For 30 years, Delilah, the true whale, has held its place at the New Brunswick Museum’s exhibition center in Saint John, hanging over the heads of admirers in Market Square.
Today, the whale has turned into a pile of bones attached to the ground, with each vertebra and long ribs wrapped in bubbles as carefully as thin porcelain. Her stunning hand-shaped flippers remain intact but not yet packed, as is her golf cart-sized skull.
More than 100 Delilah valuables rest on wooden pallets, each packed with a number of numbers designed to facilitate the reassembly of this stellar New Brunswick Museum attraction.
The whale is headed for storage and an uncertain future, along with the other members of the museum’s marine mammal exhibition.
Her bones are a small part of a collection of more than 400,000 artifacts housed in Canada’s oldest museum, all ordered packaged and ready to move.
More than 100 precious pieces of Delilah’s skeleton rest on wooden pallets, each packed with a number of numbers designed to facilitate the reassembly of this museum’s star. (Harry Forestell CBC)
But even when curators carefully disassemble and pack the museum, no permanent home or adequate storage space has yet been found for this New Brunswick’s jewel.
The museum is located in two troubled buildings – an exhibition space and a shop in Market Square at the top of Saint John and a collection and research center in a much older building on Douglas Avenue at the far end.
Collections threatened by leaks, mold
For years, the museum staff, which began in 1842, had to deal with a lack of storage and a lack of adequate exhibition space. Plenty of roof leaks and mold have affected both sites.
“We had a big leak about a month ago, like a big leak of a thousand gallons of water,” said board chairwoman Kathy Hammer.
“Then your collections are threatened, when you have to close the rooms. Then there is an exhibition space that is not fully available to the public.”
Picking is a huge undertaking, but curator Donald McAlpine says staff have been waiting a long time.
The chamber has spent the last few months wrapping and counting everything from marine mammals to precious paintings, to pieces of fine furniture carried by faithful refugees. (Harry Forestell CBC)
“There were issues with Douglas Avenue that meant staff were constantly moving things from one part of the building to another,” said McAlpine, head of natural history.
Now, tons of fossils, shelf loads from jars, pickled leftovers, drawers full of carefully preserved bats, butterflies and iridescent beetles are carefully wrapped to be removed.
The museum committee and a parade of well-meaning chairs tried to secure the future of the institution.
The money for the new location was withdrawn by Higgs
A proposal to expand the museum’s downtown Douglas Avenue center was abandoned in 2015 amid objections from neighbors concerned about the integrity of nearby Riverview Park.
A plan to build a $ 100 million structure on the site of the old Coast Guard pier seemed certain with the promise of $ 50 million from the liberal government of Brian Gallant in 2018.
That promise was revoked later that year by Prime Minister Blaine Higgs, a move described by then-museum executive director Bill Hicks as a “punch in the gut.”
Since then, there has been no official indication of what the province has planned for the museum.
Curators are packing items from the New Brunswick Museum for the immediate future
The beloved right whale combines other items from the Saint John Museum into long storage until new accommodation is found. 4:37
“You know the old saying, ‘The one who pays the piper,’” said Hammer, the actress. “But we just hope we can put the melody.”
He said decisions now focus on where the museum will go – in the short and long term.
“There are many possibilities, but nothing has been confirmed,” he said. “These announcements should come as soon as we learn that the province is on board, as soon as we learn that the federal government is involved … It is a very frustratingly slow process.”
In the meantime, the area of Agora Square will no longer be rented and the entire collection will be sent to storage until more suitable spaces are determined.
“A huge undertaking”
The chamber has spent the last few months wrapping and counting everything from marine mammals to precious paintings, to pieces of fine furniture carried by faithful refugees.
“It’s a huge undertaking,” McAlpine said.
“Moving all of these will be a challenge,” he said. “There are some large rock slabs with fossils inside that are quite heavy, yet fragile. [are] challenges of moving all these things.
“The other big issue is to keep it all in order, because we have hundreds of thousands of samples… If you lose something in the process, it may take decades to find it again.”
Don McAlpine, Head of the Natural History Department at the New Brunswick Museum.
So far, the only thing that was lost was the momentum.
Last May, the county hired former Beaverbrook Art Gallery director Bernie Riordon to stabilize the museum and oversee the launch of a national $ 50 million fundraising campaign.
With his experience in the field of culture and his ability as a fundraiser, Riordon seemed natural.
