National Trust branches pass the buck back

Sarah Herrmann, Yorke Peninsula Country Times

Yorke Peninsula National Trust of South Australia branches are refusing to pay a new fee which would take 10 per cent of their gross annual revenue, warning the move could force museums to close.

Of the several YP branches protesting, the Moonta branch — one of the NTSA’s largest — is facing a $47,365 fee, which chair Graham Hancock has called unfair.

“We’ve got a tourist train, a sweet shop and a museum and they all generate an income, but it’s all done on the back of volunteers,” he said.

Mr Hancock said the branch had not paid NTSA any fees before, with all of the branch’s profits reinvested into their work.

“We actually pay for four paid positions — a full-time, a part-time, a shop manager and a cleaner,” he said.

“Running a train is a pretty expensive exercise … our costs are relatively high.”

He said the account for the new fee was delivered on June 10 and the branch was required to pay it by June 16, but they have refused.

“The motives behind it is that the Adelaide office needs to raise more money and they see the branches, in my opinion, as a cash cow,” Mr Hancock said.

“It’s adverse to keeping volunteers who are there for a purpose, and their purpose is to look after the local scene.

“There’s quite a bit of pressure on us as a branch because of the (bid for) World Heritage Listing and the demands that is putting on us.”

The Moonta chair said his branch was not consulted about the new fee being implemented, nor about the sale of a block of land under the branch’s care.

“That (sale) realised $120,000, less expenses, and the branch is not to receive one cent of it,” he said.

“It’s not a very rewarding feeling.”

Ardrossan branch committee secretary Brenda Bowman said they already gave 10 per cent of their admissions to the Ardrossan Progress Association, which they share a building with, and now NTSA wants another 10 per cent, about $1000.

She said the branch had also received an insurance bill from the NTSA, around the same time as the fee request, which was six times more than the previous year for no extra cover.

Kadina branch chair Gerry Guerin said the NTSA head office was “city-centric” and unaware of the challenges country branches faced.

“Local museums, heritage museums, whatever they do by way of raising funds in the local area, we want the money to stay in the local area as much as possible,” he said.

A Yorke Peninsula branch volunteer who wished not to be named said this fee would be a “nail in the coffin” for struggling branches.

“They’re doing it under the pretext that it’s to help with financial auditing and bookwork … but really what they care about is things like Ayers House, they’re trying to get Mintaro Hall,” they said.

“Ultimately places will go under, museums will close.

“We don’t make enough money to financially help the National Trust.

“We’ll close, they’ll take our collections and then they’ll put a for sale sign up at the front.”

NTSA was contacted for comment.

The YP Country Times understands NTSA is holding meetings around the state to discuss the fee.

This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 12 August 2025.