Maritime Museum of New Caledonia, Tjibaou Cultural Centre
I generally don’t like to do a whole lot of research before going to a new destination, but when it came to my next destination, New Caledonia, I could barely do any research. I’ve never struggled that much before finding information about a place, and it was getting increasingly frustrating. Most of the information I found was about the capital city, and surprisingly little about the rest. And quite a bit of it was not relevant for me for one reason or another. Very quickly it became clear that it would be a short visit.
After a few hours on the plane I landed in New Caledonia. The airport was small and it was possibly the fastest I’ve been through security checks before I was out of the airport. After a scenic shuttle ride I was in Nouméa, the capital city.
Pretty much immediately the problems started. The place I checked into was not ideal, but it seemed to be the only affordable place in the city, so I had little option in the matter. As I arrived a bit late and most stores closed early, I had no way to buy a SIM card, which meant I could only use the accommodation’s wifi, and when I was out of range I was completely by myself. I don’t think I realized just how much I depend on the internet until that moment. Then there was a power out, and I didn’t even have wifi anymore. At that point I felt depressed and without energy to do much. And even if I wanted to go somewhere, I had no idea where to go and no way of checking my options. It was not a very good start, although it was beautiful.
Eventually the electricity came back, and after looking around online for a little bit, I made my way to the visitor center in town, where I got some tips about Noumea as well as some ideas regarding other parts of New Caledonia. The nice lady who worked there did her best to help me out, although I still had some research to do, or at least try to do. Still, it was nice to be out and about again. The warm sun over me, along with being close to the ocean, cheered me up quite a bit.
As it was pretty close by, I made my way to the Maritime Museum of New Caledonia. During my time there I was the only one there, and I had no idea if it’s normally pretty empty or if I came in a time which isn’t very touristy. Either way, I enjoyed the freedom to explore the museum without being interrupted by anyone else.
There were two floors to the and I started on the first floor, which had a permanent exhibition. That exhibition was divided into different sections, and thankfully, there were arrows to mark the way, so for the most part it was very clear in which way I had to go.
The first gallery I walked into was about maritime journeys and discoveries. It started with a brief timeline of exploration around the pacific, naming different people who sailed around and discovered different islands in the area. That was more or less a background setting for the story of this gallery, which was about Jean-François Galaup de La Pérouse, who commanded two ships on an exploration journey which ended in a disaster.
The gallery was going over the history of the ships and their crew from the start of the journey to the premature end where they disappeared. The gallery also had some information about the search for those ships, until their wrecked remains were finally found, although for some reason it was not in chronological order, and it took me sometime to look for the next part in the timeline in order to make sense of it all.
The second gallery was about trading in the area. New Caledonia had natural resources which the Europeans were more than happy to take advantage of, and the merchant families didn’t let the opportunity slip away.
Along with the stories about the traders there were quite a few items on display. Ores, jewelry, ceramics, and other goods that were bought and sold in New Caledonia. There were signs detailing those different items, although I didn’t pay much attention to them. To me, the items were there to accompany the stories, not the other way around.
The third gallery, to me at least, seemed like a follow-up to the second gallery. It talked about the development of Noumea as a trading center in New Caledonia, and shifted toward talking about safety at sea. With more and more ships coming to trade in the area, there was a need to make sure they come and go safely, and so buoys were placed in the water and lights were installed, including the Amédée lighthouse.
The fourth and final gallery had a few more ship models and looked at the history of the boats and the people who used them to get to New Caledonia over the years, from the first inhabitants of the islands over three thousand years ago, to the modern day immigrants. It was the history of both the people and the ships they used, how they changed over the years and how the place has changed with them. There was also a part of American soldiers coming to the island, and as far as I could understand, overwhelmed the local population with their numbers.
After going through the galleries of the permanent exhibition on the first floor, I went upstairs to the second floor where the temporary exhibition was displayed. At the time I was there, the exhibition was about the Monique, a ship that one day disappeared without a trace on the way from Maré to Nouméa.
After a bit of an introduction, and more or less making it clear that nobody knows what happened to it, there was a timeline which details the journey of Monique up until the point of the disappearance. From there on, there were different theories, questions, and search expeditions that came up with nothing. At the very end there was also a mention of an annual commemoration day to the disappearance of Monique and all the people who were aboard that ship. By the time I got out of the museum, I was surprised by how long I stayed there. At first glance it didn’t seem like much, but there was a lot more to the museum than I thought. I found it quite interesting, and certainly a good way to spend some time in Nouméa.
In the city center there were a few more museums, including the New Caledonia Museum, which was closed at the time of my visit. Other than that, there was a museum about World War II and another about the history of the city. Both of those museums had very little in terms of signs in English, and although an audio guide was provided, I found it slow and boring. Quite a few parts were confusing to me, and overall I didn’t feel like I learned a whole lot from visiting those museums.
Then I took the bus (which I couldn’t find on Google Maps for some reason), and about half an hour later I was at the Tjibaou Cultural Centre, where I was hoping to learn about the local Kanak culture. After being briefed about the area, I was handed a map and could explore on my own. The place seemed to be made of two parts. The first part was the museum building, which was divided into three sections, or “villages”, while the second part was a garden with a path that goes all around the main building.
Following the suggested route on the map, I went into the museum. I was, according to the map, in Village 1. There were a few galleries around, across 2 floors, and I started with the one closest to me. The sign near the entrance was in English and provided some background information to what essentially was an art gallery, but other than that very little was in English. Instead, I was invited to connect to the wifi and simply use an online translator. While possible, it was very inconvenient, and throughout the day I only used it a few times.
Not being able to understand all the signs certainly prevented me from fully experiencing the place in the way it was intended. Not being a big fan of art galleries, I didn’t stick around each gallery for very long. Still, it was more ancient and local art, which did interest me to a certain degree.
I got to the lower floor and entered a room where a few pillars were set up. Next to each of them there was a sign in multiple languages and I was able to understand the meaning, and the origin of them. I was surprised to find it wasn’t only art and display items from the Kanak culture, but from other Pacific cultures as well, like the Maori.
As I was reading through the sign when I was approached by a woman with a camera. After explaining that I don’t speak French, she was able to tell me that she’s taking some photos for the museum, and asked if I could pose for her. I agreed, and instructed me to stand in different parts of the room, pointing at the displays and reading and signs. After a few minutes she thanked me for my help and I went back upstairs.
Going through a few more galleries (including one that was about forest life), I passed near a library and somehow found myself in Village 2, and a little while later Village 3, with some parts being closed for maintenance and renovation. After seeing pretty much all that there was to see in there, I turned around and left the building.
I started following the path to different areas of the garden. Along the way there were signs that told a bit of the story of the Kanak people and their origin, which was quite interesting to learn about. In addition to that, next to some plants and trees there were more signs about the meaning of those plants and their significance. There was quite a bit of information there, and although I didn’t read all of it, I enjoyed what I did read.
The path itself was green and pleasant to walk along, with a few points of interest in which I spent a bit more time. I made my way casually and eventually I was at the end of the path, behind the villages. There I found three huts that, if I understood the sign correctly, were replicas of traditional Kanak homes.
And that was it, the end of my short stay in New Caledonia. The views were beautiful, the people I talked to were nice, and the museums did provide some learning opportunities, although perhaps not as much as I hoped.
I wish I could’ve stayed longer, but I struggled to figure out what I’m able to do, and eventually it all became a bit too much for me. New Caledonia has a lot to offer, and maybe at some point I’ll be able to come back and have a better experience, but for now it is time to move on.