Last May, the county hired former Beaverbrook Art Gallery director Bernie Riordon to stabilize the New Brunswick Museum, but he soon left. He is afraid that the museum is “clouded”. (New Brunswick Museum)
“I think I made it very clear that basically, in order to have a successful campaign for national capital, the museum had to function properly and with integrity and due diligence,” Riordon said.
“It became clear after, say, three months that there were basically a lot of glitches with the museum and that basically, the department’s vision in many ways was a bit of a nightmare.”
The key to the success of the campaign, according to Riordon, was to keep the exhibition center running. It turned out that the Department of Tourism, Cultural Heritage and Culture of the province had different plans. The department ordered the museum to pack the area of the Market Square.
Riordon described it as “the last straw in the quest for stability and public presence, access to the public, the continuation of our programs, the continued dissemination of collections, all the usual basic functions that makes a museum to preserve and celebrate our heritage “.
The Museum hires a CEO but not for long
Just three months after he was hired, Riordon’s role was reconsidered by the museum board. He suggested focusing only on raising funds and leaving the day-to-day operation of the museum to another CEO. Riordon turned down the offer and his job was terminated by January.
Hamer declined to discuss the details of Riordon’s departure, but is confident he will find a replacement.
“There are fundraisers that have comparable networks, comparable experience, comparable in ability to understand how to make the connection between donors and the project for which funding is sought. And that will be our next big step.”
Riordon is less optimistic about the future of the New Brunswick Museum.
The New Brunswick Museum has a collection of more than 400,000 artifacts. (Harry Forestell CBC)
“Market Square is filling up, Douglas Avenue is gathering,” he said. “And basically it seems to me that the museum is mothballs, which I think is very unfortunate because there is such talent, such great collections and such a great role to play in sharing New Brunswickers stories with Canadians and the world. “
Last week, the board said it had submitted an action plan for the museum’s future to Tourism, Cultural Heritage and Culture Minister Tammy Scott-Wallace.
Requests for an interview with Scott-Wallace were rejected, but a statement from the department stated, in part, that “he is working with the New Brunswick Museum’s board, staff and administration to locate a permanent location in Saint John for a rejuvenating New Brunswick Museum. “
The museum council also decided to reopen the boutique in Market Square this week to maintain its public presence.
title: “Hundreds Of Thousands Of Artifacts Packed Up As N.B. Museum Faces Uncertain Future " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-01” author: “Mary Houle”
For 30 years, Delilah, the true whale, has held its place at the New Brunswick Museum’s exhibition center in Saint John, hanging over the heads of admirers in Market Square.
Today, the whale has turned into a pile of bones attached to the ground, with each vertebra and long ribs wrapped in bubbles as carefully as thin porcelain. Her stunning hand-shaped flippers remain intact but not yet packed, as is her golf cart-sized skull.
More than 100 Delilah valuables rest on wooden pallets, each packed with a number of numbers designed to facilitate the reassembly of this stellar New Brunswick Museum attraction.
The whale is headed for storage and an uncertain future, along with the other members of the museum’s marine mammal exhibition.
Her bones are a small part of a collection of more than 400,000 artifacts housed in Canada’s oldest museum, all ordered packaged and ready to move.
More than 100 precious pieces of Delilah’s skeleton rest on wooden pallets, each packed with a number of numbers designed to facilitate the reassembly of this museum’s star. (Harry Forestell CBC)
But even when curators carefully disassemble and pack the museum, no permanent home or adequate storage space has yet been found for this New Brunswick’s jewel.
The museum is located in two troubled buildings – an exhibition space and a shop in Market Square at the top of Saint John and a collection and research center in a much older building on Douglas Avenue at the far end.
Collections threatened by leaks, mold
For years, the museum staff, which began in 1842, had to deal with a lack of storage and a lack of adequate exhibition space. Plenty of roof leaks and mold have affected both sites.
“We had a big leak about a month ago, like a big leak of a thousand gallons of water,” said board chairwoman Kathy Hammer.
“Then your collections are threatened, when you have to close the rooms. Then there is an exhibition space that is not fully available to the public.”
Picking is a huge undertaking, but curator Donald McAlpine says staff have been waiting a long time.
The chamber has spent the last few months wrapping and counting everything from marine mammals to precious paintings, to pieces of fine furniture carried by faithful refugees. (Harry Forestell CBC)
“There were issues with Douglas Avenue that meant staff were constantly moving things from one part of the building to another,” said McAlpine, head of natural history.
Now, tons of fossils, shelf loads from jars, pickled leftovers, drawers full of carefully preserved bats, butterflies and iridescent beetles are carefully wrapped to be removed.
