The Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) is a federally operated maritime museum in Darling Harbour, Sydney. After considering the idea of establishing a maritime museum<!--when?-->, the federal government announced that a national maritime museum would be constructed at Darling Harbour, tied into the New South Wales state government's redevelopment of the area for the Australian bicentenary in 1988. The museum building was designed by Philip Cox, and although an opening date of 1988 was initially set, construction delays, cost overruns, and disagreements between the state and federal governments over funding responsibility pushed the opening to 1991.

One of six museums directly operated by the federal government, the ANMM is the only one located outside of the Australian Capital Territory. The museum is structured around seven main galleries, focusing on the relationships between Indigenous Australians and the sea, the navigation of Australian waters, travel to Australia by sea and the naval defence of the nation. Four additional gallery spaces are used for temporary exhibits. Four museum ships – the HM Bark Endeavour Replica, the destroyer , the submarine and a replica of the Duyfken – are open to the public, while smaller historical vessels berthed outside can be viewed but not boarded.

History

Of the six museums operated directly by the federal government (the Australian National Maritime Museum, the Australian War Memorial, the National Museum of Australia, the National Gallery of Australia, the National Portrait Gallery, and Questacon), the Australian National Maritime Museum is the only one located outside the Australian Capital Territory. Proposals for the creation of such a museum had been under consideration over the preceding years.

The museum building was designed by Philip Cox, Richardson Taylor & Partners. The roof was shaped to invoke the image of billowing sails: the corrugated metal roof stands over tall on the west side, but drops significantly on the east. Later in the year, the Department for the Arts informed the museum that its staff would be reduced by 30% and it would undergo budget cuts, forcing the Australian National Maritime Museum to rely on contracted security and conservation staff, along with volunteer guides and attendants. It was resolved that New South Wales was responsible for the additional funding, and in October 1990, the museum building was handed over to the federal government. The Australian National Maritime Museum was opened on 30 November 1991.

Operating history

In order to achieve commercial sustainability, the Australian National Maritime Museum was directed by the federal government to institute entry fees: the second Australian national museum to do so after Questacon was opened in 1988. The entry fee for the museum itself was dropped in 2004 (although access to the museum ships was still charged), then was re-added in December 2011.

During the museum's first ten years of operation, 3.3 million visitors attended. The pavilion, which is located near the museum's naval vessels, was launched on 8 November 2015 under the name "Action Stations".

Directors

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! Order

! Officeholder

! Position title

! Start date

! End date

! Term in office

! Ref

|-

|align=center| || Kevin Sumption || Director ||align=center|2012 ||align=center|February 2022 ||align=right| ||

|-

|align=center| || Daryl Karp || Director ||align=center|4 July 2022 ||align=center|present ||align=right| ||

|}

Galleries and vessels

Galleries

There are several permanent exhibitions at the museum, each with different themes:

;Shaped by the Sea

:Explores maritime deep-time history, and the connections between Indigenous Australians and the sea.  At the centre of the exhibition is Dhaŋaŋ Dhukarr by the Mulka Project, a video art installation reflecting the themes of the gallery. Formerly the USA Gallery, which was the only gallery in a national museum funded by a foreign nation.

;Passengers

:Looks at the journeys made to Australia by various groups, from the original settlers to war brides, refugees, and cruise ship visitors.

;Navy

:Examines the role of the Royal Australian Navy (and before that, the Royal Navy Australian Squadron and colonial naval forces) in the defence of the nation. Notable exhibits include a working triple-expansion marine steam engine from the RAN anti-submarine net tender HMAS Kara Kara, the figurehead from Victorian colonial naval vessel HMVS Nelson, and a Fleet Air Arm Sikorsky S-70B-2 Seahawk helicopter suspended from the ceiling.

;Under Southern Skies

:Explores efforts to traverse and chart the waters around Australia made by various navigators throughout history, including Aboriginal Australians, Makassan traders, Polynesian seafarers and European explorers.  Formerly the Navigators gallery.

thumb|right|upright|The original lenses from the Tasman Island Lighthouse; centrepiece of the Tasman Light Gallery. The [[Westland Wessex helicopter in the background is suspended above the Navy Gallery]]

In addition, there are four other gallery spaces in the museum. The Tasman Light gallery contains the original lenses from the Tasman Island Lighthouse, and is used for temporary photographic exhibitions and as hireable space for functions. The other three galleries (two along the eastern side of the top level, and a third offset from the main body of the museum) are used separately or together to host temporary exhibitions.

