The Maritime Museum of British Columbia (MMBC) is a museum in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Canada, that engages people with the maritime culture and history of the Pacific Northwest through rotating exhibits, educational and community-based programs, research services, and more.
In 2015 the MMBC completed its relocation from its long-term home in Bastion Square to a Society Office in Nootka Court at 634 Humboldt St., Victoria, with its collections being stored off-site in a climate-controlled facility. In August 2021, the MMBC moved to its current interim location at 744 Douglas St., with space to house exhibits that display artefacts from the collection, public research space, a gift shop, and staff offices.
History
The Maritime Museum of BC was opened by naval officers in 1955 at
Signal Hill in
Esquimalt, British Columbia
The Township of Esquimalt is a municipality at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is bordered to the east by the provincial capital, Victoria, to the south by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, to the west by Esquim ...
and later went through name changes. The Maritime Museum of British Columbia Society was 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
Downtown Victoria is a neighbourhood of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada that serves as the city centre and the central business district for the City of Victoria, and the Greater Victoria regions.
Characteristics
The downtown area is an e ...
. 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.
The Museum’s Bastion Square venue closed in October 2014 because the provincially owned courthouse built in 1889 required seismic upgrading and other structural work. Packing and moving the collection required more than a year, and the Society completed its move to the new location on Humboldt Street in July 2015. In August 2021, the MMBC moved to its current interim Douglas Street location. Selected items from the collection are displayed along with travelling exhibits.
Collection and exhibits
The rich collection of some 35,000 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. The 744 Douglas Street location is open to the public as of September 2021. 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. 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; 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 have circumnavigated the globe; and ''Dorothy'', a locally built 1897 fantail cutter currently under restoration.
Affiliations
The Maritime Museum of BC is affiliated with the
B.C. Museums Association, the
Canadian Museums Association
The Canadian Museums Association (CMA; french: Association des musées canadiens, ''ACM''), is a national non-profit organization for the promotion of museums in Canada. It represents Canadian museum professionals both within Canada and internat ...
, the
Virtual Museum of Canada
The Digital Museums Canada (DMC; , ''MNC'') is a funding program in Canada "dedicated to online projects by the museum and heritage community," helping organizations to build digital capacity.
Administered by the Canadian Museum of History (CMH) ...
and
Canadian Heritage Information Network
, nativename_a =
, nativename_r =
, logo = Logo of Canadian Heritage Information Network.png
, logo_caption =
, seal =
, seal_width =
, seal_caption =
, picture =
, picture_width =
, picture_caption =
, formed =
, preceding1 = ...
. The organization is under the patronage of the Hon. Judith Guichon, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.
[List of organizations, retrieved 2015-04-0]
here.
See also
*
Vancouver Maritime Museum
The Vancouver Maritime Museum is a maritime museum devoted to presenting the maritime history of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and the Canadian Arctic. Opened in 1959 as a Vancouver centennial project, it is located within Vanier Par ...
, Vancouver, British Columbia
* International Congress of Maritime Museums (ICMM)
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Maritime museums in British Columbia
Museums in Victoria, British Columbia