Australian National Maritime Museum

Australian National Maritime Museum, historical museum in Sydney, New South Wales. On the western shore of Darling Harbour, part of Sydney’s premier tourist district, the Australian National Maritime Museum is only a short walk or monorail ride from the city centre. Opened in 1991 and housed in a distinctive building with a vast wave-shaped roof, the museum takes for its theme the special relationship Australians have with the sea and with boats of all kinds. Historical craft tied up at the museum’s wharves include the former Royal Australian Navy destroyer Vampire; the famous World War II commando boat Krait; a racing cutter of 1888; a pearling lugger from Broome in Western Australia; a Russian submarine; a colourful Vietnamese refugee boat; the 12-m yacht Australia II, winner of the 1983 America’s Cup Race; and Ken Wharby’s Spirit of Australia, unbeaten holder of the unofficial 1977 world speed record on water and the official record of 1978 (see Powerboat Racing). Permanent exhibitions present Aborigine and Torres Strait Islander life; the discoveries and early navigational methods of James Cook and Matthew Flinders; oceanic migration from convicts to recent Indochinese “boat people”; the whaling, sealing, fishing, and pearling industries; the Australian navy; leisure activities such as sailing and surfing; and Australia’s maritime links with the United States. Special exhibits are the anchor of Sirius, a ship of the First Fleet; Australia’s first submarine, used during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915; the Cape Bowling Green lighthouse, dating from 1874; and a variety of surfboards.