Marion Heritage Research Centre (MHRC) is the place where documents and photographs relating to the history of Marion, are collected, preserved, researched and shared. The MHRC holds the contents of the former Local Studies section of the Park Holme Library, and is now the main repository where all historical acquisitions by the City of Marion are collected.
The local and family history reference library containing over 600 items, including books relating to heritage both current to out-of-print, historical data sets, and a full set of the South Australian Births, Deaths and Marriage Registrations.
The historic collection consists of mainly documents, photographs, maps and plans and ephemera which are gradually being catalogued and made more accessible to visitors. There is a select collection of objects on display.
There is a quiet Reading Room/Library with a table in which visitors can spend time researching at their leisure and there is also free access to computers for relevant heritage websites such as Ancestry (bookings essential). There are knowledgeable volunteers to assist with enquiries and there are also free training sessions in Ancestry and Trove available.
The Centre operates an Oral History program recording the stories of people who have lived in or been a part of the City of Marion.
Other heritage organisations in Marion such as the Marion Historic Village Museum and the Marion Historical Society complement the work of the MHRC.
The Red House was originally built in 1922 by local market gardener Walter Phelps for his wife Ida and children Colin and Nancy and was their home for many years. Marion Council acquired the house in 1989 and a group of local artists set up the Red House gallery here, exhibiting as the Red House group from 1994 to 2001. From this it became known to locals as ‘the Red House’. On 2 May 2013, the Mayor Felicity-ann Lewis opened the house as the Marion Heritage Research Centre.