Events

Tuesdays 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 August | 10.00 am - 10.45 am & 11.00 am - 11.45 am |$7.00 per child

Members/1st adult free

Please note that this Mini Mariners program is not offered during the school holidays.

Cost and booking information

For ages: 2-5
Cost: $7.00 per child (1st adult /members and under-2s free)
Bookings essential: Phone +61 2 9298 3655 or email bookings@anmm.gov.au

Tuesdays 7, 14, 21 September | 10.00 am - 10.45 am & 11.00 am - 11.45 am |$7.00 per child Members/1st adult free

Cost and booking information

For ages: 2-5
Cost: $7.00 per child (1st adult /members and under-2s free)
Bookings essential: Phone +61 2 9298 3655 or email bookings@anmm.gov.au

Sunday 19 September| 2.00 pm- 4.30pm | Members $20.00, general $25.00

The Tasman: A Biography of an Ocean
Join award-winning author and adventurer Neville Peat for a talk about his new book The Tasman: A Biography of an Ocean, which tells the remarkable story of the mighty Tasman Sea. Hear about all the drama, adventure and tragedy: from the ocean's origins, to early exploration,shipwrecks, heroic crossings and strange marine creatures, to the many colourful coastal communities of New Zealand and Australia.

The Coast Watchers
'They watched and warned and died that
we might live'

After Pearl Harbor, Japan swept unchecked through the Pacific. However a tiny band of brave men - known as the Coast Watchers - stayed behind enemy lines. Aided by loyal islanders, they saved countless lives (including that of future US President John F Kennedy). Hear acclaimed author Patrick Lindsey (Cosgrove - Portrait of a Leader, Kokoda Spirit, Fromelles) discuss his new book and the men who changed the course of the Pacific War.

Cost and booking information

Cost: Members $20.00, general $25.00, includes afternoon tea and Coral Sea wines.
Bookings: Essential phone +61 2 9298 3644 or email mailto:bookings@anmm.gov.au or Book online

Wednesday 22 September | 6.00pm - 7.30pm | Members $10.00, general $15.00

Earlier this year our director Mary-Louise Williams visited some iconic US museums, including Mystic Seaport, the new maritime history exhibition at the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian in Washington, the San Francisco Maritime Museum, and the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. She also represented this museum at the opening of the China Maritime Museum in Shanghai. Hear Mary-Louise talk about these museums and view images of the guided tours she undertook.

Cost: Members $10, general $15. Includes refreshments and Coral Sea wines.

Bookings: Essential phone +61 2 9298 3644 or email mailto:bookings@anmm.gov.au or book online

Explore the world of Sindbad the Sailor. Use block printing techniques to create a teatowel to take home. Design your own mehndi on paper- a traditional body art using henna. Discover a fragrant world of spices from Zanzibar and use Islamic art as inspiration to paint your own decorative tile.
For children 5-12
Cost: $7 per child or FREE with any purchased ticket. Adults/Members FREE.

Henna Painting in Kids on Deck
Sunday 26th September | 10.30am - 1.30pm
Children in Kids Deck can get their hand painted with cosmetic coloured powder in beautiful designs.

Cost: included in your Kids on Deck ticket

Workshops from the Arabian Nights

Monday 27th September - Friday 1st October | 10.30am, 12noon, 1.30pm sessions

Get creative in a series of half hour workshops celebrating cultures from the Middle East to the East African coast.

Monday 27 September: Drumming
Tuesday 28 September: Mosaics
Wednesday 29 September: Bellydancing
Thursday 30 September: Storytelling from the 1001 Nights
Friday 1 October: tbc

Ages: Recommended for children 8-12 years

Cost: Entry to workshops are included in the Kids on Deck ticket. Collect your session sticker on arrival as places are limited.

26 September | 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm | Members $20.00, general $25.00

Back by popular demand! As many members missed out on our recent sell-out seminar, P&O archivist Robert Henderson re-presents a brief history of P&O cruising in Australian waters where you can again view classic images - many previously unseen - from Robert's personal collection and from P&O/Orient Line's archives, one of the largest private collections of maritime material. View historic footage of the golden age of cruising, including the construction and 1960 arrival in Sydney Harbour of popular favourite Oriana, and the history and war service of well-known ship the Canberra.

Cost and booking information

Cost: Members $20.00, general $25.00. Includes reception and Coral Sea wine.
Bookings: Phone +61 2 9298 3644 or email: members@anmm.gov.au or book online.

Saturday 2 October | 6.00pm - 9.00pm | Member child $25.00, guest $35.00

Friday 8 October | 9.00 am or 2.00 pm | Ages 8+ | Members $20.00, non-members $25.00

Be inspired by the images in Sons of Sindbad. Learn to use professional camera equipment to capture scenes in an outdoor photo shoot. You will get to have you best shot printed and framed to take home as well as a cd of all your photos.

Cost and booking information

For ages: 8+
Time: 9.00 am or 2.00 pm
Cost: Members $32.00, non-members $40.00 (includes prints of your photos)
Bookings essential: Phone +61 2 9298 3655 or email bookings@anmm.gov.au.

