Queensland Maritime Museum's weekend opening set to be its last

While the Queensland Maritime Museum is set to reopen this weekend, its ongoing financial troubles means that the Brisbane attraction may not remain a viable concern over the coming months and may well permanently close.

The Museum, which marks its 50th anniversary this year, was closed during the Coronavirus lockdown in Brisbane last year then close again at the start of November suggesting that the shutdown would become permanent after New Year’s Eve, citing a 30% fall in visitor numbers due to COVID-19.

In a last effort to gauge its future viability, the Museum was due to reopen on 9th and 10th January, but then Brisbane's three-day lockdown was declared, meaning it had to refund almost $10,000 in ticket sales it had for that weekend.

Amid ongoing uncertainty, Museum Chief Executive Emma Di Muzio said the uptake in tickets for this weekend's reopening was nowhere near the ticket sales from the failed reopening earlier this month.

Di Muzio told the Brisbane Times "if we don’t have a funding miracle for the museum, we will have to close. We have to face reality ... to save the museum, we would need more like $3 million

"The museum is fantastic, it is rich with maritime history, which essentially underpins the growth of Brisbane itself, we have a lot of local history here.

"We also have Queensland and national history represented, so if people want to see the collection as it is, now is the time because we can’t guarantee you'll be able to see in one place again ... it could be dispersed to other museums."

Di Muzio said, despite an online petition calling for the Museum to be included in the state-funded Queensland Museum Network attracting more than 13,500 signatures in less than two months, there was no indication the state government would step in with support.

She added “we’re still liaising with the state government, but as far as further funding goes, we haven’t received any and won’t be receiving any from Arts Queensland.

"There's always the thought there might be a miracle and millions of dollars may appear from somewhere ... if there are any potential investors, it has to be now, or forever hold your peace."

However, the Museum has also been beset by claims of mismanagement, with a community group having distributed a petition critical of the Museum’s board and calling for an extraordinary meeting.

The group, calling themselves ‘Fletcher and The Very Concerned Crew’ - a reference to HMS Bounty mutineer, Fletcher Christian, has previously claimed key assets, such as the HMAS Diamantina, Penguin, TS Forceful and Ella’s Pink Lady were in disrepair; and also wants legal costs relating to a Fair Work Commission case of alleged bullying to be explained.

Among its demands is the release of audited financial details and for the director’s report be sent to members.

As reported by The Courier-Mail, the group also says Chief Executive Di Muzio no longer enjoys the confidence of the membership.

The Courier-Mail also reported that Di Muzio tendered her resignation in October giving six month’s notice.

The Museum’s reopening will reportedly happen without an Operations and Workplace Health and Safety Officer in place with the position having been made redundant from 31st December.

The Museum has also been targeted by cybercrimals targeting a large sum of money and email addresses.

This year marks 10 years since the Brisbane floods inundated the South Brisbane Dry Dock, capsized the light boat Carpentaria and threatened HMAS Diamantina - one of its key exhibits.