News
- Bluff Maritime Museum's collection is now digitised for global viewing and improved access
- Project Ark team helped establish consistent systems for managing and locating artefacts
- The project supports better preservation and sharing of Southland’s regional heritage stories
A major digitisation effort at the Bluff Maritime Museum has opened up its rich historical collection to audiences around the world. The project, which wrapped up recently, is part of Project Ark – a Southland-wide programme that began in 2020 to improve how museums care for and share their collections.
Since January, Museum and Collections Technician Sam Chandler and Photographer and Cataloguer Cowan Levey have worked alongside Curator Trish Birch and Museum Assistant Marama Fowler to bring consistency and structure to the museum’s collection management systems.
Birch described the transformation as one of the most important developments the museum has ever experienced. “It’s absolutely the best thing that’s ever happened to us at the museum,” she said. “It’s made such a big difference, and I’m very grateful to Project Ark partners and supporters – and especially Cowan and Sam – for all of the work that has gone into it.”
Previously, staff had to search through boxes to locate a single photo. Now, with objects carefully catalogued, scanned, and stored in a searchable database, locating items has become faster and easier. “It’s been a huge learning curve for Marama and I, to learn it all from the ground up,” Birch said.
The process involved a full inventory of the museum’s holdings – from documents dating back to 1984 to physical objects and old photographs. Fragile items were carefully packed, and all details were uploaded to eHive, an online database used by museums worldwide.
Chandler explained that this digitisation effort means anyone can now explore the Bluff Maritime Museum’s collection from anywhere. “The broader aim of the project was to digitise the collections of our regional museums, and make them more readily available and accessible to the community,” she said.
Project Ark is run by Invercargill City Council on behalf of the Southland Regional Heritage Committee, with funding from the Ministry for Culture and Heritage and the Lottery Grants Board. Previous stages of the project supported museums in Wyndham and Riverton.
Levey said it was a bittersweet moment to leave the project after exploring “every nook and cranny” of the museum. “There’s been a lot of highlights… We’ve had a few inquisitive Bluffies come through to see what we’re up to. It’s been a great experience.”
Eloise Wallace, Director of Te Unua Museum of Southland, praised the impact of the work. “Our regional museum collections play a critical role in preserving the stories, memories, and heritage of our collective past,” she said.