Killing a White Elephant

In 1982 a diver discovered the wreck of an old boat in St Peter Port harbour.
 
A very old boat.
 
A very old, rare, and large boat.
 
Since then the States have paid a UK based trust to preserve the timbers with a view to eventually bringing them back to Guernsey for display.
 
Why?
 
What use will this pile of old timbers be to Guernsey?
 
Or to put it another way, how many other worthy projects would we want to fund before this one reached the top of the list?
 
To be properly displayed, the timbers would need a large purpose built gallery with an environmentally controlled display case. And to what end?
 
So a few people could come and look at it.
 
This is no Cutty Sark; no magnificent sight to behold; no breathtaking once in a lifetime event. There would be no “Bilbao” effect and tourists would not flock in their thousands.
 
Put simply, it is not worth the money.
 
If it is of truly international importance then donate it to the National Maritime Museum or any other national museum who have the funds necessary to look after this find.
 
There is little evidence to suggest that this boat originated from Guernsey or was even built here. It does evidence that the Island was important to the Romans as part of their trading empire but once we know that, then why do we need to preserve the evidence?
 
I’m certain that a number of specialists will decry this attitude as philistine but we cannot presently afford to be otherwise with something which will never “wash it’s face” financially and which will cost us significant funds just to keep.
 
Others might see it as the thin edge of the wedge, a pathfinder for the hordes of destruction of civilisation as we know it. If we start undervaluing our past, where will it end?
 
Why not close all of our museums?
 
Why not ban all cultural events unless of course they are profitable.
 
Why not indeed?
 
We have an expensive museum service and gallery but what does it actually do?
 
Castle Cornet should pack in the tourists but access is and always will be a problem until something imaginative is done. 

Nevertheless, it remains a jewel in St Peter Port and should be the mainstay of Guernsey’s history.
 
Our other museum is not so iconic and to my mind could be merged with the castle. Not such nice offices for the staff perhaps but a potential saving. Then we have our museum curators and other specialist staff needed to look after the valuable historic assets. Would we need them all if we didn’t have so much stuff to look after?
 
We do need to remember our history and not enough is made of the history of Guernsey. It should inform and give pride to all islanders but few know much about it as our schools must teach to a UK syllabus and for UK exams.
 
But knowing about and appreciating our history is not the same as venerating old objects just because they are old.
 
The Roman wreck was important for what it told us about the Island and the Romans but we now have that knowledge. We have precise measurements, photographs, videos, samples, and whatever else. So, why do we need to make an idol of it for future generations rather than spending the money to make life better for today’s generations?
 
As an Island we are running out of money.
 
We need to prioritise.
 
We need to do this as an Island and not as separate governmental departments with separate budgets to defend.
 
So, no funding of new projects regardless of whether it can be found from existing budget or not.
 
Instead, add it to the States wish list and let’s decide at the year end when we know just how much we have left over, if anything at all.
 
By all means, make the savings from within your department to fund your project and if it is at the top of the Island wish list come the year end, then it will happen. But if there are better things for us to spend our money on, then let’s do that instead.