Knox Historical Society’s Barbara Ellard, Inta Jaunzemis and Ray Peace show off the restored human powered vehicle. 29129 Picture: Luke Plummer
By Casey Neill
KNOX Historical Society will celebrate a major museum makeover at Ambleside Park Homestead on 18 April.
Knox Council restored the 110-year-old farmhouse last year. The society has since assembled and installed artefacts, images and video displays documenting the area’s history.
Some relics are on public display for the first time.
Visitors to the re-opening can check out wool-spinning, working blacksmiths and a record-breaking human powered vehicle.
Local aerospace engineering student Lachlan Thompson set an Australian human-powered speed record in his creation in 1984, clocking 79.83km/h – a speed that wouldn’t be topped for more than 20 years.
A wheel then caught fire, ending his world record attempt.
The car spent time in an aircraft museum and a suburban shed before the Knox Historical Society saved it from the scrap heap in 2005.
Ferntree Gully motorcycle engineer Clive Carter restored the vehicle over nine months. The society hopes to place it on permanent display.
A school photo room houses Australia’s largest collection of school snaps – more than 25,000 images from 50 Knox schools dating back to the 1870s.
The farmhouse is a piece of history itself.
Early settler Ephraim Hansen built the brick home in 1899.
The Hansens sold it to the David family in 1952, who bequeathed the property to the City of Knox in 1970. The council made it the Knox Historical Society’s home in 1977.
Ambleside is located at 3 Olivebank Road, Ferntree Gully.
Celebrations will kick off a 10.30am.
The society will donate proceeds from a charity sausage sizzle to the Crime Victims Support Association.
