Collections

Collections

The National Maritime collection contains a rich and diverse range of over 140,000 historic artefacts.

Due to the sheer size of our collection, only a fraction of the Australian National Maritime Museum’s objects can be on display at any one time. 

Don't let our lack of physical space get in the way of making new discoveries. You can explore a rich and diverse collection of artefacts online ranging from rocket boats to gold buttons, and discover a wealth of remarkable stories.

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Colonial Wallpapers - Pacific Encounters

 

Based on the conventions and elements of early European sea charts, the painting 'Colonial Wallpapers - Pacific Encounters' incorporates a central compass rose, rumb lines and wind gods in a reconstruction of the Pacific.

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From the collection

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Illustrated log of the whaling barque TERROR

Illustrated log of the Terror

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HMT Queen Mary assisted by a tug

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Hobart Town 1856

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Arch in the Sky

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Emeret Nar: ghost net canoe

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The Charlotte Medal

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Building the lighthouse

How to build a lighthouse

20 Aug 2017

In 1993, the Australian National Maritime Museum was ready the rebuild the Cape Bowling Green Light. This visual story shows how the lighthouse was rebuilt piece by piece at Darling Harbour.

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How to move a lighthouse

08 Aug 2017

How do you move a building from a remote cape in far north Queensland? In 1987 the 113-year old Cape Bowling Green Light was superseded by radar beacon, decommissioned and sold to the Australian National Maritime Museum.

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Senior men’s championship winners on the podium: 1 Midget Farrelly, Australia (centre), 2 Mike Doyle, California (left), 3 Joey Cabell, Hawaii (right).

The Bulk of the Iceberg: What's NOT On Display at the Museum

04 Jul 2017

One of the issues we readily face in the museum world is how to increase the proportion of our collection that is accessible to the public. The unfortunate reality is that due to collection size and the display space available the percentage of the collection on display at any one time is limited to approximately 9%.

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