Enhanced membership offers access to exhibition previews, exclusive tours and special events, including the annual Members Lunch with special guests such as Valerie Taylor AM . Image MacDougall Photography
Changes to membership Better meeting your needs
Members are of vital importance to the success of the Australian National Maritime Museum and from our inception we have relied on our Members for both their moral and financial support. Two new types of affiliation are now being offered, tailored to the interests of different groups.
LAST YEAR, WE REVIEWED the museum’s membership program to ensure it was meeting the needs of Members and that we were delivering the best possible offer. It was clear from the start that there were two distinct types of Members with different reasons for joining the museum. The first is the family segment. Our family members value the opportunity to visit the museum with their children or grandchildren. They come many times a year and are often Members for a shorter period of time. The other segment – those we call ‘knowledge seekers’ – are deeply interested in the various facets of Australian maritime history, the National Maritime Collection and the museum’s priorities and achievements. They are generally Members over a long period of time.
With this information we recently introduced two levels of affiliation. The Family Pass gives our families everything they are looking for, including free entry, discounts on family programs and reciprocal entry to our partner museums. Some of the benefits that weren’t valued as highly – such as Signals and access to the Members’ lounge – were removed from this offer. For our knowledge seekers, our new enhanced membership adds additional benefits and products that we know they value, such as special previews of exhibitions, online access to museum talks and events, members-only tours each quarter and special access to the National Maritime Collection. While the price for the new memberships has increased, we will honour the existing price for a year and we will still, of course, offer concessions for those who are eligible. From our recent surveys and calls with Members we have been reflecting on how we can strengthen our relationship and work more closely with them. Knowledge-seeker Members have told us that they would like to engage more deeply with us and be informed of the work we are doing and what we have achieved. They wish to celebrate our successes, so we will involve our Members and communicate with them the business of the museum, including ensuring that those who generously donate to the Foundation have input into what should be added to the National Maritime Collection. Further exciting changes to the membership program will roll out over the coming months, and we look forward to communicating with all of our Members more regularly. Oliver Isaacs Manager Members Australian National Maritime Museum 11
