The hull of a large white boat suspended from a bright orange ceiling.

Maritime history boats and watercraft

Collections | Updated 1 years ago

The Museum’s Watercraft Collection comprises of around eighty watercraft, ranging from a freezer lid that was used as a life raft to an Oberon submarine, HMAS Ovens.

The collection is one of the largest in Australia and has been loosely classified into four main collecting areas:

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Simple map of Australia and Asia with the ship immigration routes

Maritime History Immigration and Migration Collection

Collections | Updated 1 years ago

The Maritime History department maintains an extensive Immigration Collection that documents maritime immigration into Western Australia.

This collection includes artefacts such as: documents, on board images, clothes, shipboard newsletters, posters and postcards of ports visited during the voyage, crossing the line certificates, menus, tableware, table and bathroom linen, memorabilia, personal souvenirs, commercially produced souvenirs, cabin luggage, trunks and suitcases and shipboard games.

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Screen grab from the HMAS Sydney (II) website

10 May 2010

HMAS Sydney (II)

The loss of the HMAS Sydney (II) is Australia’s greatest naval tragedy. Its disappearance in 1941 without a trace left a legacy of uncertainty for decades. In March 2008, renewed efforts to find the Sydney came to fruition, confirming her fate and bringing closure to the mystery.

This website expertly documents the entire Sydney story, from its construction and early battles in the Mediterranean Sea, to its final battle with the HSK Kormoran, and right through to its eventual discovery and the ensuing Cole Inquiry.

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Online Exhibition
Western Australian Museum

Laurel and Doug with Aboriginal youth in front the lugger Ancel

Maritime history oral histories

Collections | Updated 1 years ago

The Maritime History department focuses on Western Australian maritime history within the context of the Indian Ocean. The Maritime History department’s Oral History Collection holds over two hundred interviews with people who are directly associated with the department’s collections, or who are associated with a specific area of research undertaken for publication or exhibitions.

Maritime History staff mostly conduct these interviews, however, sometimes volunteers from relevant fields perform the interviews on behalf of the Museum.

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A black and white image of a small sailing boat with large sails billowing

Maritime History - introduction

Collections | Updated 1 years ago

This page introduces the Maritime History department which specialises in the research, documentation and collection of the State’s maritime history and heritage, including watercraft, images, and (non-archaeologically obtained) artefacts offered for donation by the public.

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Inboard marine engine

Marine engine, science and technology collection

Collections | Updated 1 years ago

The Marine Engine, Science and Technology Collection comprises of marine steam machinery, pumps and generators used on ships that operated off Western Australia’s coast.

The collection includes combustion engines made in Western Australia, and Australian engines with a strong Western Australian provenance. The Maritime History department also collects imported marine engines that have a strong Western Australian marine history or represent major trends in the history and development of marine engineering in this State.

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Artwork of the pilot boat Lady Forrest in high seas with a tug off the bow

Maritime History artworks

Collections | Updated 1 years ago

The Maritime History Art Collection comprises of paintings, etchings, watercolours and other art works representing maritime scenes and subjects, particularly ship portraits, that relate to Western Australian maritime history, or Western Australian maritime history in the context of the Indian Ocean.

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Australia II and Liberty sailing around the America’s Cup Buoy

Maritime History

Department | Updated 1 decade ago

Maritime History specialises in collections of images and artefacts representing the individuals, communities, and organisations that contribute to the maritime history and heritage of Western Australia. This includes: Aboriginal peoples, migrants, women, youth, employees, employers, government and non-government departments, marine artists and writers, maritime education, students, and researchers. The department is comprised of three staff, ten volunteers and four research associates.

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