New Ned Kelly Discovery Hub officially opened at Glenrowan

The New Kelly Discovery Hub was officially opened on Friday August 18 by Victorian minister Jaclyn Symes alongside Rural City of Wangaratta mayor Dean Rees.

The $5 million circular building has been built on a park which looks out onto the siege site across the railway line.

The ground level has interactive displays that tell of what unfolded in June 1880 from the perspective of all sides and the first floor is a 360-degree open-air viewing point.

Ms Symes said it would be a great centrepiece for the Glenrowan and the broader region.

"The interactive storytelling brings to life the stories of not only the Kelly Gang, but importantly the hostages, the police, (and) the Indigenous trackers involved in the historical events," Ms Symes said in her speech.

Former Wangaratta mayor and Kelly descendant Anthony Griffiths and the great grand niece of gang member Steve Hart, Noeleen Lloyd, were consulted on the project and delighted with the outcome.

"For me one of the most important things is everyone has been recognised, because the siege was not just about Ned," Ms Lloyd said while standing in front of a wall featuring the names of men, women and children connected to the dramatic episode.

"There were a number of people who died here or were traumatised and it's important people see that.

"It gives them a name, which is important, because for too long you just hear 'the hostages'."

As a councillor, Mr Griffiths had been involved in an early aborted plan for a grander centre, but he believes the hub which has emerged blends well with the environment.

"You see some of the more contemporary museums which are like Ikea meccas, this is more fitting," Mr Griffiths said.

"I'm stunned by how good it is and this is making it personal.

"You'll see the horror of it and that it's not a myth and a fairy tale."

The displays are heavily tied to contemporaneous information and there is no use of footage from films that have subsequently told the siege story.

"It's a very rich story, you don't need any cruddy new movie takes to add to it," Mr Griffiths said.

While officially opened, the centre will not be accessible to the public until September.

Cr Rees said work with touch pads that will trigger six films needed to occur before the opening which he added would be before the next school holidays.

A visitor information centre in the hub is expected to become the busiest in the Rural City with a billboard on the Hume Freeway to be erected to direct visitors into Glenrowan.

Entry to the centre, which will open seven days, will initially be free but a charge is expected to be in place by the December-January holidays.

It will help offset costs in running the hub.

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