Securing Phar Lap

Museums Victoria, Australia’s largest public museum organisation – and Phar Lap – are now under the care of MSS Security.

In February, the company was awarded the contract, which covers the Melbourne Museum, Scienceworks and the Immigration Museum, some of Victoria’s most popular tourist attractions.

As the venues all house permanent collections and touring exhibitions that attract local, interstate and international visitors, MSS Security’s experience supplying personnel with both the highest quality customer service and security skills were dual attractions for Museums Victoria, according to MSS Security’s General Manager VIC/TAS, Jamie Adams.

“Of course, it was not just that every MSS Security employee receives regular customer service training that makes them a premium front-of-house representative for our clients and ourselves that appealed to Museums Victoria,” Jamie said.

“They were impressed by the fact that our team is already delivering comparable services for similarly high-profiled Victorian arts and tourism events and venues that attract a broad cross section of the general public – for instance, Crown Casino, the Australian Formula 1™ Grand Prix, the Australian Tennis Grand Slam and the many entertainment and sporting events hosted at the Melbourne and Olympic Parks Precincts.

“This was extremely persuasive proof of MSS Security’s ability to meet and exceed Museums Victoria’s requirements, using a genuine partnership approach and supportive state structure of subject matter experts, underpinned by our commitment to innovation via initiatives such as our online Talent Management System.”

The transition-in across all sites was successfully completed in March, due to the enthusiastic collaboration between the MSS Security team and Museums Victoria stakeholders.

MSS Security’s services to Museums Victoria include guarding services, the monitoring of security systems, and mobile patrols.

The Melbourne Museum in Carlton Gardens, on the fringe of Melbourne’s CBD, is not only the Southern Hemisphere’s largest museum and the site of an IMAX cinema, it is the home of Phar Lap, perhaps Australia’s most famous race horse. Given its close proximity, the team at the museum is also responsible for patrolling the World Heritage-listed Royal Exhibition Building.

Housed within a former pumping station in Spotswood, close to the Westgate Bridge, Scienceworks celebrates science and technology, and is the site of the Melbourne Planetarium.

The other significant member of the Museums Victoria’s sites, the Immigration Museum is located within the restored Old Customs House on Flinders Street facing the Yarra River, and is a tribute to Australia’s multicultural heritage.

Members of the Museum Victoria security team, with a special appearance from Phar Lap.