South Australian Maritime Museum facts for kids
 |
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Established | 1986 |
|---|---|
| Location | Port Adelaide, South Australia |
| Type | Maritime museum |
The South Australian Maritime Museum is a special place in Port Adelaide, South Australia. It's a museum run by the state government. It opened in 1986 in some old buildings. Port Adelaide is known as South Australia's first heritage area. The museum is part of the History Trust of South Australia.
Contents
Discover the Maritime Museum
The museum is set up in two old stone buildings. These buildings were once used to store goods. They were built way back in the 1850s.
What You Can Do at the Museum
Visitors can climb the Port Adelaide Lighthouse. This lighthouse was built in 1869. It used to stand at the entrance to the Port River. You can also go on boat rides! School groups can ride the naval boat Archie Badenoch. This boat was built in 1942. Sometimes, the public can ride the steam tug Yelta. It was built in 1949.
Special Programs and Events
The museum always has new things happening. They have changing exhibitions. You can take tours of the museum. They also offer tours of the Torrens Island Quarantine Station. During school holidays, there are fun performances. They have programs just for schools. You can even enjoy historic dinners, music, and theatre events. The museum is known for being interactive. It offers creative and fun activities for everyone.
What You Can See Inside
The museum's exhibits cover many interesting topics. You can learn about explorers like Matthew Flinders and Nicolas Baudin. They explored the southern coast of Australia. You can also see what it was like for immigrants coming to Australia. This includes people who arrived in the 1830s, 1910s, and 1950s.
Other exhibits show health and medicine at sea. You can learn about South Australia's navy in the 1800s. There are displays about the World Wars of the 1900s. The museum also features the ketch traders. These small ships served southern ports for many years. You can learn about life in port towns. The museum also teaches about the Port River dolphins. One special item is Matthew Flinders' "Best Bower" anchor. He lost it in 1803. Divers found it in 1973.
Other Museum Buildings
The Maritime Museum also looks after the Weman Sailmakers loft. This building was made in 1864. The museum's offices are in the old Commercial Bank building. This building was built in 1888. Both are on Lipson Street, across from the main museum.
Amazing Collections
The Maritime Museum has a very old and important collection. It builds on what previous groups started. The Port Adelaide Institute began collecting items in 1872. This collection is now the oldest nautical collection in Australia.
What's in the Collection
Today, the museum has over 20,000 objects. These items tell stories about famous sea voyages. They also show what daily life was like. Some cool items include Captain Cook’s traveling chest. There's also a plaque Matthew Flinders left at Memory Cove in 1802. It was to remember lost sailors. You can see the trophy Hilda Harvey won. She won it for swimming through the Port in 1930. There are even boots that belonged to a ketch captain named Skug Cutler.
Highlights of the Collection
The museum has many items from famous explorations. These include objects from Macassan seafarers. There are also items from the voyages of Nicolas Baudin, Matthew Flinders, and John Franklin. The museum also has a strong collection about South Australia's old navy. This includes items from when HMCS Protector went to the Boxer Rebellion in 1900.
The museum has 17 figureheads. These are carved figures from the front of old ships. It's the biggest collection in Australia. The oldest one is from the Ville de Bourdeaux, built in 1836. The museum also has great collections of old swimwear. There are items from the Adelaide Steamship Company. You can see things from the Gulf Trip. This trip offered tours from 1906 to 1955. There are also items from the grain trade. This trade sent wheat and barley to Europe. It used windjammers that sailed around Cape Horn until 1949. The museum also has many items from underwater archaeology. These were given to it by the South Australian government.
Special Exhibitions
In 2016, the museum hosted a special exhibition. It was about the French explorer Nicolas Baudin. His voyage from 1800 to 1804 was celebrated. He mapped the southern coast of Australia. He also met Matthew Flinders at Encounter Bay. This exhibition traveled around Australia for two years. It came from the Museum d’Histoire Naturelle du Havre in France.
Museum Vessels
The Maritime Museum offers boat trips on two vessels. These are the steam tug Yelta and the navy work boat Archie Badenoch.
The Yelta and Archie Badenoch
The Yelta was built in 1949 at Cockatoo Island Dockyard. It has a steam engine that was originally for a warship. But the war ended, so the engine was not used. The Archie Badenoch was built in 1942. It was made by GMH's Birkenhead factory for the Royal Australian Navy. Later, it became South Australia's police rescue boat.
Older Vessels in the Collection
The oldest boats in the museum's collection are the timber ketch Annie Watt and the iron trader Nelcebee. The Annie Watt was built in 1870. The Nelcebee was shipped from Scotland in pieces. It was put together and launched in Port Adelaide in 1883. Both of these old boats are stored on land. The collection also includes Sir James Hardy’s championship sailing dinghies. There are also fishing cutters and a naval whaler.
Images for kids
-
The steam tug Yelta
-
The Archie Badenoch
-
The ketch Nelcebee
-
The steam tug Fearless
See also
- HMS Investigator Anchors
