The Constant Wheels of Change – Is That a Feasible Business Model for the Museum?
Growth and development don’t happen overnight. Change takes time and adapting to this isn’t a quick task. Having said that, the global pandemic created the need for rapid adaptation and so between 2020-2022 the Museum was in a constant state of change, growth and development.
In 2023 the Museum switched our focus to consolidation, as we came to terms with what the world looked like post-pandemic, and we began to assess what our future may look like. Despite the initial bumps, with the impact of COVID surges now and then keeping people at home, we were able to take stock of how much the organization had evolved in just two years, but we had to face the question as to how feasible these changes were long-term.
Like many other cultural organizations, similar to us in size, we found we had been riding a wave of support and success. When people were starved of content during lockdowns, we were able to provide that through digital means and when people were able to travel, at least locally again, we saw visitation numbers to the museum like we had never seen before. Indeed, as an organization it seemed support could never waiver.
To facilitate these changes and the day-to-day management of the Museum we had to reshape what our staff structure looked like and initially this proved to be very successful. As we began to settle into a more manageable day-to-day routine in 2023 the cost-of-living crisis hit and once again we found ourselves scrambling to react to the global climate accordingly.
Though the Museum maintained our established public support, for which we are incredibly thankful; unlike during the pandemic crisis, there were no government handouts or easily accessible quick grants which meant that we had to face this challenge in a wholly different way. I am pleased to say that our team were able to quickly adapt and by the end of 2023 the cost-of-living crisis, which had negatively impacted business operations, wasn’t as evident with visitation returning to post-pandemic heights, especially during school holidays.
As we entered this year, 2024, we did still feel the ramifications of the previous year’s looming large, and we had to take a hard look at how we function as an organization and assess what was economically feasible long term. It is easy to operate a certain way when you are responding to a crisis but what happens when this is the new norm and its business as usual?
As an organization that receives no contributions from the government, we rely on visitation, gift shop sales and our relationship with Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) as their official heritage partner, in which a large portion of our team’s heritage work comes from, to generate funds for the business.
One way to tackle this question about the feasibility of the business long term and to review our processes was for the Museum’s Board to establish a finance committee to work with Museum senior executive management to future plan so we can guarantee our limited funds are being utilized in the most economical and efficient ways. As a result, we have seen changes made to the Museum’s staffing structure and there is a new versatility expected of all roles within the Museum, which is not uncommon in organizations such as ours. Like all change, this seemed an impossible adjustment at first however as we approach the end of 2024, I am very impressed with the young team we’ve developed, and I think the future of the organization is in safe hands.
Throughout my time as CEO, I have been incredibly passionate about developing the skills of young museum professionals. Across my museum career I have made the right choices at the right time which led me down the path to where I sit today as CEO, however I was also provided with immense support and opportunities by different managers over time, without which I wouldn’t be in my current role. For this reason, it is paramount that those in management within the industry foster the growth of the next generation. When I oversaw the hiring of new front of house staff (FOH) for the Museum I was keen to see students, studying within the museum sphere, be employed. Though they may not have their ideal job as a curator or working in collections, the time they spend working in FOH provides exposure to how a small to medium museum works and, on many occasions, they may be asked by senior management to help with heritage projects. Having staff who can work across multiple fields provides immense depth to our team and this was one of the key recommendations out of the finance committee’s review of the organization.
Thanks to our focus on developing youth, the average age of our organization has fallen to under thirty and I find myself as one of the oldest staff members! In fact, of all our museum/heritage trained and qualified staff (of which we have 6, that’s half of our staff), I am the oldest by almost a decade! This works out well though for me, as there is always someone on hand to help me with IT issues and explain the phrases I keep hearing on social media! I must admit, I didn’t expect to be considered “old” when I was in my mid-30s though!
“It’s All About the Children”
It isn’t just the fostering of staff development that has me looking towards our youth. The program I am most proud of creating is our annual children’s art competition which now enters its fifth year! As our regular participants entered high school, we received feedback from them expressing disappointment that they can no longer be involved. This was one of the reasons why we created an invitation-only competition for past winners who are now in high school. Held ahead of the regular competition, participants are asked to create a work that speaks to the annual theme as a way to inspire primary school aged entrants. We were not sure how popular this would be amongst the high school students, but I am pleased to report we received some of the best entries I’ve ever seen, and we easily filled our maximum quota of five shortlisted works. These are now being exhibited across FRNSW sites in the lead up to the annual exhibition here at the Museum. The artwork being produced by the children each year is simply inspiring, and the artworks being accessioned into the Museum’s collection each year are already being exhibited off-site with FRNSW Commissioner Fewtrell requesting several works for his office.
