Greater Hume Council general manger Steve Pinnuck had proposed closing the sites to save money on quiet days, such as Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

But after what he tagged “significant opposition”, Mr Pinnuck is calling for a stay.

In a recommendation to this Wednesday’s council meeting, Mr Pinnuck suggests more data be collected before a final decision.

“It is recommended that a review of foot traffic through the VIC and submarine museum be undertaken for the period 1 July 2017 to 28 February 2018 prior to a further report being prepared for council in the lead up to the 2018-2019 budget deliberations,” he states.

“With changes potentially afoot nationally and state wide it may be premature to make a change to operating hours until council can evaluate what is happening across the industry.

“This will also give council the opportunity to work with the submarine museum committee on volunteer recruitment for the museum and potentially the VIC as well.”

Letters to the council from Holbrook’s submarine museum committee and RSL tell of concerns.

Voluntary museum curator Cathy Mann said her committee believed it was “a retrograde step for tourism, an important industry that provides a substantial number of jobs and business opportunities within the shire”.

She said 51 per cent of visitors to the information centre then entered the museum.

RSL sub-branch secretary Kim Turner told Mr Pinnuck “any closure….would severely hinder tourism”.

“This would then create a precedent of “NOT OPEN” (sic) which disagrees with the town’s billboard advertising north and south of the town,” Mrs Turner wrote.

Mr Pinnuck’s review of the seven-day a week opening of the museum and visitor centre was prompted by information centre officer Lauren Ryan resigning in June.

It was felt it would be more cost-effective for the new officer to work at the shire office for two days a week rater than the visitor centre.

In his report to the council, Mr Pinnuck stated visitor centre users had dropped from 33,000 in 2010-11 to 20,000 in the past financial year while numbers at the museum had been steady.

The net cost for the sites went from $128,116 in 2014-15 to $141,209 in 2016-17.