MUCH learning route · 2009–2011
From training to a local network.
The programme
Skills were used to build local capacity.
Bill Jeffery’s work in Hong Kong included training local divers through the Nautical Archaeology Society programme. Their Part 2 work produced a survey report on a scatter of ceramics off Port Island and helped the participants form the Hong Kong Underwater Heritage Group (HKUHG).
CIE’s role continued beyond the initial course. The organisation supported the group with survey and documentation questions, further training needs, international cooperation and the development of future funding routes.
Programme development
Training, evidence and public access
The annual reports show a cumulative route rather than a one-off course.
NAS training and Port Island survey
Hong Kong divers completed a Part 2 survey of a ceramic scatter. The trained participants formed HKUHG and began an eighteen-month database and bilingual website project.
Sites and community knowledge
The group combined underwater records with information from island communities about maritime history, beliefs, fishing and seafaring practices.
Ceramic recording and conservation
More than 300 ceramics from an island scatter were recorded. A representative sample was recovered for identification and dating, then desalinated by group members.
Fathoming the Sea
HKUHG contributed research and material to the Hong Kong Maritime Museum’s exhibition on diving, as well as its booklet and an outreach brochure acknowledging CIE support.
Regional exchange
CIE and Peggy Wong of HKUHG organised a conference session in Manila on empowerment and locally relevant approaches to maritime and underwater heritage.
What the work established
A durable learning model
The Hong Kong route is part of the MUCH training collection because it shows how a course can become an independent practice network.
Local group
Training participants organised as HKUHG and took responsibility for continuing survey and documentation.
Connected records
A database and bilingual website brought together wreck information, new discoveries and community knowledge.
Collections care
Survey evidence was recorded and selected ceramics were treated for research rather than commercial recovery.
Public interpretation
Museum exhibition, publication and conference work opened the programme to wider audiences and regional peers.
Living legacy
Local ownership before platform thinking.
The Hong Kong work anticipated principles visible in later CIE programmes: train with real evidence, organise knowledge so it can be shared, connect technical work to living communities, and support a local group to carry the work forward.