Established | 1991 |
---|---|
Location | Darling Harbour, Pyrmont, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (Map) |
Coordinates | 33°52′09″S151°11′55″E / 33.869167°S 151.198611°E Coordinates: 33°52′09″S151°11′55″E / 33.869167°S 151.198611°E |
Type | Maritime museum |
Director | Daryl Karp AM (2022–present) |
Chairperson | John Mullen |
Architect | Philip Cox, Richardson Taylor & Partners |
Owner | Australian Government; via the Department of Communications and the Arts |
Public transit access | |
Website | www |
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, 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 HMAS Vampire, the submarine HMAS Onslow and a replica of the Duyfken – are open to the public, while smaller historical vessels berthed outside can be viewed but not boarded.
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. [1] The museum is administered by the Department of Communications and the Arts on behalf of the Australian Government.
In June 1985, the federal government announced the establishment of a national museum focusing on Australia's maritime history and the nation's ongoing involvement and dependence on the sea. [2] Proposals for the creation of such a museum had been under consideration over the preceding years. [3] After lobbying by New South Wales Premier Neville Wran, the decision was made to situate the new museum at Darling Harbour, and construct it as part of the area's redevelopment. [2] [3] The building of the ANMM was seen by both the federal and New South Wales State governments as an important feature of the redevelopment, as it would be a major drawcard, and help fuel the commercial success of the precinct. [4]
The museum building was designed by Philip Cox, Richardson Taylor & Partners. [5] The roof was shaped to invoke the image of billowing sails: the corrugated metal roof stands over 25 metres (82 ft) tall on the west side, but drops significantly on the east. [5]
During development, the museum ran into a series of difficulties. In March 1998, the three top members of the ANMM interim council were sacked by the federal government and replaced. [3] 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. [3] The acceptance of a US$5 million grant for a dedicated gallery showing the links between the US and Australia resulted in the displacement of much of the staff and research areas. [3] Most of these were later established in the nearby Wharf 7 building.[ citation needed ]
The museum was initially slated to open in 1988, but by October that year, construction delays had pushed the planned opening date to September 1989, and the project was already $12.5 million over the $30 million budget. [3] Construction was completed on 17 November 1989; the cost of the museum's construction had increased to $70 million, and although the Federal government was willing to pay the initial $30 million, there were disagreements between the state and federal governments over who had to supply the additional $40 million. [6] 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. [7] The Australian National Maritime Museum was opened on 30 November 1991. [1]
In order to achieve commercial sustainability, the Australian National Maritime Museum was directed by the federal government to institute entry fees: [8] the second Australian national museum to do so after Questacon was opened in 1988. [9] 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. [10]
During the museum's first ten years of operation, 3.3 million visitors attended. [1]
In 2010, London's The Sunday Times listed the Australian National Maritime Museum in its "World's 10 Coolest Museums". [10]
At the start of 2014, the Australian National Maritime Museum announced that it would build a pavilion to showcase exhibits related to the Royal Australian Navy. [11] The pavilion, which is located near the museum's naval vessels, was launched on 8 November 2015 under the name "Action Stations". [11]
In 2019, the museum underwent an extensive modernisation of its branding. Design firm Frost*collective was engaged to create a new, simplified logo and branding scheme, which was then implemented across staff uniforms, advertising, exterior building signage, websites and the museum's regular publication, Signals. [12] [13] [14]
Order | Officeholder | Position title | Start date | End date | Term in office | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kevin Sumption | Director | 2012 | February 2022 | ||
2 | Daryl Karp | Director | 4 July 2022 | present | [15] |
There are several permanent exhibitions at the museum, each with different themes:
In addition, there are four other gallery spaces in the museum. The Tasman Light gallery contains the original lenses from the Tasman Island Lighthouse, [20] 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 HMS Sirius, 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.
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 HMAS Vampire, the submarine HMAS Onslow 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.
