Our collections

Discover our rich and diverse collection

Whether you are digging further into story you know or looking to uncover something new, the museum's collections are a great place to start. 

When you’re part of our community of supporters, you’re helping to preserve Australia’s history and celebrate our connection to the sea.

It’s with your support that we’re able to engage future generations in conversations about our maritime heritage, who we are as a country and as a people by connecting them with stories, objects, people and places of the past.

Whether you’re an individual, a family foundation, a corporate, or just keen to get involved, you can choose from a number of rewarding ways to support us and join our unique and passionate community.

The National Maritime Collection

The Museum began collecting maritime artefacts long before it opened its doors and now looks after more than 160,000 objects that cover a rich and diverse range of historic artefacts.

2 museum volunteers, one male one femaile, dusting a collection object in the museum's object stores.

The Australian Register of Historic Vessels

The Australian Register of Historic Vessels (ARHV) is the definitive online repository for vessels with significance to Australia’s maritime history.

Pile of library books with different coloured covers sitting on the side of a wooden boat.

The Vaughan Evans Library

Make an appointment to come into our library to research migration stories, family history, shipping records, maritime heritage, naval history and much more!

Publications

From time to time the museum publishes books and exhibition catalogues. These are available at the museum and in our online store. 

We also publish Signals, the museum's quarterly magazine covering fascinating stories of maritime history, exhibition and events news, behind-the-scenes at the museum, member's updates, volunteer profiles, book reviews and more.  A physical copy of the magazine is included in museum membership, or can be purchased from the museum shop.

Photograph of a laptop and iPad on a wooden table. The iPad shows the cover of a magazine called Signals.
Cover of signals magazine, with an images of a blue wave. the magazine is sitting on a wooden table.