MMAPSS grants and internships

The museum’s Maritime Museums of Australia Project Support Scheme (MMAPSS) provides grants of up to $15,000 to non-profit organisations, such as museums and historical societies, that care for Australia’s maritime heritage. Usually these are community-based and often run by volunteers. The grants are designed to fund a range of projects, including those related to restoration, conservation, collection management and exhibition development. MMAPSS is administered by the museum and jointly funded by the Australian Government with support provided by the Department of Communication and the Arts. MMAPSS demonstrates the diversity of the nation’s maritime heritage and the important role that local communities, smaller museums and historical societies play in preserving it.

The scheme was initiated in 1995 and since then the program has distributed more than $1.75M and supported organisations across Australia to run more than 420 projects and over 55 internships.

Funding available in 2018–19 was $125,000, with a maximum allocation of $15,000 to any one grant. We received 43 project applications, requesting a total of $414,146 in funding, and five internship applications. The selection committee awarded grants to 16 organisations, and in-kind support was offered to three organisations. The maximum amount of $15,000 was awarded to one organisation and internships were offered to four applicants. Funding was paid, and projects undertaken or funding expended, in this reporting period.

A summary of each project funded under MMAPSS is published below.

Information on grants awarded to the museum is available at sea.museum and Priority 6: Forge a strong financial future.

Recipients by State and Territory

New South Wales

Holbrook Submarine Museum $9,089
Soundscaping the Control Room

To provide interactive and 3D experiences that enhance the educational value of the current display areas. The Holbrook Submarine Museum, Australian National Maritime Museum and Western Australian Museum will collaborate on this project, which aims to install a system in the Control Room area that reproduces historically correct commands and background noises of the daily operations of an Oberon class submarine so that past submariners will be able to share their unique workplaces and lifestyle with their families and the general public.

Jervis Bay Maritime Museum $15,000
Below the waterline

This project aims to develop the area below the Lady Denman ferry, known as the ferry well, into an accessible exhibition area for the public and to showcase the museum’s recreational craft collection, while at the same time providing a safe and clean environment that enables the objects to be appropriately cared for on a regular basis. Curatorial assistance is awarded to assess the objects in this area for interpretation and to provide advice regarding narrative structure and potential opportunities for education links for schools. Funding is also awarded for the engagement of a graphic designer to design the exhibition graphics.

La Perouse Museum $10,000
A significance assessment and collection policy for the La Perouse Museum collection

La Perouse Museum opened in 1988 and currently tells the story of the expedition of Jean-François de Galaup, comte de la Perouse, his arrival in Botany Bay in 1788 and encounter with the First Fleet, and eventual shipwreck in the Solomon Islands. Through a program of changing temporary exhibitions, the museum also looks at the ever-changing Aboriginal, environmental and local history of La Perouse. This project aims to appoint an appropriate consultant to produce a significance assessment and related collections policy to help raise the profile of the maritime collections to new audiences, and to drive future programming, interpretation and collecting activity.

Gerringong and District Historical Society – in-kind support
Museum exhibit: Gerringong Boat Harbour

In-kind support, advice and assistance are awarded, with a visit, viewing and advice from an experienced and qualified adviser on how best to accurately and interestingly tell the story of Boat Harbour and shipping in the area once the Historical Society sets up the displays in the restored museum building.

Jervis Bay Maritime Museum – Internship
Up to $2,000 for up to eight days at the Australian National Maritime Museum.

Port Stephens Historical Society Inc – Internship
Up to $2,000 for up to eight days at the Australian National Maritime Museum.

Northern Territory

Darwin Military Museum $6,951
Repaint boom winch and acquire Lister diesel engine

During the early stages of World War II, a six-kilometre anti-submarine boom net was built across Darwin Harbour – then the longest in the world. Several hundred Royal Australian Navy personnel were employed to maintain the boom, which required continuous attention due to Darwin’s massive tides. The boom winch is in good condition and is one of few surviving artefacts related to the boom net. Continued preservation of the winch is vital in relating the history of this passive defence mechanism. The display will be expanded through acquisition of a Lister diesel engine which was used to drive the winch.

Queensland

James Cook Museum, National Trust Australia – Queensland $14,500
Riverside to rainforest: Connecting Cooktown’s maritime heritage and scientific discovery

This project will develop a maritime heritage interpretation strategy for Cooktown. It will undertake research on sites of local and national significance in Cooktown with a view to develop interpretation concepts and strategies for places and landscapes linked with maritime and scientific activities between local Bama peoples and the first Europeans to visit the region on HMB Endeavour in 1770. The grant will enable the engagement of a heritage architect to identify and document public spaces, sight lines and access routes that will be developed to establish strong links and routes between the maritime environment on the banks of Endeavour River and the living collections of the Cooktown Botanical Gardens.