10 October | 2.00 pm to 4.30 pm | Members $20.00, general $30.00

'Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in event of success.'

Ernest Shackleton

Join polar explorer Tim Jarvis and well-known journalist, author and intrepid traveller Tim Bowden to farewell our exhibition Quest for the South Magnetic Pole. In 2007, Tim Jarvis recreated Mawson's 1912 journey to locate the South Magnetic Pole, and in 2011 he will attempt to recreate Shackleton's 1909 expedition, sailing in a replica of Shackleton's heroic vessel the tiny James Caird. Tim Bowden has frequently visited Antarctica and also presented the ABC documentary Breaking the Ice (1996).

Cost and booking information

Cost: Members $20.00, general $30.00. Includes reception and Coral Sea wine.
Bookings: Phone +61 2 9298 3644 or email: members@anmm.gov.au or book online

14 October | 10am-1.30pm | $25.00 members, $30.00 general

Enjoy a behind-the-scenes guided tour of Garden Island heritage
precinct with representatives of The Naval Historical Society of
Australia. The tour visits areas within the secure precinct,
including the Kuttabul Memorial, the chapel, and heritage buildings such
as the original boatshed and the top of the Captain Cook Dock. You can then take a self-guided tour of the RAN Heritage Centre. The tour requires some walking and climbing stairs.

Cost and booking information

Cost: $25.00 members, $30.00 general. Includes guided tour, entry to RAN Heritage Centre and morning tea.
Bookings: Essential ph +61 2 9298 3644 or book online.
Getting there: Catch the 10.10am Watsons Bay ferry from Circular Quay to Garden Island.

Saturday 16 - Sunday 17 October|

17 October | 3.00 pm - 4.30 pm | Free Members and free with a Classic Wooden Boat Festival ticket

On 28 April 1789, Fletcher Christian cast William Bligh and 18 of his men adrift in a 23-foot open boat. The mutiny on the Bounty marked the beginning of one of the most famous open boat voyages in maritime history. Over the following seven weeks, Bligh and his men sailed more than 3,700 nautical miles, in an overloaded boat, with little food or water and no charts, from Tonga to Kupang in Timor. In 2010, Australian adventurer Don McIntyre and three other crew relived Bligh's nightmare by attempting to make the same voyage under similar conditions, with no charts and few supplies, in an 18th-century traditional timber whaleboat. Join Don McIntyre and ANMM Curator of Exploration Dr Nigel Erskine to relive the history behind the voyage and its recreation.

Cost and booking information

Cost: Free members and free with a Classic Wooden Boat Festival ticket. Includes complimentary champagne.
Bookings: Essential ph +61 2 9298 3644 or book online.

23 October | 10.00 am - 1.30 pm | Members $45.00, non-members $55.00

The spring garden holds many delights, including blooming jacarandas. And there's no better way to see them than on the historic ferry Lithgow, while cruising up the Lane Cove river.

Award winning gardener, radio personality and assistant editor of Better Homes and Gardens magazine Adam Woodhams provides an expert botanical and historical commentary. This cruise is one of our most popular annual events with many prizes and a glass of bubbly so book early.

Cost and booking information

Cost: Members $45.00, non-members $55.00. Includes brunch on board.
Bookings: Phone +61 2 9298 3644 or email members@anmm.gov.au or book online.
Meet: At the Festival Pontoon next to submarine Onslow.

Sunday 31 October| 1.30pm - 5.30pm | Members $30.00, general $40.00

"I call the whole island Australia or Terra Australis..."

Between 1801 and 1803 the English navigator and map-maker Matthew Flinders surveyed the Australian coastline in his ship Investigator. He was the first known European to circumnavigate the continent's coastline, and he's credited with giving it the name Australia. In October 2010 we will commemorate the bicentenary of Flinders' eventual return to England. This seminar highlights the famous chart completed by Matthew Flinders in 1804 while he was a prisoner in French Mauritius. The chart represents Flinders' voyages around Australia's coasts between the years 1798 and 1804. It contains the first known use, by him or any other navigator, of the name 'Australia' for this island continent. Our panel of eminent speakers will explore the life, work and legacy of Flinders: the Mitchell Library's Paul Brunton, author of Matthew Flinders: personal letters from an extraordinary life; Australian map collector Emeritus Professor Robert Clancy AM; and biographer Miriam Estensen, author of Life of Matthew Flinders. Introduced by her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, Governor of NSW.

Cost and booking information

Cost: Members $30.00, general $40.00, includes afternoon tea and refreshments.
Bookings: Essential phone +61 2 9298 3644 or email mailto:bookings@anmm.gov.au or Book online

7 November | 9.30 am - 2pm | Members $65.00, non-members $75.00

Sunday 14 November | 2 pm - 3.30 pm | Members $15.00, general $20.00

The inaugural 2010 expedition to ANZAC Cove Suvla Bay, Gallipoli, undertook the first comprehensive underwater cultural landscape survey of the 95-year-old Gallipoli battlefield. An international team led by Expedition Director Tim Smith included Mr Selcuk Kolay OAM, discoverer of the AE2 submarine wreck in 1998, and professional underwater photographer Dr Mark Spencer, who spent two weeks undertaking the survey. They discovered what appear to be at least two previously unseen shipwrecks from the campaign, as well as numerous other artefacts. Join Tim Smith and Mark Spencer to learn more about the project and view some remarkable images and footage of the underwater battlefield.

