The excitement is building
The South Pacific World War II Museum will be unlike any museum in the world today. Not only will it be a fully immersive, interactive experience about the Pacific Theatre during World War II, it will stand in the middle of where everything took place – on the site of a former World War II US Navy base in Luganville, on the island of Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu. Not only will the museum be an exciting tourist destination, but it will create jobs and provide unique training opportunities for the local Santo people and bring a welcome source of income for the local economy.
Museum Granted Official Support From Vanuatu Government
We’re very excited to announced that The South Pacific WWII Museum Project, is now a recognized and supported project of the Vanuatu Government. We have now received a letter from DSPPAC (Department of Strategic Policy Planning & Aid Coordination) confirming the government’s support, along with a letter of recommendation from the Ministry of Justice & Community Services (MJCS). MJCS is the ministry responsible for the Vanuatu Cultural Centre, and is in charge of national interests in preserving the historical heritage of Vanuatu, which is precisely what the museum is setting out to achieve.
Official support by the Government of Vanuatu is very important to the museum project as it will enable official promotion of the project at a government level. It also reaffirms the Vanuatu Government’s enthusiasm for the project since granting us the land to build the museum on some years ago.
We’d like to thank the Hon. Ralph Regenvanu, Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trades for his tireless support for the project and the extraordinary behind the scenes work of Museum Manager Alma Wensi, who assisted in bringing the agreement to fruition.
We welcome Bob Hill as a Navara Supporter
The South Pacific World War II Museum’s Navara Fund is delighted to announce its latest benefactor, Australian businessman Bob Hill. The Navara Fund has been set up to encourage businesses and individuals to support the Museum’s Project Office in Luganville during our fundraising campaign.
Bob founded Adco Constructions in 1972 and it now directly employs nearly 600 people. Having worked with, universities, airports, State and Federal Government departments and a diverse range of multi-national companies, Adco is now one of the top 50 companies in Australia. Bob is a director of the company but has a home on Espiritu Santo. He has already provided invaluable support by providing us with the expertise needed to complete the cost estimates for the construction of the Museum. This type of support is invaluable to us at this early stage, and we thank Bob for now coming on board as our latest Navara Fund sponsor.
If you’d like to know more about the Navara Fund and becoming a member, please contact Alma Wensi at info@southpacificwwiimuseum.com
Museum Takes Flight With Digital Pigeon
We’re always looking for more efficient ways of streamlining our workflow – particularly as the Museum has a number of contributors who are based outside of Vanuatu, principally in Australia and New Zealand. That’s why we’re very pleased to announce that Digital Pigeon
has come on board as a supporter, to assist us in the transfer of large files such as video edits and documents. With Vanuatu’s internet services being somewhat unpredictable at times, Digital Pigeon allows us to see who has accessed our files and whether they’ve been successfully downloaded, while always remaining ‘in the cloud’ should the connection fall over. Sean Gay, General Manager and Software Engineer at Digital Pigeon said, “We definitely want to support good causes when they arise. We’d love to get on board with the South Pacific World War II Museum and assist where we can.”
Digital Pigeon’s customer list includes major film production and post productions studios, recording studios, TV stations, advertising agencies and content producers. So the Museum is in good company.
“You could effectively say we will be the biggest museum in the world because it covers all of the south corner of Santo. You can go out, see it, feel it, and get that warm fuzzy feeling if you like for where it actually took place.”
Where will the Museum be located?
The South Pacific World War II Museum will be built on the island of Espiritu Santo, one of the islands that make up the Pacific Islands nation of Vanuatu. You can zoom in to see just where that is on the map below.
Dreams and aspirations
Bradley Wood, Founding Chairman of the South Pacific World War II Museum, has been a passionate supporter and driver behind the establishment of a museum on Santo. In this interview Bradley describes the plans for the construction of the museum in Luganville, the major city on Santo in Vanuatu and the role he sees the museum playing in educating visitors.