Stephen Davies is always amazed at the glazed look of boredom from senior bureaucrats during his guided tours of the exhibits at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum. In person, it is hard to imagine anyone being bored by the museum director's florid descriptions, knowledge of the obscure and ability to link the city's seafaring past to the present as he makes his way around this 500-square metre space.
There is the intricate scroll 'Pacifying the South China Sea' which dates from some time during the early 19th century and shows the mission to buy off the pirates who controlled the area. Above is a map which in song details the nautical dangers of the coastline as far as Vietnam. Then there is the model of the junk smuggled out of China in 1846 by a group of colourful British entrepreneurs and sailed to the UK at a time when all things Chinese were very much in vogue, much like today. The modern exhibition is more interactive - largely to hold the attention of children - but features a fascinating collection of memorabilia from the 20th century.
But the government officials are just not interested. To Mr Davies, these uninterested faces are emblematic of why the museum is struggling to survive in one of the world's most famous port cities.
'There is no 'By God, it has got to be done' when we are walking around,' he says, talking about the funding shortfall and dearth of options for a new venue when the lease on the ground floor of Stanley's historic Manning House runs out in 2010. 'They find it extremely hard not to hide the fact they find the whole thing completely uninteresting and the sooner they can get out to lunch or back into the car the better.'
The private museum was established with HK$35 million in funds drawn from 71 different companies including Cosco Shipping, Hutchison Port Holdings and Orient Overseas (International) - which is run by the family of former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa - to honour the city's maritime past. The project was masterminded by shipping heavyweights such as Frank Tsao Wen-king, 78, group chairman and founder of IMC, and Anthony Hardy, a former chairman of Wallem Shipping, who were determined to give Hong Kong what the government had not - a museum.
The museum now needs an estimated cash injection of between HK$120 and HK$150 million to find a new premises and house its exhibits, plus a regular contribution to fill the large gap between income and spending. At Murray House, the museum earns HK$1 million a year but spends HK$4.5 million - a figure likely to increase markedly at a new location. There is a significant shortfall in funding and no willing benefactor on the horizon willing to step in and ensure the museum's survival.
