The museum works not just with academia but with commercial organisations such as publishers. We are particularly proud of co-producing a line of limited edition facsimile publications, the Australian Maritime Series, in conjunction with the rare-book specialist Hordern House. The most recent in this series, which began when the museum opened in 1991, was the landmark publication Cook, the Discoverer by the naturalist Georg Forster who sailed with Cook on his second world circumnavigation in 1772–75. It comprises a 106-page exact facsimile of the rare original German work of 1787, accompanied by a 116-page, newly commissioned English translation with an introductory essay by Dr Nigel Erskine, curator of exploration at the Australian National Maritime Museum.
significant, collaborative online databases. The results of these investigations will appear in future permanent and temporary exhibitions at themuseum, incorporating greater levels of computer interactivity. The other ARC project undertaken – now nearly completed – is Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science: A comparative analysis. This has brought us together with the New South Wales Department of Education and Training and the Northern Territory’s Yirrkala Schools Council and Buku Larrngay Mulka arts and cultur centre, as industry partners with researchers from the Centre of Cross-Cultural Research at the Australian National University. The project has investigated ways of including Indigenous knowledge within the New South Wales science curriculum. A significant component of the research is based on the museum’s unique collection of contemporary bark paintings known as the Saltwater Collection, painted by 47 Yolngu artists. Each artist has inherited the right to paint their area of sea country, and together the bark paintings form a comprehensive map of the saltwater country of northeast Arnhem Land. The paintings document Yolngu culture, knowledge systems, Indigenous rights, non-European contact, animals, fishing, oceanography and climate, and provide links into a number of curriculum areas. The project combines the expertise of all partners to analyse the process of inclusion from the perspective of crosscultural discourse. SIGNALS 86 March–May 2009
Another significant milestone in the museum’s support and encouragement of maritime history has been the establishment of the biennial Frank Broeze Memorial Maritime History Book Prize. Inaugurated in 2003, this $2,000
In 2008 the museum awarded its first USA Gallery Fellowship to Michael Dyer, librarian at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The USA Gallery was endowed through a generous gift from the US Government at the time of Australia’s Bicentenary celebrations in 1988, to explore shared US–Australian maritime connections in exploration, commerce, defence and sport. The Fellowship allows researchers to uncover new perspectives on these. In Michael’s case this meant researching the National Maritime Collection and other Australian collections on the subject of American whaling activities in colonial Australia. The story beginning on page 14 of this issue of Signals presents the museum’s most recent research achievements in the field of maritime archaeology – the January 2009 Mermaid Discovery Project undertaken in conjunction with our sponsor Silentworld Foundation. The team located the remains of the survey vessel Mermaid, wrecked off the coast of north Queensland in 1829 and arguably one of the most significant
ANMM research also extends to preserving, recording and developing traditional maritime skills prize is jointly sponsored by the Australian National Maritime Museum and the Australian Association of Maritime History and is now entering its fifth judging, administered by the museum’s publications unit.
surveying vessels lost in Australian waters. Two students and a teacher from Bega High School participated and shared their experiences by blog, creating learning initiatives that link to formal educational school curriculum programs.
The museum also encourages research and professional development through grants, fellowships and internships, working closely with many other heritage organisations. Since 1995 ANMM has supported smaller maritime collections through the Maritime Museums of Australia Project Support Scheme (MMAPSS), a joint initiative with the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. The MMAPSS grants and internship program has enabled many smaller maritime organisations across the country to gain support for projects such as conservation and preservation programs, curatorial work, managing collections and implementing digitisation initiatives. The grants also provide living allowances for volunteers and staff to gain professional training and development as interns here at the Australian National Maritime Museum. The most recent round of grants is announced in this issue of Signals on page 10.
ANMM research also extends to preserving, recording and developing traditional maritime skills. Last year the museum supported Fleet shipwright Matthew Dunn to spend several weeks in the USA at Mystic Seaport, Connecticut, under an International Specialist Skills (ISS) scholarship and Pratt Foundation grant. The fellowship was undertaken to increase understanding of restoring and conserving heritage timber craft, and to apply this newly acquired knowledge for the preservation and maintenance of the museum’s own historic vessels. As these broad-ranging research activities demonstrate, the museum is going through a development spurt that is producing an exciting array of outcomes, extending our maritime history and culture to a growing audience. We continue to widen our search for research partners and develop new and exciting initiatives that support and enhance our core functions and activities. Page 43