Our Junior Caretaker’s program which was developed to support International Earth Day continues to be popular and encourages our young museum visitors to consider not just the built environment but our natural environment. For one day each year, children are welcome to join our team in planting various shrubs, flowers and natives. It is always great to hear the excitement from the children when they return to the Museum and see the one, they planted growing well! This is a simple activity but diversifies what the Museum can offer so, at least for the foreseeable future, this activity is here to stay.
Another children’s activity that has proven popular is our Halloween Rocks program. Each year decorated rocks are hidden throughout the Museum and children are invited to find them over the advertised Halloween period. In 2023 we also offered free entry to the Museum on Halloween day (31 October) for any children wearing a costume. This was well received, and we ran fire engine rides later than normal to allow parents to bring their children to the Museum after school. This was again offered in 2024 with great success.
Heritage and Exhibition Works
I am overwhelmed by the change that has been enacted within the Museum’s exhibition space, not just in the last twelve months but over the last four years. Sometimes we still get feedback from visitors saying that the Museum is dated, and while this is disheartening and I don’t disagree, (tongue-in-cheek) I often find myself saying “you should have seen it a few years ago”! This is a reflection of how much has been updated but reminds us of how much more there is still to go.
The highlight of our curatorial program this year was the hosting of an external exhibition from Orange Regional Museum. Our team worked with Orange Regional Museum to provide information and objects for their exhibition which was curated to highlight the history of the local fire brigade which was formed in 1869 after a terrible fire gutted the Nelson Bros warehouse on Byng Street. The exhibition was on show in Orange between March and July 2024, after which time a smaller version was transferred to our temporary exhibition space where it will remain on show until December. This collaborative project has been a great experience, and we hope to work with other regional museums in the future.
On a smaller scale we updated our Junior Firefighters Zone to include more activities for toddlers and younger children. A portion of the area was recreated as a “play space” which has become very popular with mothers and toddlers who capitalize on their purchased annual Museum membership and regularly visit during the weekday.
Our Heritage Team have been kept very busy with not just the internal exhibition changes but also with the growing body of heritage work for FRNSW. In the last twelve months the team have completed eight fully published historical books as well as several other heritage projects requested by FRNSW. Due to this growing amount of work, it is incredibly helpful to have FOH staff who are able to assist during peak project times, whilst also ensuring the Museum shop and front counter is staffed on a daily basis to facilitate visitation. It is also our heritage team who host all of our visiting groups, including education programs for schools, vacation care and other community groups. Every school holidays over the last year we have had a large amount of bookings and looking forward to 2025 this doesn’t look like it will stop.
The Changes Continue
Many people in the community have reflected that there has been a shift in the Museum’s focus, away from being the venue of car shows. When they make this statement, they often fail to acknowledge that the Museum now operates events that support the main purpose of the Museum, which is to be a cultural/heritage organization and to promote fire safety and educate on the history of firefighting in NSW. While we have found it more beneficial to the Museum both financially in undertaking the latter we do still support third parties who hold their annual motoring events on the Museum grounds, which can be seen through events such as All Chrysler Day, GM Day, the newly run Cars for Coffee and the Historic Commercial Vehicle Association (HCVA) annual bus rally. The Museum also continues to attend the Council of Motor Clubs Day at Eastern Creek and every few months takes several vehicles from our collection out on parade, often making a stop at a fire station enroute so locals can stop for photos and to meet some of our team.
The Museum’s relationship with FRNSW continues to gain strength and momentum with the Museum not just providing heritage support to the organization but also attending many events where the Museum is asked to provide historic vehicles and is invited to open a small pop-up shop. This is now well established for events like the Sydney Royal Easter Show, the Hawkesbury Show and FRNSW Graduations. This year the Museum was also invited to attend both FRNSW Championships in Wagga Wagga as well as the Australasian Fire Association Conference (AFAC) at the International Convention Centre (ICC). Additionally, the Museum was the flagship venue for FRNSW’s Open Day which attracted large numbers of people to the Museum.
Overall, I think we should be proud as a team of what we have accomplished. We have diversified yet been able to maintain our focus on our two most prominent business activities; the heritage work we do for FRNSW and above all else fostering youth through programing and events. Afterall, whether it is our youthful staff in their 20s or our youngest museum visitors engaging with the exhibits designed for them, they are the key to the future, and it is only right we foster their growth and development so that in ten, twenty or fifty years all museums (not just ours) have a bright future of museum goers and museum curators!
-Blog by CEO Belinda McMartin
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