Rocky Hill Memorial Museum

Rocky Hill Memorial Museum is a unique project due to the location and history of the site and we are honored to be involved. Our concept approach was to complement the existing memorial tower and position the new museum in a location to enhance the public experience. Responding to the brief from Goulburn Mulwaree Council, Crone designed a contemporary new structure to complement the existing museum that once served as the caretaker’s cottage. The interior of the new wing includes 230sqm of flexible and adaptable space to exhibit permanent and traveling collections of war memorabilia plus an area for educational programs.

The Memorial Tower Architect, Mr. E.C. Manfred, ‘had designed a tower which, rough and rugged in its beauty, conformed to the surrounding hill whereon it stood, and which reminded them of the sturdy bravery of our illustrious soldiers.’ The new Museum continues the tower’s legacy by interpreting the unique physical and material site character, conforming to the hill in a contemporary, yet sympathetic way. The Museum building features a new exhibition space designed to accommodate the expanding collection of locally acquired Australian war artifacts. The contemporary structure complements and strengthens the identity of the adjacent refurbished caretaker’s cottage (Manfred and Sons, 1935) which also serves as Museum space and has its own local significance.

The design incorporates bronze mirrored cladding elements to reflect the unique surrounding landscape whilst signifying the precinct as a place of reflection, while the textured concrete structure is a modern interpretation of the adjacent heritage memorial tower and its substrate. The footprint of the new Museum also replicates the scale and simple, cruciform structure of the original Memorial Tower Base.

Early engagement with Goulburn Mulwaree Council, Pejar Local Aboriginal Land Council, and the Museum volunteers also involved walking site/Country* early in the design process, gathering as much information about the physical and cultural constraints/opportunities for the unique, rugged landscape. As a site with layered histories, the design is not only driven by the desire to provide a place of remembrance but is also carefully shaped by its respectful acknowledgment of Country*, understanding the timeless relationships with this land. The new building location minimizes any further damage to an iconic landscape, working on the sections of Country* disturbed by existing infrastructure and historic site excavation for raw materials during the construction of the Memorial Tower.