Important announcement below. Please see the attached Press release
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The Elgin Military Museum, 30 Talbot Street, St. Thomas, Ontario CANADA N5P 1A3
A Registered Charity Telephone: 519-633-7641 Email: curator@elginmilitarymuseum.ca Website: www.projectojibwa.ca
Immediate Release
December 1, 2011
Project Ojibwa Achieves Milestone Objective
The Elgin Military Museum is pleased to announce that it has received a letter signed by the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, that the Museum has now received “approval in principle of the donation of Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Ojibwa to the Elgin Military Museum”.
Ojibwa was the first of Canada’s Oberon Class submarines to arrive, and today she remains in Halifax, the last of her type, awaiting her final trip to her new home on Lake Erie at Port Burwell, Ontario, as the centrepiece of a new, regional naval museum. Onondaga was the first to go, to become a museum piece in Rimouski, Quebec, and her other sister boats, Okanagan and Olympus travelled this summer to Lake Erie as well, however, their journey ended in a marine salvage yard to be broken up.
“We are all tremendously pleased” said Deborah Jarvis, President of the Museum, “our team of volunteers, staff, consultants and engineers have worked for close to two years to reach this point. This is a major milestone. Project Ojibwa is now a reality rather than an idea.”
The Museum has been working through a two phase approval process. The first phase, now completed, involved the many detailed technical and engineering studies and reports necessary to prove that the Museum could make the project a reality. This included selection of a host community, detailed business plans, environmental studies and detailed engineering work for the move and mounting of the vessel.
“Throughout the first phase, the Museum was very fortunate to be able to get the services of some of the leading names in this industry” said Museum Executive Director Ian Raven, “we started knowing nothing, but thanks to firms like BMT Fleet Technology, Mammoet, and Heddle Marine Service, we were able to assemble a top notch team, with top notch plans, that have convinced the Minister that this project can and will be accomplished.”
“Local support has also been key – everyone seems to be on our side”, he continued, “from the Municipality of Bayham, the host community, to dozens and dozens of local individuals and firms that are all contributing to make this project a success.”
That support has also spread across the region, province and the country – the Museum is continually receiving messages and encouragement from new sources, more than one describing the project as being “of national importance”. As an example, the Museum was contacted by members of the Canadian Naval Divers Association, and received a donation of diver’s equipment for the new site in Port Burwell. It will form the basis of an exhibit on the very important role of naval divers.
The Museum is now moving on to Phase Two, which involves demonstrating to the Minister that the Museum has the necessary financing for the Project.
“With this approval in principle, we now have the ability to raise the funding we require, as we have the assurance from the Minister that when we show the funding, we will receive the vessel. This approval has been the final piece of the puzzle we required to show the donors and funders.”
While it seems to have been a very long process, Raven says he fully understands why the process is so involved. “Most people, including ourselves in the beginning, had no real idea of what was involved. The staff at National Defence have, through careful review and questioning of our proposal, assisted the Museum in ensuring that nothing has been missed, and that we have the greatest possible chance of success.”
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Contact Person: Ian Raven, Executive Director (519) 633-7641
curator@elginmilitarymuseum.ca
