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Barbara Summerell, besummer@netactive.co.za:

I was mortified to read in the Overberg Venster of 11 July that the Bredasdorp Shipwreck Museum was experiencing financial difficulties.

This museum is a treasure chest of potential but it needs to be restructured.

When I discovered my family connection, however tenuous, to the wreck of the Arniston I sent an e-mail to Agulhas tourism and received a prompt and fulsome account which got me all excited to visit the museum.

I found the museum full to overflowing with the most wonderful artefacts, but with the best will in the world, the infrastructure was non-existent. Tourists will come from across the world to visit but you need to give them a good experience, a memorable experience.

Museums have changed, they are exciting, they are alive, they tell the story. More research needs to be done to find out how to set up a modern museum. The Boer War museums are a good example. Tourists want to buy mementoes to take home.

What about a DVD? A little more research will make it even more interesting.

The Arniston was returning from Ceylon with men, women and children on board and wounded soldiers. What is the story? There is a link between the regiment on board the Arniston and the Birkenhead. Did you know? Tourists are interested.

On Indian Ocean cruises we were introduced to the islands we were about to visit with the most fascinating videos and DVDs before we got there. It enhanced out enjoyment of our shore experiences.

Many tour operators make a fleeting visit to the Bredasdorp museum but you want tourists to come to the area and to stay and circulate from town to town. An imaginative and well-composed set of DVDs - which could be sold to tourists - will excite a lot of interest both here and abroad.

I tried to buy a picture of the Arniston. There is nothing available. I went to the hotel at Arniston where they have an engraving but were less than not interested when I said I would like to buy a print. There are pictures of the Arniston available, but not in Bredasdorp and not in Arniston.

The Bredasdorp Shipwreck Museum remains a well guarded secret with great potential - just like most of the population of this country who never seem to get a chance to show what they can do. It's a marketing exercise.

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