Several other items are on display inside the museum, but not associated with any particular gallery. These include Spirit of Australia, the water speed record-holding motorboat, an anchor from , flagship of the First Fleet, and Blackmores First Lady, which was used by Australian Kay Cottee when she became the first woman to sail solo, nonstop, unassisted around the world.

Museum ships

The Australian National Maritime Museum's collection of museum ships focuses on four vessels that are open for public inspection: the HM Bark Endeavour Replica, the destroyer , the submarine and a replica of Dutch exploration vessel Duyfken. In addition, the 19th century barque James Craig is moored nearby and can be toured with a museum ticket.

thumb|The James Craig, a 19th-century ship. It is available to tour with a museum ticket.

thumb|300px|left|Three main vessels in the ANMM ship collection, the [[HM Bark Endeavour Replica|HM Bark Endeavour Replica, the destroyer , and the submarine , on display at the wharves outside the museum]]

During the mid-1980s, it was proposed that a replica of explorer James Cook's ship, HM Bark Endeavour, be constructed for the museum. Funding for construction was initially provided by the Bond Corporation, and construction began at the start of 1988. However, in 1990, the company ran into financial difficulties, and construction was unable to continue until a charitable trust was established in 1991 to complete and operate the replica Endeavour. The vessel was completed in 1994, and spent the next ten years sailing around Australia and the world before ownership was transferred to the Australian National Maritime Museum in 2005.

The Daring-class destroyer is the only ship of her class to be preserved, and was the last gun-destroyer to serve in the Royal Australian Navy. The Oberon-class submarine was introduced into RAN service in 1969. She was operated until early 1999, and was given to the museum that year. Despite no longer being in naval commission, Vampire and Onslow have permission to fly the Australian White Ensign. Prior to Onslows acquisition, the former Russian submarine Foxtrot-540 was on display at the museum from 1995 to 1998. The submarine had been purchased in 1994 by a group of Australian businessmen, and was placed on display for the duration of the lease purchase contract, after which the submarine was relocated to California. In addition to being open for public inspection, this vessel also conducts regular cruises around Sydney Harbour.

thumb|350px|Some of the small vessels on display at the Australian National Maritime Museum. Foreground (left to right): refugee vessel Tu Do, racing yacht [[Akarana (without masts), pearling lugger John Lewis, ketch Kathleen Gillett, naval officer's launch MB 172, and a museum workboat. In the background are the lightvessel Carpenteria, the barque James Craig, and the original Cape Bowling Green Lighthouse.]]

Other vessels on display (but not open for public boarding) include:

  • , one of twenty Attack-class patrol boats built by the RAN during the 1960s to patrol Australia's northern waters.
  • Bareki, the last timber-built tugboat in service with the NSW Maritime Services Board. The tugboat was built in 1962, and primarily used for dredging and towing work between Port Kembla and Newcastle. The yacht competed in the first Sydney to Hobart race, and was the second Australian yacht to circumnavigate the globe.
  • , a fishing trawler used during World War II for Operation Jaywick, a commando operation to scuttle Japanese vessels in Singapore harbour. She was sold off after the war and used as a workboat for the Indonesian timber trade, but was rediscovered by Australian special forces veterans in 1962.

Other facilities

thumb|View of the museum and [[Cape Bowling Green Lighthouse from Pyrmont bay wharf.]]

The 1874-built Cape Bowling Green Lighthouse, originally located at Cape Bowling Green, near Townsville, Queensland, was relocated to the Australian National Museum site in 1987. On 21 March 2021, Governor-General David Hurley AC DSC (Rtd) declared the Welcome Wall as Australia's "National Monument to Migration".

Other collections

The museum has over 1,000 Bardi performance objects known as ilma, but they were still unavailable for public viewing in 2018. The Bardi are an Australian Aboriginal people of the Dampier Peninsula in Western Australia.

See also

  • List of colonial vessels of New South Wales

References

Sources

Books

News and journal articles

  • of the Australian National Maritime Museum
  • Online Catalogue of the Australian National Maritime Museum
  • Flickr Account of the Australian National Maritime Museum
  • Australian National Maritime Museum at Sydney.com
  • Australian National Maritime Museum at Google Cultural Institute