Sydney’s National Maritime Museuem Critical to Understanding Australia
The National Maritime Museum has several permanent displays, as well as a selection of rotating shows. When I was there, one of the big special shows was “Sailor Style” which looked at naval uniforms throughout history, and how they have infiltrated pop culture. Display items included historical uniform examples, the costumes from Master and Commander (with a swatch book so you could feel the fabrics and understand how they were effected by water and salt) and a number of video installations that included everything from the Village People’s In the Navy video to Gene Kelly clips. This range of items was both fascinating and hillarious, and a good insight into the playful nature of Australia’s astuteness about pop-culture.
Other exhibits are more serious and include stunning artifacts from the age of exploration and European settlement, fascinating materials on convicts migrants and refugees (one of the things that’s important to understand about Australia, is that until relatively recently if a person emigrated to Australia, they never left it again, the voyage and the cost were both so prohibitive – this, combined with the early use of the continent as a prison island, has embedded itself in Australia’s culture in myriad and fascinating ways), economic and commercial history, and the relationship between indigineous communities and teh sea.
Also on site at The National Maritime Museum are several ships that can be explored (unlike visiting the museum itself, which is free, admittance to the ships does cost), including the stunning replica of Captain James Cook’s Endeavor (which has been travelling for 11 years, and is now again in Darling Harbour). The museum also has a number of tours and educational programs available. Additionally, their research library is made available to the public by appointment. The level of access at the museum’s library is truly amazing, and is a book to scholars, students and serious hobbiests alike.
Finally, The National Maritime Museum and Darling Harbour are home to The Welcome Wall, which pays tribute to the millions of people who crossed the world to settle in Australia. This project is similar to the Ellis Island project in the United States. For a small fee families can document their story of Australian arrival in a searchable database and on the wall itself. the wall features not just names of th arrivees – free settler, convict and immigrant alike – but also quotes on various arrivals in Australia. This jumble of phrases on first views of a new world is incredibly moving.
The entirety of Australia’s National Maritime Museum is definitely worth a visit, and I recommend that you go early in your trip (it was my first stop). Located at Darling Harbour, it is easy to get to by several types of public transit (although unless you take the ferry, expect to do some walking, as the Darling Harbour area and plaza is huge), and is surrounded by other tourist opportunities, restaurants and shopping, and thus easily integrated with the rest of your trip.
