Central Coast Council Library Service launched its museum-quality Spike Milligan Exhibition at Woy Woy Library last week at a special event.

Council has created this new Exhibition paying tribute to the beloved entertainer, his family and the Woy Woy region as well as changes to the amenity and functionality of the Library.

Council Local History Librarian, Geoff Potter, said the Exhibition holds a culturally significant collection of family photographs, recordings and memorabilia, with something for everyone.

“This unique Exhibition offers a visually engaging, informative and interactive experience to be enjoyed by locals and visitors alike,” Mr Potter said.

“A feature of the Exhibition space is a small theatrette where a brand new short film ‘The Milligans of Woy Woy’, which has been created especially for this project, will be shown.

“This important collection pays tribute to the legacy of the world-famous comedian Terence ‘Spike’ Milligan and the lives of his parents Flo and Leo and brother Desmond, shedding light on the development of the wonderful Milligan world view.

“Spike and his family had a very special connection to Woy Woy and the surrounding suburbs.

“His parents emigrated to Australia in 1950 and even though it took almost a decade for Spike to visit his parents, when he finally did it is no surprise he fell in love with the area.

“Even though he was born in India and grew up in England, Spike considered the Central Coast his home and he loved nothing more than to visit family, write and relax here.

“Spike was supportive of many local organisations including the Woy Woy Little Theatre, Woy Woy Rotary Club and the Gosford City Orchestra as well as a major activist in the 1970s campaign to preserve Riley’s Island near Davistown from real estate development.

“Many remember his role in helping to preserve the former St. Luke’s Church of England at Blackwall, but he also played a major part in helping the community to save historic Henry Kendall Cottage.”

The Exhibition will not be static. New content will be constantly introduced to provide insights into aspects of Milligan family life. Much of this rare material has been donated to Central Coast Council Library Service thanks to the generosity of our community and Spike’s family, most notably the late Desmond Milligan and his son Michael.

Council Acting Unit Manager Libraries, Beth Burgess, said in addition to this incredible new Exhibition, Council also took the opportunity improve safety, visibility and create a more active and flexible learning space for the community.

“We have installed a new staircase to increase safety and relocated our staff counter to the back of the library in order to improve security and maximize the space,” Mrs Burgess added.

“Old shelves have been replaced with mobile shelving which means we will now be able to better utilise the area to provide higher quality learning programs and a greater variety of events for our community.

“Now we can better serve the needs of our customers and community as well as celebrate the legend Spike Milligan in a space unlike any other in the world.

“We would like to thank the community for their patience while the works were carried out and to show our appreciation we will be holding a community celebration day in the coming weeks.”

Sign up to the Library Service e-newsletter to be one of the first to know about the community day via centralcoast.nsw.gov.au/library or search #ccclibraries on Council’s social media channels.

The Spike Milligan Exhibition and refurbishment was made possible thanks to a $188,429 Library Council of NSW Public Library Infrastructure Grant and Central Coast Council.

Photos of Spike Milligan and Exhibition Launch available on request.