Frozen Witness: Aurora's Polar Voyages
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Voyage back in time to the early stories of Australians in Antarctica through the journeys of SY Aurora, an Arctic whaler/sealer turned exploring vessel. This small exhibition features Aurora’s Arctic years under Captain James Fairweather and in Antarctica, the expeditions of Sir Douglas Mawson and Sir Ernest Shackleton through the remarkable story of a wooden vessel pitched into the icy unknown.
Alongside the lifebuoy, this small exhibition features a selection of evocative objects and images from the National Maritime Collection, and other public collections, including Museums Victoria, Royal Australian Navy Heritage Collections, Canterbury Museum and the Maritime History Archive at the Memorial University of Newfoundland as well as early vision from the National Film and Sound Archive.
‘The story of this vessel, SY Aurora, touches lives and keynotes from the early history of Antarctic exploration and Australia’s part in it, in expeditions, especially that of Sir Douglas Mawson, which contributed to Australia’s territorial claim to more than 42% of the continent in the Antarctic Treaty of 1959.’
Daina Fletcher, Senior Curator
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‘This small exhibition features a selection of historic objects donated to the National Maritime Collection from family members which will thrill visitors through the drama, ambition, expertise and poignancy they embody.’
Daina Fletcher, Senior Curator
