Australia: Extraordinary Under Water Museum under Development in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park

With the Museum of Underwater Art (MOUA), a new and unique sculpture park dedicated to the promotion of coral protection and conservation is currently under development in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park offshore Australia. The concept for the attraction, which will mainly comprise underwater installations and will thus offer a unique experience especially for divers, features multiple sculptures from British artist Jason deCaires Taylor, who is specialized in underwater sculptures.

The museum’s inaugural sculpture is the “Ocean Siren”, which is already installed on a column rising out of the sea at the location “The Strand” alongside the iconic “Strand Jetty” in Townsville. This interactive figure reacts to the temperature of the water by changing colors. Not far off the coast of Townsville is the John Brewer Reef, where a 58-tonne sculpture complex was installed underwater, dubbed “Coral Greenhouse”. It features a total of 20 sculptures designed as “guardians”, promoting the protection and conservation of corals. Guests can marvel at the art installation through guided dives. Work on the “Coral Greenhouse” was completed during the first phase of construction at the end of last year.

In addition to these two installations, the MOUA will comprise two further locations on the reef islands of Great Palm Island and Magnetic Island, which are scheduled to be realized by June and December 2021. With approximately two million Australian Dollars (approx. 1.2 million Euros), a part of the museum is financed by the government of Queensland, further 1.5 million Australian Dollars (approx. 870,000 Euros) come from a federal government grant. (eap)