Collectors open up

By Laura Gilmartin
A COLLECTION of 300 wrenches and more than 200 hand-painted dolls are among the weird and wacky collectibles in a local exhibition.
The Closet Collectors display will borrow from collections of more than 100 decorated coat hangers, 63 glass animals and 400 rifle club badges.
The offbeat exhibition aims to reveal the secret hoarding habits of Shire of Yarra Ranges residents.
As the owner of hundreds of wrenches, Vincent Minogue kept his prized collection private for 25 years.
It has been hung on the garage wall in his Upwey home.
But last month the 79-year-old volunteered the items to be put on display at Healesville Memorial Hall.
Mr Minogue began collecting at age 55, when he saw old wrenches being thrown out and replaced with newer tools.
“I liked the design and I just thought ‘someone ought to save these’,” he said.
Today, no amount of money could buy the items.
“I’m not rolling in money but I’d like to keep my wrenches,” said Mr Minogue.
Belgrave resident Niki Hassold also has a notable collect – second-hand Babushka and Kokeshi dolls which she has gathered over the last five years.
Her dolls will be on display at Belgrave Library in Reynolds Lane, Belgrave.
Chandler Ward councillor Graham Warren said the council wanted to see as many collections as possible, no matter how weird or wacky.
He believes the three-month display is an opportunity for collectors to share their passions with the community.
“This is a chance to highlight the different values people place on all sorts of objects, proving that judgment really is unique to the individual.”
Cr Warren said the museum would receive expressions of interest for the rest of the year, with hopes of continuing the program.
Closet Collectors begins on Friday 1 August and will run until Saturday 4 October at eight locations within the shire.
Vin’s Wrenches will be on display at Healesville Memorial Hall, 231 Maroondah Highway, Healesville.
Anyone who would like more information or to volunteer a collection can call the Yarra Ranges Regional Museum on 9294 6313.