By Tyler Waugh / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
All looks to be operating as usual at the Admiralty House Communications Museum in Mount Pearl, calm like a duck on water.
Staff are helping visitors as they come through the door. There are summer camps taking place and tours being conducted. But similar to a duck’s frantic paddling below the water surface, there’s a lot of action behind the scenes this summer as staff prepare to implement big changes this fall.
The museum will be closed from September to sometime in December as staff overhaul the exhibits for the first time in decades, ushering in new technology and interactive displays to freshen up what’s offered to visitors. It’s the implementation of a strategic vision that was adopted by the board in 2022.
“People can expect more accessible interpretive panels, as well as a variety of different artefacts that will be on display,” said museum manager Megan Webb, who has been in place as manager since 2023, and also spent the summer of 2021 as collections manager. “We’ll have some items rotated out from our current display and some of the items that have been living in our collections room viewable to the public, and many more interactive opportunities. We will have some tablets throughout that people can choose the option to learn more if they so desire.”
The museum is housed in an historic building constructed in 1915 by the Marconi Telegraph Company as a top-secret HM Wireless Station for the British Royal Navy. The station, now the last standing of 11 identical stations built around the world, was meant to intercept secret naval transmissions, track icebergs and ships in distress. Mount Pearl was chosen as a site because, at the time, it was fairly remote and away from the water.
“It definitely became less top secret in time because the large towers kind of gave it away,” said Emily Mills, programming and rental officer for Admiralty House.
The building’s future was in question near the turn of the century and Mount Pearl council decided in a 5-4 vote to keep it based on the historical significance. The City launched an initiative in 1997 to turn it into a museum and Prince Philip himself was on hand to open the Admiralty House Communications Museum.
The museum currently showcases the history of Mount Pearl, the tragedy of the S.S. Florizel and the history of wireless communication highlighting the contributions of Roger Morse, Alexander Graham Bell, Guglielmo Marconi and… actress Hedy Lamar?
“We like to highlight that one, for sure. It’s a name and face people wouldn’t anticipate, but she was an innovator and an inventor,” said Mills, adding she co-invented a radio guidance system for torpedoes in partnership with George Antheil.
The Lamarr-Antheil patent expired, but the principles of their work were used for secure wireless networking.
Another showcase for the museum is highlighting the history of the building and men who served on site in the Newfoundland Royal Naval Reserve, including the commanding officer’s sitting room. That feature will continue with the exhibit refresh, but it will see a considerable overhaul from a look but don’t touch exhibit to something interactive.
“People right now can view it but not touch it, it’s been roped off for almost 30 years. That’s a common theme in museums is that, you can look, but don’t touch, but people love to touch things,” said Webb. “When we re-open, visitors can actually go in and they can sit down at the writing desk, they can type out something on the typewriter. People love to engage with things, touch them, and that’s something we are planning for looking ahead.”
The Admiralty House is one of the few community museums that is open year round, thanks to continued funding from the City, as well as other grants. The province’s Cultural Economic Development Program just awarded it $11,335, and Webb said it was a small increase from last year that helps offset heat and power costs for the facility.
Webb and Mills work full-time all year, and various grants help them employ a few other people through the summer.