On 17th February 1931, local residents attended a meeting to formally elect a committee with a view to establishing a museum for Eden.
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This was a result of the death of the locally well-known orca, Old Tom, the previous September. The orca's preserved skeleton was to be an icon of the working relationship between orca and the whalers of Twofold Bay, which had since formally ceased.
A museum building was not completed until 1938, however raising funds for a building through the Great Depression was a remarkable achievement in itself. The original museum building remains on-site.
A volunteer management committee has continued to oversee museum operations. This has included several extensions, a replica wharf and lighthouse. The museum is currently comprised of a research library, theatrette, six galleries and five collection storage areas. The collection and display areas are the responsibility of a full-time professional collection manager, assisted by a small team of volunteers.
The committee is currently planning another major extension, which will see two more galleries over two floors extending from the eastern aspect of the museum. It is envisaged that the extensions and gallery redevelopment will ease the current visitor congestion experienced in the whaling gallery during peak seasons.
A new collection storage area is also proposed, which will future proof the ability of the museum to continue to safely house the collection, currently containing nearly 30,000 items, consisting of natural history specimens, artworks, textiles, objects, books, photographs and audio-visual material.
In 2010, an independent consultant was engaged to assess the significance of the museum's whole collection and the report noted that EKWM is an, "outstanding community museum for its rich and well-focused collections, developed and managed with care, coherently exhibited and strongly supported ..by the community it represents."
"The collection is significant as one of Australia's most important volunteer generated and managed local collections...It has achieved a breadth and depth that make it a leader in its field," the report stated.
The heritage consultant noted that the collection consists of cultural material with not only local significance, but also state, national and international significance.
The museum remains committed to collecting stories and objects associated with the past, as well as the contemporary histories as they unfold.
A new display due to open on 1 March will showcase the range of items held in the collection, including objects not seen by the public in a long time and items which make their inaugural viewing debut.
EKWM remains a self-funding community museum receiving financial assistance only for special projects.
The Museum is open daily (except Christmas day) and more detail can be seen at: http://killerwhalemuseum.com.au/
