Example MV Krait

A special memorial service to mark the 75th anniversary of Operation Jaywick – Australia’s most daring and successful World War II special operation – was held at the museum on 26 September 2018. The service was followed by the first screening of the museum’s new short film Dark Victory – Operation Jaywick: Singapore 1943, produced in collaboration with the National Museum of Singapore with the support of the Australian War Memorial and a grant from Saluting their Service. The six-minute film combines archival footage, computer CGI and historic news reports to tell the story of Krait and the men of Operation Jaywick and also brave Singaporeans such as Mrs Elizabeth Choy, who were caught up in arrests made by Japanese secret police following the raid. A version of the film will also be featured at the National Museum of Singapore in 2019.

A diorama of the night of the commando raid has been installed in the museum’s Action Stations pavilion along with a small exhibition which highlights key moments of the operation. The film and exhibition are part of the museum’s ongoing ‘War and Peace in the Pacific 75’ program.

Under the guidance of Curator of Historic Vessels David Payne and Jaywick veteran Moss Berryman, the museum Fleet’s team of shipwrights brought Krait back to its 1943 operational configuration. This included installing new internal bulkheads, cabin details, radio equipment, long-range fuel and water tanks, the galley and the rear awning. This is the most significant restoration since Krait returned to Australia in 1964.

The restoration of MV Krait was funded by donations from Army ($500,000), the Australian War Memorial ($250,000) and the museum and its Foundation, including a major donation by Mr Michael Chaney AO.

Achievements

• Restored MV Krait
• Established a new museum team, Site Events and Activation (SEA), to attract new audiences, especially during non-peak times
• Opened indoor–outdoor exhibition On Sharks & Humanity, the first major offer under the museum’s rebranding
• Installed ghost net artworks in the museum foyer
• Showed Threads of Migration projection on the museum’s rooftop
• Programmed events for National Migration Week, including tapestry workshop, Human Rights Trail tours and screening of Boundless Plains, a film produced by the Islamic Museum of Australia
• Programmed events for Lunar New Year, including On Sharks & Humanity rooftop projection and Chinese-themed launch, and Mandarin language tours
• Introduced inclusion programs for people with disabilities and differences, including:
  • a sponsored disability outreach program supported by the St George Foundation, designed to give students with a range of disabilities an experiential learning program that they are not able to access on site. Visits to schools across Sydney occurred during July and August 2018
  • ‘Sensory Friendly Sundays’, designed for people with a variety of sensory differences, during which the museum galleries open early for a quieter experience and are modified to suit people on the autism spectrum and with a range of differing abilities.