During the mid-1980s, it was proposed that a replica of explorer James Cook's ship, HM Bark Endeavour, be constructed for the museum. [21] Funding for construction was initially provided by the Bond Corporation, and construction began at the start of 1988. [22] 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. [23] 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. [24]
The Daring-class destroyer HMAS Vampire (D11) is the only ship of her class to be preserved, and was the last gun-destroyer to serve in the Royal Australian Navy. [25] Vampire was commissioned into the RAN in 1959, and served until 1986. [25] The destroyer was loaned to the museum on its opening in 1991, and was transferred completely to museum ownership in 1997. [25] [26] The Oberon-class submarine HMAS Onslow was introduced into RAN service in 1969. [27] She was operated until early 1999, and was given to the museum that year. [28] Despite no longer being in naval commission, Vampire and Onslow have permission to fly the Australian White Ensign. [29] Prior to Onslow's acquisition, the former Russian submarine Foxtrot-540 was on display at the museum from 1995 to 1998. [30] 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. [30]
A replica of the Duyfken , a Dutch East India Company exploration vessel with historical significance as the first recorded European ship to visit Australian shores, was added to the museum's fleet in 2020. [31] In addition to being open for public inspection, this vessel also conducts regular cruises around Sydney Harbour. [32]
Other vessels on display (but not open for public boarding) include:
The 1874-built Cape Bowling Green Lighthouse, originally located at Cape Bowling Green, near Townsville, Queensland, [35] was relocated to the Australian National Museum site in 1987. [35]
The Vaughan Evans Library is the research library attached to the ANMM, and is a collecting agency on maritime matters.
The Welcome Wall is a bronze wall located on the northern side of the museum, which lists the names of immigrants who arrived by sea to settle in Australia. Having a name engraved on the wall requires an application to the museum, and the paying of a fee. [39] On 21 March 2021, Governor-General David Hurley AC DSC (Rtd) declared the Welcome Wall as Australia's "National Monument to Migration". [39] In 2021, the wall contained more than 30,000 names. [39]
A Harding safety lifeboat and davit is fitted on the water's edge. [38] This lifeboat, of a design commonly used aboard offshore drilling platforms and tanker ships, is used by the Sydney Institute of TAFE for maritime training. [38]
The Australian Maritime College conducts some postgraduate programs from the precinct. [40]
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. [41]
HMS Endeavour was a British Royal Navy research vessel that Lieutenant James Cook commanded to Australia and New Zealand on his first voyage of discovery from 1768 to 1771.
Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea. It is the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. The location of the first European settlement and colony on the Australian mainland, Port Jackson has continued to play a key role in the history and development of Sydney.
Duyfken, also in the form Duifje or spelled Duifken or Duijfken, was a small ship built in the Dutch Republic. She was a fast, lightly armed ship probably intended for shallow water, small valuable cargoes, bringing messages, sending provisions, or privateering. The tonnage of Duyfken has been given as 25-30 lasten.
HMAS Advance was an Attack-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Constructed during 1967 and commissioned into the RAN in 1968, Advance operated from Darwin and patrolled northern Australian waters.
HMAS AE1 was an E-class submarine of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). She was the first submarine to serve in the RAN, and was lost at sea with all hands near what is now East New Britain, Papua New Guinea, on 14 September 1914, after less than seven months in service. Search missions attempting to locate the wreck began in 1976. The submarine was found during the 13th search mission near the Duke of York Islands in December 2017.
HMAS Onslow is one of six Oberon-class submarines, decommissioned in 1999 and previously operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The submarine was named after the town of Onslow, Western Australia, and Sir Alexander Onslow, with the boat's motto and badge derived from Onslow's family heritage. Ordered in 1963, Onslow was laid down at the end of 1967 by Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in Scotland, launched almost a year later, and commissioned into the RAN at the end of 1969.
HMAS Orion was an Oberon class submarine of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). One of six submarines ordered by the RAN during the 1960s, Orion, named after the constellation in a break from ship-naming tradition, was built in Scotland and commissioned in 1977. Orion was one of two Oberon-class submarines designed for intelligence gathering and conducted regular patrols in Soviet, Indian and Chinese waters to gather information regarding enemy capabilities.
HMAS Otama was an Oberon-class submarine of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built in Scotland, the submarine was the last of the class to enter service when commissioned into the RAN in 1978. Otama was a specialist, one of two "Mystery Boats", fitted with additional surveillance and intelligence-gathering equipment. Otama was routinely deployed on classified operations to obtain intelligence on Soviet Pacific Fleet vessels and Chinese Navy vessels, and conducted associated coastal surveillance, throughout Asia.
HMAS Ovens was an Oberon-class submarine of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). She was one of six Oberons built for the Royal Australian Navy by the Scottish Scotts Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, and entered service in 1969. The vessel was named for Irishman and Australian explorer John Ovens (1788–1825) and for whom the Victorian river Ovens was named. During her career, Ovens was the first RAN submarine to deploy with the ANZUK force, and the first RAN submarine to fire an armed Mark 48 torpedo, sinking the target ship Colac. The boat was decommissioned in 1995, and is preserved at the Western Australian Maritime Museum as a museum ship.
