Board 1: Introduction and the Making of Pipemakers Park
Introduction
The following exhibition was produced in 1989 when the Museum moved to occupy the old Fitters and Turners Workshop at PIpemaker Park. Production of this exhibition was originally sponsored by Highpoint Shopping Centre.
In 1996 a thorough study was done of the site and presented in a report titled ‘Pipemakers Park Maribyrnong, Conservation Analysis‘, that report is available here to download as a pdf file (12 MB).
The Making of Pipemakers Park
In 1979, Hume Ltd. Left the site at Maribyrnong and moved to Laverton where they built a new automated factory. The Board of Works bought the land and local people expressed their support for the concept of a new park and the preservation of the historic buildings on the site.
A Community Employment Program grant helped to develop the new park. A Bicentennial grant of $2 million from Federal and State governments made possible repairs, renovations, and landscaping under the management of the Board of Works. Local people, including children, have planted trees. Former workers at Maribyrnong have helped tell the story of the site by recalling their days at the factory here.
