The Queensland Maritime Museum at Brisbane’s South Bank will receive a financial boost under a new funding agreement with the Queensland Government.
Acting Premier and Member for South Brisbane Jackie Trad said the Maritime Museum – the third-largest of its kind in Australia – was a valuable part of the South Bank experience and would receive $600,000 in funding to continue their important work.
“South Bank is an iconic part of our community and the Maritime Museum, run by passionate, local people is helping to tell our collective story,” Ms Trad said.
“This one-off financial commitment will help the museum with its operational costs and high-priority maintenance projects so it can continue to be enjoyed by many thousands of visitors every year.”
Arts Minister Leeanne Enoch said the Queensland Government, through Arts Queensland, would provide funding over three years to 2019-20 to ensure the museum could continue to tell the story of Queensland’s maritime history.
“More than 60,000 maritime and nautical objects are on site for visitors and locals to enjoy, including the former Royal Australian Navy frigate Diamantina, the state’s last remaining steam tug, Forceful, and the yacht Ella’s Pink Lady, in which Queenslander Jessica Watson OAM became the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world in 2009-10,” Ms Enoch said.
“The Palaszczuk Government is pleased to support the great work of the Queensland Maritime Museum, its staff, and its many dedicated volunteers, without whom the museum could not function.”
Queensland Maritime Museum Chair Angela Tillmanns said the funding would ensure a strong future for the iconic institution.
“We welcome this Queensland Government investment, which will allow us to inspire our visitors and help them understand how Queensland developed through our maritime history and stories,” Ms Tillmanns said.
“This investment will enable us to update our exhibits and deploy best-practice management of our collection for future generations.”
As part of the agreement, the maritime museum will work with the Queensland Museum Network to explore future collaborations.
Queensland Museum Network Chair David Conry said they were looking forward to working with the Queensland Maritime Museum on opportunities to support the preservation and celebration of Queensland’s maritime history.
“This exciting new partnership will ultimately seek to deliver enhanced experiences for Queenslanders so they can further discover the museum’s diverse collection,” Mr Conry said.
The Australian National Maritime Museum travelling exhibition War at Sea – the Navy in WWI is currently at the Queensland Maritime Museum until April 2018.
The exhibition tells the stories of Australian sailors through rare personal artefacts, and explores the mystery of what happened to Australia’s first submarine, which disappeared on patrol in 1914.
For more information on the Queensland Maritime Museum, visit maritimemuseum.com.au (external site).