HMAS Vampire was the third of three Australian-built Daring class destroyers serving in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). One of the first all-welded ships built in Australia, she was constructed at Cockatoo Island Dockyard between 1952 and 1959, and was commissioned into the RAN a day after completion.
The Australian White Ensign is a naval ensign used by ships of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) from 1967 onwards. From the formation of the RAN until 1967, Australian warships used the British White Ensign as their ensign. However, this led to situations where Australian vessels were mistaken for British ships, and when Australia became involved in the Vietnam War, the RAN was effectively fighting under the flag of another, uninvolved nation. Proposals were made in 1965 for a unique Australian ensign, which was approved in 1966, and entered use in 1967.
The Cockatoo Island Dockyard was a major dockyard in Sydney, Australia, based on Cockatoo Island. The dockyard was established in 1857 to maintain Royal Navy warships. It later built and repaired military and battle ships, and played a key role in sustaining the Royal Australian Navy. The dockyard was closed in 1991, and its remnants are heritage listed as the Cockatoo Island Industrial Conservation Area.
In late May and early June 1942, during World War II, Imperial Japanese Navy submarines made a series of attacks on the Australian cities of Sydney and Newcastle. On the night of 31 May – 1 June, three Ko-hyoteki-class midget submarines, each with a two-member crew, entered Sydney Harbour, avoided the partially constructed Sydney Harbour anti-submarine boom net, and attempted to sink Allied warships. Two of the midget submarines were detected and attacked before they could engage any Allied vessels. The crew of M-14 scuttled their submarine, whilst M-21 was successfully attacked and sunk. The crew of M-21 killed themselves. These submarines were later recovered by the Allies. The third submarine attempted to torpedo the heavy cruiser USS Chicago, but instead sank the converted ferry HMAS Kuttabul, killing 21 sailors. This midget submarine's fate was unknown until 2006, when amateur scuba divers discovered the wreck off Sydney's northern beaches.
The Fleet Base East is a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) major fleet base that comprises several naval establishments and facilities clustered around Sydney Harbour, centred on HMAS Kuttabul. The Fleet Base East extends beyond the borders of Kuttabul and includes the commercially-operated dockyard at Garden Island, and adjacent wharf facilities at nearby Woolloomooloo, east of the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. Fleet Base East is one of two major facilities of the RAN, the other facility being the Fleet Base West. The fleet operates in the Pacific Ocean.
HMAS Otway was an Oberon-class submarine of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). One of the first four Oberon-class boats ordered for the RAN, Otway was built in Scotland during the mid-1960s, and commissioned into naval service in 1968. The submarine was decommissioned in 1994. The submarine's upper casing, fin, and stern are preserved at Holbrook, New South Wales.
HMAS Watson is a Royal Australian Navy (RAN) base on Sydney Harbour at South Head, near Watsons Bay in Sydney, Australia. Commissioned in 1945, the base served as the RAN's radar training school. In 1956, torpedo and anti-submarine warfare training were relocated to the base, and by 2011, Watson was the main maritime warfare training base, as well as providing post-entry education for maritime warfare officers, training for combat system and electronic warfare sailors, and command training.
HMAS Oxley was an Oberon class submarine of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).
The State Dockyard was a ship building and maintenance facility operated by the Government of New South Wales in Carrington, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia between 1942 and 1987.
HM Bark Endeavour Replica is one of two replicas of HMS Endeavour, the bark commanded by Lieutenant James Cook when he charted New Zealand and the eastern coast of Australia. The initial idea of recreating Endeavour for use as a museum ship was born during the establishment of the Australian National Maritime Museum in the 1980s; the vessel was to be funded by the Bond Corporation and gifted to the nation upon completion. A specialist shipyard was established, complete with viewing platform and guided tours for the public, and construction of the vessel commenced in 1988. Two years later, work stopped because the Bond Corporation hit financial trouble; the Japanese company Yoshiya Corporation stepped in but was also forced to withdraw support because of financial problems.
Commonwealth Lightship 4 (CLS4) Carpentaria is a lightship that was in service from 1917 to 1985 with the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service, built at the Cockatoo Island Dockyard and commissioned in 1917. The vessel is named after the Gulf of Carpentaria, where it spent most of its service life together with its sister ship CLS2.
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