Vancouver Island
Military Museum
100 Cameron Road
Nanaimo, BC V9R 0C8
Tel: 250-753-3814 Fax: 250-753- 3815
(email: oic@vimms.ca)
Newsletter
Directors & Staff
April 2012
Museum Has New Location
President
Roger Bird
753-3814
Vice President &
Public Relations/Media
Brian McFadden
756-6182
Secretary/Bingo Rep
Phil Harris
758-9074
Treasurer
Gord Swanson
245-8098
Honourary President/
May Queen Tours
Evan Petley-Jones
758-9624
Volunteers
Gord Buch
756-2281
Armoury
Pat Patterson
754-1566
Computer/Archives
Jack Ziebart
758-2561
Library/Logistics
Steven Sharp
250-933-4992
Workshop
Roger Bird/Phil Harris
753-3814
The museum has moved to downtown Nanaimo at the
former site of the Nanaimo District Museum in the
Centennial Building 100 Cameron Road and we
Anticipate opening to the public summer of 2012
Museum Corner
Vancouver Island Military Museum president Roger Bird and Museum
vice-president Brian McFadden, right, take a break from renovation
work at the old Centennial Museum building in Piper Park. The museum
was moved there from its old location in Nanaimo's north end last month
and organizers plan to have it open sometime in the summer.
Nanaimo Daily News: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 - Military museum outlook
bright as new quarters come together concerns about losing volunteers as they
relocate downtown prove groundless (Matthew Gauk, The Daily News
Now in its new home in the old Centennial Museum building, the Vancouver Island
Military Museum has a much better view and much rosier prospects. Museum
executives took a break from renovations in the 45-year-old building Monday to talk about the work they have done since
setting up shop downtown last month and what's left to do.
Museum vice-president Brian McFadden pointed to the Vancouver Island Convention Centre and the cruise ship terminal
and said, "We fit very well now with what's happening" as a tourist draw in the downtown core. Organizers are shooting
for an opening date in mid to late summer, but there were no guarantees made. "Everything takes longer and costs more
than you think when you're renovating," said McFadden. "At the moment we've been spending our time unpacking the
boxes we moved from the old museum and storing them away.
"The lighting is being upgraded and we're just awaiting the delivery of some display cabinets. Then we'll be doing some
painting and then hopefully start installing the artifacts we have."
The Military Museum, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, was forced to find a new home after its lease ran
out at Nanaimo North Town Centre and the mall declined to renew it.
Museum executives, with help from former city councillor Merv Unger, successfully applied to the city to take over the
Centennial Museum building in Piper Park, which had been used by the Nanaimo and District Museum largely for
storage since that organization moved to the Convention Centre in 2008. The Nanaimo Museum still uses the lower floor
of the building as a workshop, which the Vancouver Island Military Museum will share.
With the two museums down the street from one another and in a space-sharing agreement - the two groups split the Piper
Park building's utilities 70/30 - other opportunities are made available, McFadden said. "When the (school) bus comes
down, they find it difficult to take the number of classes that come down at once," McFadden said. "So what we'll do is
split it, they will take half the group, we will take half the group and then we'll switch."
The museum had expressed concern about losing volunteers with their relocation, but McFadden said they had already
applications from residents at Cameron Island and Gabriola Island and expected more.
The museum is working with an architect and an interior designer to figure out the best "flow" for visiting members of the
public and the best use of colour to highlight items displayed from different branches of the armed forces.
One of the reasons the display work is so time-consuming is because of how many artifacts the museum has in its
possession. McFadden said they brought over 435 boxes of artifacts, ranging from medals to photographs to uniforms,
weapons and gasmasks.
The city has been cleaning up the outside of the building and plans to redo the roof.
Before photos of the Interior of the Centennial Building
Architect’s Concept of New Museum Design
Architect’s Concept Design
Architect’s Concept Design
Work starting on the
partition walls in the
Centennial Building.
Painting will come next and
then displays will be set up