Geelong Heritage Centre celebrated its 40th anniversary on Saturday, marking four decades since its historical collection opened to the public in 1979.
The archive was “nationally significant” with a 2014 assessment recognising its credentials, according to collection committee advisory chair Margot Smith.
“The diversity and depth of the collection really is amazing – it provides an invaluable insight into the recorded history of our region,” the Surf Coast Shire councillor said.
When Geelong Historical Records Centre opened at 51 Little Malop St on 16 November, 1979, item donations began to flow in from the community.
Under the guidance of archivist Norman Houghton and a small but dedicated group of staff and volunteers, the Geelong history archive began to grow.
Throughout the decades hundreds of volunteers donated their time to preserving irreplaceable documents and physical items within the collection.
Fast forward 40 years and the collection still remains at the same address, but three floors up in the new Geelong Library and Heritage Centre.
The more than 200,000 items now resided on 4.2km of mobile shelving in a climate-controlled and secure room since the opening of the centre in 2015.
In the first two years after the heritage centre opened more than 100,000 people visited its ruby-red reading room, according to Geelong Regional Library Corporation.
Thousands of people each month visited the reading room, known as Vault kim barne thaliyu, to browse the archive, enjoy exhibitions or conduct research, the corporation said.
Last month Geelong Heritage Centre received a $4500 federal grant to assess preservation needs for the collection.