Cost and booking information

Cost: Members $15.00, general $20.00, includes refreshments and Coral Sea wines.
Bookings: Phone +61 2 9298 3644 members@anmm.gov.au or book online.

19 November - 5 December 2010 | $4,090.00 per person including airfares (sold out)

Explore the magnificent temples of Angkor and discover ancient and modern Khmer maritime traditions on the museum's latest Asian cultural adventure in Cambodia. Gain an insight into the great Khmer empire and its unrivalled monuments, including world-renowned Angkor Wat. Plus experience modern Cambodian life on the country's inland waterways and sea coasts. This 17-day tour is developed in conjunction with World Expeditions and led by the museum's Asian specialist Jeffrey Mellefont, who previously led our maritime-culture tours of Indonesia and southern India.

Cost and booking information (Sold out)

Cost: Members $4,090.00 - includes airfares and airline taxes, twin-share hotel and breakfasts, transfers and transport, entry to sites, guides. Travel insurance, single supplement ($385.00). Cambodian visa not included in the package price.
Detailed trip notes (PDF 416 KB)
Booking form, terms and conditions (PDF 72KB)
Bookings: For more information call our members office on (02) 9298 3644 or email members@anmm.gov.au. For bookings/deposits call Kate or Fiona at World Expeditions (02) 8270 8400, toll free 1300 720 000 or email info@worldexpeditions.com.au
Preview and information evening: Wednesday, 10 March 2010 at 6.30pm at the museum. Please RSVP to members@anmm.gov.au

21 November | 1.30 pm - 5.00 pm | Members $30.00, non-members $40.00

From the late 19th century, Britain operated child migration schemes that sent more than 100,000 children across the world to Canada, Australia and other Commonwealth countries. Journalist and author Alan Gill (Orphans of the Empire) will provide an overview of the history of child migration in Australia, and author and maritime historian Peter Plowman will talk about the ships that carried these children to Australian ports. We'll also hear from four former child migrants: Eric Leonard, Fairbridge Farm Molong (arrived circa 1936), Peter Bennett, Fairbridge Farm (arrived 1945), Shirley Ronge, Barnardo's (arrived 1950) and Phillip Simpson, Methodist School (arrived circa 1950), as they share recollections of their sea voyages from England to Australia, illustrated with images from their private collections.

Cost and bookings

Cost: Members $30.00, non-members $40.00, Includes afternoon tea and evening reception.
Bookings: Phone +61 2 9298 3644 or email members@anmm.gov.au or book online.

24 November | 10.30 am-1 pm | $15.00 members only

Go behind-the-scenes during our special Wharf 7 tour that takes you through storage areas not open to the public. See where many of the museum's objects are housed and hear amazing stories about them. Some of these objects have never been displayed. Learn how our preservation lab operates with the museum's conservation manager Jonathan London. Jonathan will show you how some objects are preserved and prepared for exhibition, then view some of the treasures from the Vaughan Evans library.

Cost and booking information

Cost: $15.00 members only. Includes light lunch after the tour.
Bookings: Essential as numbers are limited. Phone +61 2 9298 3644 or email members@anmm.gov.au or book online
Meet: at the Wharf 7 foyer

25 November | 6.00 pm to 8.00 pm | Members $15.00, general $20.00

Created by Grande Exhibitions and a team of experts in marine biology, aquaria, and oceanographic cinematography, Planet Shark - Predator or prey challenges our fears and misunderstandings about the plight of this most feared of predators. The exhibition includes an extensive collection of pristine fossil specimens, shark jaws, dive cages, hunting and commercial fishing equipment, and full-size casts of a dozen different species. There are also items from famous Hollywood movies, media propaganda, stunning audio-visuals, thematic lighting and interactive multimedia displays. Join ANMM curator Dr Stephen Gapps for an introductory talk and viewing.

Cost and booking information

Cost: Members $15.00, general $20.00. Includes Coral Sea wines and cheese.
Bookings: Phone +61 2 9298 3644 or email: members@anmm.gov.au or book online

28 November| 11.30 am - 2.30 pm | Members $85.00, non-members $95

Book early for our next anniversary lunch - a fine tradition and gastronomic event not to be missed.

Join museum council chairman Peter Dexter and special guest speaker, author and journalist Peter Fitzsimons. Enjoy your fellow Members' company and a delicious three-course lunch from Bayleaf, our awardwinning caterer, accompanied by Coral Sea wine and James Squire beer. The annual anniversary lunch is a fine tradition and a gastronomic event...don't miss it!

Cost and booking information

Cost: Members $85.00, non-members $95. Includes a three course lunch accompanied by Coral Sea wine.
Bookings: Phone +61 2 9298 3644 or email members@anmm.gov.au or book online
Meet: in the museum foyer.