New Maritime Museum Website explores Vancouver Island’s Shipwrecks

August 10, 2004 For Immediate Release

Thanks to the Maritime Museum’s new virtual exhibition, wannabe ship’s captains don’t even have to leave shore to try their hand at steering a vessel through the sometimes treacherous waters of Vancouver Island’s outer coastline. They can access the Wreck’s Game at http://pacificshipwrecks.ca/ and try their hand at navigating Vancouver Island’s treacherous shores. PacificShipwrecks.ca explores the stories and hazards that make the Vancouver Island coast notorious in maritime legends.

“Graveyard of the Pacific: The Shipwrecks of Vancouver Island” is a joint project launched today by the Maritime Museum of British Columbia with the goal of making the stories of the men and women who have faced the perils of the dangerous coastline more readily available to the public at large. The Museum’s project partners are the Vancouver Maritime Museum, The Museum at Campbell River and the Underwater Archaeological Society of British Columbia.

“The public’s interest level in the subject matter is high, as witnessed by the research requests received by the museum on a weekly basis,” says The Maritime Museum’s Executive Director Greg Evans. “Using artifacts, paintings, historic photographs, diaries and logbooks, the museum has created a virtual exhibit that will be relevant to many sectors of our community, from recreational divers and academics to school children and those with a general fascination with the maritime heritage of our country.”

The “Graveyard of the Pacific” project was made possible by $85,000 in funding from The Canadian Heritage Information Network’s Virtual Museum Investment Program. CHIN is the federal government agency that launched The Virtual Museum of Canada in March of 2001 to significantly increase the presence of Canadian museums on the Internet.

The Maritime Museum contracted Victoria based Zero One Design, specialist in creating multimedia products for the cultural industry to create ”Graveyard of the Pacific”. Zero One Design has successfully completed many high visibility projects including websites for The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Pacific Opera Victoria, St Ann’s Academy and a virtual site for the North American Indigenous Games.

“Graveyard of the Pacific”, highlighting intriguing wrecks (1868-1972) such as the Valencia, the Boston and the Lord Western, will be available on the web for a minimum of five years.

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For further information, contact:

Greg Evans
Executive Director
Maritime Museum of British Columbia
250-385-4222 ext. 104
e-mail:gregevans@mmbc.bc.ca

David Alexander
President
Zero One Design Inc.
250-885-8665
e-mail: david@zeroonedesign.com

Zero One Design Inc.

Founded in 1997, Zero One Design has made a name for itself guiding
cultural institutions into the world of new media. Composed of three
partners, the company has carved out a niche creating experience-rich
websites for the culture and educational sectors that focus on telling
the compelling stories that these institutions have to offer. Local clients
include the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Pacific Opera Victoria, The
Victoria Symphony, The Victoria Sports Hall of Fame and The New Canoe.
More information about Zero One Design can be found at www.zeroonedesign.com