Maritime Museum of BC

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Maritime Museum of BC
Location 634 Humboldt Street
Victoria, British Columbia
V8W 1A6
Type Maritime museum
Website http://mmbc.bc.ca

The Maritime Museum of BC reflects the Pacific maritime history and culture of Canada's west coast, with an exhibits and public program mandate for research, education, and partnership.[1] With this mandate, it continues as one maritime museum among thousands within the international networks of maritime preservation. The current Museum Society location in downtown Victoria includes exhibit space for selected items from the permanent collection and travelling exhibits, along with reference and archival rooms, a gift shop, meeting space, and offices.

Collection and Exhibits

The rich collection of some 40,000 artefacts includes 800 models of ships and items related to the maritime heritage of BC. There is a reference library of 6,000 volumes including a collection of 200 titles of historical significance, an archival collection of records of local ship owning and shipbuilding firms, logbooks, naval records, ships' plans of 1800 vessels, maps and charts, an art collection, and approximately 36,000 photographs.[2] The 634 Humboldt Street location is open to the public. Public outreach such as educational programming and talks are being offered. The exhibit space is used to interpret selected items from the permanent collection and travelling exhibits. The bulk of the collection is housed in climate controlled space in the northern part of Victoria, while large items are stored at Ogden Point on the outer harbour. The reference room is used by researchers wishing to consult the library and archives, and volunteers and staff are available to assist with reference inquiries.(http://mmbc.bc.ca/collections/library-and-archives/research/) The collection also includes three historic small vessels: Tilikum (boat), the 38 foot (11.6m) modified aboriginal cedar canoe sailed westabout from Vancouver Island starting in 1901 to London,UK;[3] Trekka, a 20.5 foot (6.2m) sailboat sailed around the world by her Victoria builder starting in 1954- at the time the smallest yacht to circumnavigated the globe (http://qlyc.org.au/John_Guzzwell.pdf); and Dorothy, a locally built 1897 fantail cutter currently under restoration.[4] [5]

History

The Maritime Museum of BC was opened by naval officers in 1955 at Signal Hill in Esquimalt, B.C. and later went through name changes.[6] The Maritime Museum of British Columbia Society registered in 1957 as a non-profit society and would follow a broader Pacific coastal heritage mandate. The Museum moved in 1963-64 to 28 Bastion Square in downtown Victoria, British Columbia. The corresponding Maritime Museum of British Columbia Foundation was established sixteen years later to develop long-term support for the Society.

In 1981 a separate group founded the CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum, which continues at Naden on Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt.[7]

The Museum’s Bastion Square venue closed in October 2014 because the provincially-owned courthouse built in 1889 requires seismic upgrading and other structural work. Packing and moving the collection required over a year; the Society moved to its new location on Humboldt Street in July 2015. Selected items from the collection are displayed along with travelling exhibits

Affiliations

The Maritime Museum of BC is affiliated with the B.C. Museums Association, the Canadian Museums Association, the Virtual Museum of Canada and Canadian Heritage Information Network. The organization is under the patronage of the Hon. Judith Guichon, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Smith’s Master Index to Maritime Museum Websites, retrieved 2011-05-21, online here; partnership announcement page, Sea of Cortez cruise April–May 2011, MMBC Visitor Information Guide, 2010, and Vision 2000 Travel Group/Holland America Line, 2011.
  2. ↑ Holdings list at MemoryBC: The British Columbia Archival Information Network, retrieved 2011-05-21 here.
  3. ↑ Erin Cardone, "Tilikum’s story," Saanich News, 20 May 2001, p. A-11.
  4. ↑ Rachel Stern, "Oldest yacht in Pacific Northwest being restored by Gabriolan," Nanaimo News Bulletin, 8 July 2012; retrieved 2015-04-07 here; restoration detail, retrieved 2015-04-07 at www.tonygrove.com/.
  5. ↑ Richard Watts, "Old boat gets new love," Times Colonist, 15 Aug 2013, retrieved 2013-08-16 here
  6. ↑ History section, CFB Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum website; retrieved 2015-04-03 at http://www.navalandmilitarymuseum.org/.
  7. ↑ CFB Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum website; retrieved 2015-04-03 here.
  8. ↑ List of organizations, retrieved 2015-04-05 here.

External links

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