The National Trust will not agree to a Wattle Range Council request to contribute at least $250,000 of its own funds to replace two council-owned buildings in Millicent.


The council had originally allocated $540,000 of its own funds in its 2022/23 budget to the work on the ageing pre-fabricated timber ex-classrooms which form part of the Millicent National Trust Museum.


A peppercorn lease allows them to be used for part of the horse-drawn vehicle restoration workshop and to store historic items from the Helen Hughes Costume Collection.


Council had a change of heart at its April meeting and decided instead to put $250,000 of its own funds towards the project provided the National Trust matched or exceeded this amount by the end of the calendar year.


In moving the successful motion, Councillor Dale Price claimed the National Trust in Adelaide had “millions of dollars in the bank”.


However, a local National Trust spokesman told The SE Voice that no such funds were available for the work suggested by Wattle Range Council and the offer would not be accepted.


The Millicent National Trust has developed a museum on the Mount Gambier Road site over the past 53 years but the ex-school buildings remained in council ownership.