Blog

Screenshot from the PS 'Herald' VR experience

The PS 'Herald' VR Experience: Seven students, one virtual dive

14 Sep 2020

How do you share a historic shipwreck with those who aren't divers or maritime archaeologists? The museum's Curator of RAN Maritime Archaeology, Dr James Hunter, teamed up with Professor Holger Deuter and seven masters students from Germany's University of Applied Sciences, Kaiserslautern to allow anyone to participate in a 'virtual dive' on PS Herald, a wrecked sidewheel steamship that lies off North Head at the entrance to Sydney Harbour.

A discarded motorbike transforms from trash to treasure by creating habitat for small fish and invertebrate growth in the Cabbage Tree Bay Aquatic Reserve off Manly

Submerged secrets: Life thrives beneath Sydneys waterways

11 Sep 2020

Beneath the surface of Sydney's waterways and coastal strip is a surprising and wild marine metropolis waiting to be discovered, writes photojournalist and marine biologist Justin Gilligan.

Henry Lippmann (centre, with hand on chin) during a lesson at the Jewish ORT school in Berlin, Germany, c 1939. ANMM Collection ANMS0219[007], gift from Henry Lippmann

Behind barbed wire: Remembering the Dunera boys

07 Sep 2020

Yesterday marked 80 years since the hired military transport Dunera sailed into Pyrmont, Sydney. To mark the 80th anniversary, we look at the story of the late Henry Lippmann OAM and his journey on this infamous voyage.

The Wilson family outside their home in Concord, New South Wales, 1948. Reproduced courtesy Victor Wilson Jnr

Fruits of faith: Finding a place to call home

28 Aug 2020

Against the backdrop of the Communist Revolution in China, the Wilson family made a temporary migration from Northern Ireland that would lead to their permanent home in Australia.

A small selection of the museum's Dunbar collection, purchased with the assistance of the Andrew Thyne Reid Charitable Trust

The melancholy wreck of the 'Dunbar'

20 Aug 2020

On this day in 1857, the Dunbar wrecked near the entrance to Sydney Harbour. With the loss of 121 passengers and crew, the wreck is one of Australia's worst maritime disasters in peacetime. Museum maritime archaeologist Kieran Hosty recounts the fateful night and aftermath of this tragic event.

Australian military observers being welcomed by Republican officers in Yogyakarta on 14 September 1947. National Library of Australia.

75th anniversary of Indonesian independence

17 Aug 2020

On this day 75 years ago Indonesia declared independence from colonial Dutch rule. Curator Stephen Gapps looks back on this historic event and Australia's role in supporting Indonesia during its struggle.

The second pilot steamer Captain Cook (II) was designed by W D Cruikshank and built at Mort’s Dock & Engineering Company in 1892. Used as a naval training ship during World War II, it was scuttled off Sydney in October 1947. Photographed c 1920 by William James Hall. ANMM Collection ANMS1092[015] Gift from Mr and Mrs Glassford

'Not all beer and skittles': Sydney Harbour pilotage

07 Aug 2020

Since colonial times, pilots have guided vessels safely into and out of ports throughout New South Wales. Curator of Ocean Science and Technology Emily Jateff looks into the work of the Port Authority of New South Wales and its highly trained pilots.

Fast Five: Quick questions with some of Australia's most important ocean defenders

04 Aug 2020

Before they speak at this Thursday's free virtual Ocean Talk, we asked ocean experts and innovators Jeff Hansen, Julia Reisser and Tim Silverwood your burning questions.