Millmerran and District Historical Society $6,264
Water Baby interpretive panels and audio visual

The Millmerran Historical Society plans to build a dedicated building at the Millmerran Museum to preserve and upgrade the display of the steam launch Water Baby, which was built in 1877–78 by the Gore family on Yandilla Station. Funding is awarded for interpretive panels needed to tell the unique story of Water Baby and its role in the historical narrative of flooding in the Condamine River and Grasstree Creek catchments, part of the upper Murray–Darling Basin River System.

Queensland Maritime Museum $6,000
Interpretation plan and permanent exhibit of unique 19th- and 20th-century artefacts in storage at the Queensland Maritime Museum

This funding will support the development of an interpretation plan and permanent exhibit focused on sharing unique 19th-century objects connected to Queensland’s maritime history and highlighting the historical significance of each object in an interesting, attractive and informative way.

South Australia

Axel Stenross Maritime Museum $10,064
Axel Stenross boatshed and living quarters – original artefact contents inventory and heritage assessment

Following a 2016 MMAPSS grant for an assessment of Axel Stenross’ original 1940s boatshed, blacksmith shop and living quarters that are the core of the museum, this grant is awarded to engage a professional museum curator, historian or maritime archaeologist to prepare the inventory and to assess the significance of individual objects against Museums Australia criteria. Significantly, the inventory will provide an important archaeological record, the importance of which will increase over time.

Edithburgh Museum Inc $1,600
Shipwreck Artefacts Display

Funding is awarded to employ a proficient carpenter to complete the housing of a display unit with Perspex cover enabling an array of relics and artefacts to be housed in a safe, easily seen and easily protected area with appropriate labels and identification.

Historic Ketch Falie Inc $1,200
Signage for Centenary of Historic Ketch Falie 1919–2019

Funding is awarded to produce banners to promote and help attract visitors to open days and to give general public an opportunity to come aboard Falie and learn about its past and its significance to the history of the state.

Kangaroo Island Pioneers Association $4,000
Restoration of the Historic ‘Frenchman’s Rock’ Site at Penneshaw, Kangaroo Island, Stage 1

Frenchman’s Rock is a memorial to the historic meeting between Captain Matthew Flinders and Captain Nicolas Baudin in Encounter Bay, South Australia. No significant work has been done on the site since 1999 and it has degraded significantly. The size of the project dictates that work will have to be undertaken in stages. Funding is awarded for Stage 1, to replace badly degraded interpretive signage with marine-grade materials.

Tasmania

Friends of Tasman Island Wildcare Inc $9,120
Tasman Island travelling exhibition

For the design and production of an exhibition that includes pop-up banners, a walk-in lens, interactive displays and games with replica-type objects and a short film. The exhibition will be about Tasman Island, its lighthouse history, those who live, or have lived, on the island, and its amazing wildlife.

The exhibition will be used in a variety of venues, including libraries, schools, museums, clubs, local history groups, halls and centres. It can travel in the back of a car and a person can act as an educator, or it can be a stand-alone exhibition.

Bass and Flinders Centre – In-kind support
In-kind support is offered for one of the Australian National Maritime Museum’s Interpretation and Design team to provide advice and assistance with furthering the centre’s interpretive displays.

Friends of Tassie Too – In-kind support
In-kind support is offered for the Australian National Maritime Museum’s Curator of Historic Vessels to travel to Hobart and help the Friends of Tassie Too organisation develop a vessel management plan for the 21-foot restricted class vessel Tassie Too.

Tasmanian Sail Training Association – Internship
Up to $2,000 for up to eight days at the Australian National Maritime Museum.

Victoria

Echuca Historical Society Inc $946
Extension of Submerged touring exhibition

For six presentation display frames for an interpretative display to enhance and extend the Submerged: Stories of Australian Shipwrecks touring exhibition to include information relating to paddle steamer shipwrecks in the Murray–Darling River System.

Golden City Paddle Steamer Museum Society $5,000
Golden City Paddle Steamer Museum presents…

Funding is awarded to assist with improving the museum through signage, displays and interpretation. Funding is also awarded for the presentation of museum materials in Chinese and to conduct an independent review evaluation to benchmark on the improvements and analyse the results.

Lake Boga Flying Boat Museum $9,900
Lake Boga Flying Boat Museum – an audio-visual interpretation

This project will audio-visually record the first-hand accounts of veterans who served at the Lake Boga Catalina Base during World War II, and from them create different presentations and interactive displays to preserve the history of this unique facility and the role that it played.

Port of Echuca Discovery Centre – Internship
Up to $2,000 for up to eight days at the Australian National Maritime Museum.

Western Australia

Busselton Jetty Inc $6,000
Busselton Jetty School Program

Busselton Jetty Inc seeks to increase awareness of the history, community value and environmental significance of the heritage-listed Busselton Jetty among school-aged children. Introducing a range of new, curriculum-linked resources and hands-on activities aims to increase visitation to the jetty by school groups, thus allowing the jetty story to be told to more young people. Funding is awarded for aquariums to assist with the internal fit out of the SeaLab.