Acknowledgement of Country
The Australian National Maritime Museum acknowledges the Gadigal people of the Eora nation as the Traditional Custodians of the bamal (earth) and badu (waters) on which we work.
We also acknowledge all Traditional Custodians of the land and waters throughout Australia and pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to Elders past and present.
Throughout 2020 the museum will host several exhibitions which bring to life differing perspectives from those onboard the ship and those on the shore.
Art and objects from the 18th-century, through to contemporary Indigenous work, will elicit discussion and encourage all Australians to rethink our history.
Main image: View of the East Coast Encounter - Reimagining 1770 exhibition at the Australian National Maritime Museum, 2014.
Defying Empire
Image: Tony Albert - The Hand You’re Dealt, 2016. Courtesy of the artist and Sullivan + Strumpf, Photo: Sam Noonan. Purchased 2017 in recognition of the 50th Anniversary of the 1967 Referendum.
Defying Empire: third National Indigenous Art Triennial from the National Gallery of Australia commemorates the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Referendum that recognised Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as Australians for the first time. It explores the ongoing resilience of Australia’s Indigenous people since first contact, through to the historical fight for recognition and ongoing activism in the present day.
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Here: Kupe to Cook
Image: Takitimu Landing Site, Waimarama by Yuki Kihara, 2017
This exhibition dismantles misconceptions about the discovery of Aotearoa New Zealand, providing a deeper understanding to the people and places of the Pacific Ocean. Here: Kupe to Cook features artworks by 20 leading Aotearoa New Zealand and Australian contemporary artists who investigate the long and varied histories of South Pacific voyaging – from Kupe to the arrival of James Cook in 1769.
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Under Southern Skies
Image: Kulba Yadail (Old Lyrics) by Billy Missi tells the story of how Torres Strait Islanders learn to read the stars, moon and the sea. Australian National Maritime Collection.
From the observation of the transit of Venus, to the importance of the night sky in Torres Strait Islander navigation and voyaging – planets and stars unite the long history of all navigators around Australia. In 2020 the Navigators gallery will be redeveloped to include new acquisitions and collection objects from Indigenous Australian and Pacific navigation, as well as a selection of important new material associated with James Cook and other European navigators. A highlight will be the temporary display of the so-called ‘secret orders’ issued to Cook outlining the mission for HMB Endeavour after observing the transit of Venus in 1769.
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Ship and Shore
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This exhibition examines James Cook's voyage and its legacy, incorporating perspectives both of those aboard the Endeavour and the Indigenous inhabitants watching it from the shore. It was a pivotal moment when two cultures – neither able to communicate or comprehend the other's world, collided with near fatal consequences for the Indigenous custodians of the land, and their culture – a culture which we now know stretches back at least 60,000 years.
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Cook and the Pacific
Image: Cookie in Te Wai Pounamu Meets Cook Strait by Michel Tuffery, 2011, courtesy of the artist and Andrew Baker Art Dealer, Brisbane
Drawn from the National Library of Australia's major 2018–19 international exhibition, this multimedia display follows James Cook's three Pacific voyages and explore this spectacular region through the eyes of the British voyagers and the First Nations peoples they met.
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Paradise Lost: Daniel Solander’s Legacy
Image: John McLean, Solander and Banks Bag Fish and Fowl, 2019, woodblock. Courtesy of the artist and Solander Gallery.
This exhibition commemorates the legacy of the Endeavour botanist Daniel Solander and the first encounter between Sweden and the Pacific Region. It features fine art prints by ten leading contemporary New Zealand artists selected to bring a unique vision to this historical event and Solander’s legacy. It will also feature Australian Indigenous scientific knowledges as a framework to explore engravings of botanical specimens collected in Australia by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander from the national maritime collection.
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Seascapes
Image: Artwork by Paul Rousteau
Experience HMB Endeavour through a different lens. Invited by the the Australian National Maritime Museum and the Embassy of France, Rousteau undertook a residency aboard the vessel on a voyage from Sydney to Noumea in 2019. The photographs he took during this voyage will be displayed in this illuminating exhibition.
