre, a quarterly grant of $5549.25 during the term to assist in the day to day operating costs of the Katherine Museum, continued production and development of a masterplan for the Katherine Museum, which includes marketing and development, long-term budget sustainability, best practice procedures and development opportunities.

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It would also see legal responsibility put on to Katherine Museum as the lessee.

The lease will not save the museum from an uncertain future, however, with museum and council officials still searching for funding avenues after continually declining tourist numbers.

It could see the museum’s doors shut for good on October 1, as a small team of hardworking staff and volunteers from the Katherine Historical Society have been scrambling for funding and ideas to keep the museum open.

Museum curator Simone Croft previously told the NT News the not-for-profit, opened in 1985, was on its last legs.

“We’ve been doing all that we can to survive but we’ve gotten to a point where we need to ask for help,” she said.

The museum has been under lease since July 2008.