Water Stories come alive this History Week at the Australian National Maritime Museum

Australian National Maritime Museum

To celebrate the 2025 History Week theme Water Stories, the Australian National Maritime Museum will host a series of free talks throughout History Week which unpack Australia’s maritime history and feature stories of many objects from the National Maritime Collection.

From discussions of colonial-era boats to the Japanese submarine strike on Sydney Harbour, and stories of the devastating ways in which floods can affect a community, these talks span a variety of different eras and topics that highlight how water fundamentally underpins Australian history.

Presenting these talks are many of the Museum’s curators and educators whose expertise and experience working with the National Maritime Collection allows for in-depth discussions and insights.

The Museum’s Head of Knowledge, Dr. Peter Hobbins, has said, ‘We’re offering a new topic every day throughout History Week, so there is literally something for everybody. Let us know how maritime history connects with you!’

History Week runs from September 6-14, with free talks being held at the Museum Theatre almost every single day within the week. For more information on this talk series or to book, please see below.

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Sydney Invaded! The American Fleet of 1925 and the British Pacific Fleet of 1945 – This year marks the anniversaries of two spectacular visits to Sydney by foreign navies. In 1925, the US Navy filled Sydney Harbour with eight battleships and support vessels, while at the same time sending another three battleships, six cruisers and 24 destroyers to Port Philip Bay. Were they sending a message? If so, to whom, and why? Two decades later, as World War II ended, the British Pacific Fleet sailed into Sydney Harbour, boasting its own complement of battleships and what had become the prime instrument of naval warfare – aircraft carriers. As a symbol of Britain’s industrial base and belated engagement with the Pacific Theatre, here was another message being sent to Australians. But who was listening? This presentation by Dr Peter Hobbins asks what happened when our allies invaded Sydney, including stories about capital ships, aircraft accidents, racism and romance.

Dates: Sunday 7 September
Times:  2:00pm
Booking: Bookings required, book here.
Price: Free

Boats up the river: how two colonial-era boats reveal Sydney’s early water transport systems - Recent development of Sydney’s modern transport infrastructure uncovered two colonial-era boats during archaeological works. One extraordinary discovery in 2018 was an almost intact boat dating as far back as the 1810s, found during excavations for Sydney Metro’s Barangaroo Station. What do we know about how and why this boat was built, and what can it tell us about the adaptation of European shipwright’s traditions to Australian timbers and waters? Another colonial relic was the remains of another boat found on the Hawkesbury River at Windsor. Its archaeology helps us understand why water transport remained critical to commerce and community in the later nineteenth century. These impressive survivors have provided a rare insight into the beginnings of early Sydney region’s rivers and port. 

Dates: Monday 8 September
Times: 2:00pm
Booking: Bookings required, register here.
Price: Free

Seas and trees: an immigrant colonial carpenter who helped build Sydney- Scottish carpenter Alexander Robertson sailed to Sydney on the clipper ship Samuel Plimsoll in 1883. A beautiful clipper ship beloved by sailors and immigrants alike, Samuel Plimsoll was launched in 1873 and regularly voyaged from Plymouth in England to Sydney. Many of its passengers were skilled tradespeople who helped build Sydney during the boom years of the 1870s and 1880s, including builders, stonemasons, joiners and carpenters. While many shipboard diaries cease when vessels arrived in Sydney Harbour, Alexander continued to keep notes on his work sites, construction materials and his own homes. His handwritten diary tells us about his journey here and the legacies he left by building homes across the colonial city.

Dates: Tuesday 9 September
Times: 2:00pm
Booking: Bookings required, register here.
Price: Free

Secret strike! Japan’s clandestine submarine attack on Sydney Harbour - What was it like to face your enemy, submerged in a compartment the size of a telephone booth? This presentation discusses the history, archaeology and human legacies of the 1942 Japanese midget submarine strike on Sydney Harbour. It includes accounts from both the Japanese and Australian participants, including other Japanese midget submarine raids in Hawaii and Madagascar. How prepared was Sydney Harbour six months into the Pacific War, and who responded to the crisis. Furthermore, what does the archaeology of the Japanese submarines – including a section of M22 currently on display in the museum – tell us about the conditions for living, fighting and dying in a clandestine attack craft?

Dates: Wednesday 10 September
Times: 2:00pm
Booking: Bookings required, register here.
Price: Free

Water that destroys – museums and floods- Water is life and part of our culture, but it also takes our culture away. Australians were both shocked and galvanised by the unprecedented floods that affected the Tweed region of northern NSW in 2022, especially Lismore. While towns can rebuild or even relocate in the aftermath of such disasters, what helps bind together a community suffering from such profound disruption? What role can understanding their own histories play in maintaining a sense of belonging, as well as nurturing new approaches to living with our changing environment? In particular, how do museums cope with the constant threat of floodwaters, and how does the aftermath of such an event impact smaller and regional museums? Join this conversation between the museum’s curators and conservators with Dr Geoff Kerr, who oversaw the cleanup after Lismore Museum was hit by record floods in 2022. 

Dates: Friday 12 September
Times: 2pm
Booking: Bookings required, register here.
Price: Free

Go toward the light! The lighthouse in the middle of Sydney- Why is there a massive lighthouse in the middle of Sydney? The former Cape Bowling Green Lighthouse in Darling Harbour has had many homes, plus numerous stories of Aboriginal peoples, cyclones, shipwrecks and even a marauding crocodile! But how did it get to Sydney Harbour from northern Queensland – indeed, how is that even possible? This presentation discusses the urgent need for lighthouses in the 1870s, including novel designs that allowed for imported iron plating to be installed over local wooden frameworks. It also asks why the Cape Bowling Green lighthouse was placed in a specific location, before being moved to a better site. Learn about how effective lighthouses are at saving vessels, as well as the tragic story of SS Yongala, which vanished nearby in 1911.

Dates: Saturday 13 September
Times: 2pm
Booking: Bookings required, register here.
Price: Free

ENDS

For media enquiries please contact:

Alex Gonzalez                               e: [email protected]                                          m: 0401 545 778