The museum committee and a parade of well-meaning chairs tried to secure the future of the institution.
The money for the new location was withdrawn by Higgs
A proposal to expand the museum’s downtown Douglas Avenue center was abandoned in 2015 amid objections from neighbors concerned about the integrity of nearby Riverview Park.
A plan to build a $ 100 million structure on the site of the old Coast Guard pier seemed certain with the promise of $ 50 million from the liberal government of Brian Gallant in 2018.
That promise was revoked later that year by Prime Minister Blaine Higgs, a move described by then-museum executive director Bill Hicks as a “punch in the gut.”
Since then, there has been no official indication of what the province has planned for the museum.
Curators are packing items from the New Brunswick Museum for the immediate future
The beloved right whale combines other items from the Saint John Museum into long storage until new accommodation is found. 4:37
“You know the old saying, ‘The one who pays the piper,’” said Hammer, the actress. “But we just hope we can put the melody.”
He said decisions now focus on where the museum will go – in the short and long term.
“There are many possibilities, but nothing has been confirmed,” he said. “These announcements should come as soon as we learn that the province is on board, as soon as we learn that the federal government is involved … It is a very frustratingly slow process.”
In the meantime, the area of Agora Square will no longer be rented and the entire collection will be sent to storage until more suitable spaces are determined.
“A huge undertaking”
The chamber has spent the last few months wrapping and counting everything from marine mammals to precious paintings, to pieces of fine furniture carried by faithful refugees.
“It’s a huge undertaking,” McAlpine said.
“Moving all of these will be a challenge,” he said. “There are some large rock slabs with fossils inside that are quite heavy, yet fragile. [are] challenges of moving all these things.
“The other big issue is to keep it all in order, because we have hundreds of thousands of samples… If you lose something in the process, it may take decades to find it again.”
Don McAlpine, Head of the Natural History Department at the New Brunswick Museum.
So far, the only thing that was lost was the momentum.
Last May, the county hired former Beaverbrook Art Gallery director Bernie Riordon to stabilize the museum and oversee the launch of a national $ 50 million fundraising campaign.
With his experience in the field of culture and his ability as a fundraiser, Riordon seemed natural.
Last May, the county hired former Beaverbrook Art Gallery director Bernie Riordon to stabilize the New Brunswick Museum, but he soon left. He is afraid that the museum is “clouded”. (New Brunswick Museum)
“I think I made it very clear that basically, in order to have a successful campaign for national capital, the museum had to function properly and with integrity and due diligence,” Riordon said.
“It became clear after, say, three months that there were basically a lot of glitches with the museum and that basically, the department’s vision in many ways was a bit of a nightmare.”
The key to the success of the campaign, according to Riordon, was to keep the exhibition center running. It turned out that the Department of Tourism, Cultural Heritage and Culture of the province had different plans. The department ordered the museum to pack the area of the Market Square.
Riordon described it as “the last straw in the quest for stability and public presence, access to the public, the continuation of our programs, the continued dissemination of collections, all the usual basic functions that makes a museum to preserve and celebrate our heritage “.
The Museum hires a CEO but not for long
Just three months after he was hired, Riordon’s role was reconsidered by the museum board. He suggested focusing only on raising funds and leaving the day-to-day operation of the museum to another CEO. Riordon turned down the offer and his job was terminated by January.
Hamer declined to discuss the details of Riordon’s departure, but is confident he will find a replacement.
“There are fundraisers that have comparable networks, comparable experience, comparable in ability to understand how to make the connection between donors and the project for which funding is sought. And that will be our next big step.”
Riordon is less optimistic about the future of the New Brunswick Museum.
The New Brunswick Museum has a collection of more than 400,000 artifacts. (Harry Forestell CBC)
“Market Square is filling up, Douglas Avenue is gathering,” he said. “And basically it seems to me that the museum is mothballs, which I think is very unfortunate because there is such talent, such great collections and such a great role to play in sharing New Brunswickers stories with Canadians and the world. “
Last week, the board said it had submitted an action plan for the museum’s future to Tourism, Cultural Heritage and Culture Minister Tammy Scott-Wallace.
Requests for an interview with Scott-Wallace were rejected, but a statement from the department stated, in part, that “he is working with the New Brunswick Museum’s board, staff and administration to locate a permanent location in Saint John for a rejuvenating New Brunswick Museum. “
The museum council also decided to reopen the boutique in Market Square this week to maintain its public presence.
