Significant Issues Impacting the Agency

Current and emerging issues and trends


Development of a New Museum for Western Australia

The primary focus for the organisation, now and into the immediate future, is the development of a New Museum for Western Australia. In 2013–14 the project moved from completion of the Project Definition Plan into the Delivery Phase, after an extensive 12-month planning process to confirm the scope and timeframe for the project.

During 2014–15 a managing contractor and design team, which will design and construct the facility on the Perth Cultural Centre site, will be procured though an expression of interest to be released in late 2014. The Project Definition Plan – a summary of which can be found on the Museum’s website at www.museum.wa.gov.au/new-museum/news – identifies the essential requirements for the project which will enable the State to make informed assessments when it receives the tender submissions next year.

The Government’s continued commitment of $428.3 million makes this project one of the most significant museum developments currently underway anywhere in the world. The New Museum is proposed to be almost four times the size of the existing WA Museum in Perth and the development will include the creation of major new buildings, as well as the refurbishment and integration of the Museum’s existing heritage buildings.

As part of the New Museum project works schedule for 2014–15, work will begin to upgrade the Welshpool Collections and Research Centre. The Centre houses more than 4.5 million artefacts and specimens, including the famous blue whale skeleton which will go on display when the New Museum for WA opens its doors in the Perth Cultural Centre in 2020. The Welshpool improvements are vital to the operation of the New Museum and the management of the State’s valuable scientific and cultural heritage collections.

The New Museum for Western Australia is a major infrastructure project which will significantly contribute to the civic, cultural and educational life of the State and play a key role in defining Perth as a creative, stimulating and vibrant place to live, work and visit.

Artist’s concept of the new internal space incorporating the blue whale skeleton

New Museum Project — an artist’s concept
Image copyright WA Museum 


Master Planning for Western Australian Museum – Geraldton

As well as the major New Museum redevelopment project, the WA Museum is working through the process of establishing a business case for the extension of, and improvements to, the WA Museum site in Geraldton. An expression of interest submitted to the Mid West Development Commission (MWDC) for funding was successful in early 2013–14, and the Museum has been invited to submit a full business case. Key outcomes and benefits of this major capital project include:

  • Sharing internationally significant stories with increasing tourism-based audiences, such as the Sydney Kormoran story;
  • Providing access to the internationally significant yet physically inaccessible Murchison Radio Observatory and Square Kilometre Array projects;
  • Cultivating community knowledge and learning by creating a life-long learning interactive gallery that supports the Mid West Regional Blueprint, the MWDC’s Smart Mid West Policy, and the Australian National Curriculum;
  • Working with the Yamajti community to share the world’s oldest culture’s knowledge of the night sky;
  • Creating a sense of place and stronger regional links by activating a vibrant public place in the Batavia Coast Marina;
  • Implementing regional opportunity pathways using the Museum to support and align with other historical societies, interpretive and cultural centres in the Mid West, Gascoyne and Murchison regions;
  • Enhancing tourism to the wider Mid West region through improving the available range of cultural resources, infrastructure and commercial opportunities.

Centenary of Service

The WA Museum has planned a comprehensive schedule of events to mark the Centenary of Service, beginning with its involvement in the opening of the National Anzac Centre (NAC) in Albany on 1 November 2014, 100 years after the first Anzac Convoys departed. Funded by both Federal and State Governments, the NAC is the biggest investment in Centenary commemorative exhibitions outside the Australian War Memorial, and the WA Museum is proud to have been asked to contribute the interpretive content for this important place of reflection.

Immediately following the 1 November events in Albany and following the theme of the Anzac Convoys, the Maritime Museum will open its own specially curated exhibition Last Gentlemen of War. Commemorating the Battle of Cocos between Anzac Convoy escort HMAS Sydney (I) and German raider SMS Emden just eight days after departing from Albany, the exhibition marks Australia’s first successful naval engagement of the war.

Planning is also underway for exhibitions utilising the new 2D and 3D high resolution images to be taken from the wreck sites of the World War II wrecks of HMAS Sydney (II) and HSK Kormoran, to be filmed later this year.

The four year commemorative program represents a significant commitment for the WA Museum across Western Australia – as well as supporting the Remembering Them project in regional communities, WA Museum sites in Albany, Kalgoorlie and Geraldton are all hosting exhibitions over the four year period highlighting the impact of war on the Australian community.


400th Anniversary of First European Contact

2016 marks the 400th anniversary of Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog’s landing at Cape Inscription on the WA Coast, and thus the first recorded European contact with Australia. This is a significant historical event of national and international importance, and the WA Museum is working with a number of partners, including those in The Netherlands, to plan for a calendar of events that appropriately celebrates 400 years of shared maritime heritage. The Museum’s aim is to go beyond the significant date, and connect communities in Perth and the regions with international audiences by creating a rich and engaging cultural experience.


New Strategic Plan 2014–25

With the delivery of the Museum’s previous Strategic Plan and the organisational renewal that necessarily comes from refocussing our work to prioritise the redevelopment of the WA Museum, the Museum has taken this unique opportunity to commit to a new Strategic Plan that will take the organisation to the opening of the New Museum in 2020, and beyond. When finalised the Strategic Plan 2014–25 will be available on the Museum’s website.

Our Mission, Vision and Values remain substantially the same.

Our organisational priorities will refocus on:

  • Sustainable growth – creating an organisation for the future ensuring environmental, financial and social sustainability, and succession planning in our workforce.
  • Heart of the community – establishing the Museum in the hearts and minds of all Western Australians and including them in the creation and sharing of knowledge.
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples – ensuring meaningful engagement with, and inclusion of, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in all that we do.
  • World leader – building an international reputation for collections, research, public engagement and creativity.
  • New Museum project – recognising the development of the New Museum is the key organisational priority for the next six years and ensuring its development supports the Museum’s mission.

Economic and Social Trends

Impact of increasing negative gap between costs and resources

Coping with increasing costs without commensurate Budget allocation.

The Museum will continue to exercise financial rigor in all its operations while delivering the best service possible. However, successive and significant reductions in recurrent Government funding will inevitably impact on services and ultimately on KPI results.

Increased community engagement.

The WA Museum has always maintained a commitment to community engagement but now, more than ever, effective consultation is vital to ensuring the New Museum for Western Australia is a place for and of the people. We will partner with Western Australians to create a world-class museum, and invite people to contribute, participate and have input into both the building’s functional spaces, as well as the stories and themes that will be represented there.