Western Australian Museum - Maritime
Traces the maritime history of the west coast of Australia, in particular its discovery and exploration by 17th century Dutch sailors. The musuem is primarily a showcase for the relics and treasures recovered from numerous shipwrecks along the Western Australian coastline. The museum's display includes the de-commissioned submarine, HMAS Ovens, and the racing yacht Australia II, which won the America's Cup for Australia from the United States in 1983. Entry fee applies.
Location: New Maritime Museum - Victoria Quay, Fremantle; Shipwreck Galleries - Cnr Marine Tce. and Cliff St., Fremantle. Contact: (08) 9431 8444.
How to get there: train to Fremantle. New Maritime Museum is south-east of the railway station along Phillimore St. Shipwreck Galleries are in Cliff St off Phillimore St.
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About the Museum Building: Shaped like an upturned boat, the home of the Western Australian Maritime Museum draws inspiration from Western Australia's rich maritime heritage and from its unique setting on a site of historic significance within a working port. It forms part of a museum precinct which encompasses the existing museum facilities in Cliff Street and other important historic and heritage sites around the West End of Fremantle. The building was designed by Cox Howlett & Bailey Woodland. The architectural imagery of the museum is intended to draw upon the association of an upturned boat stranded on a sandy promontory.
The Oberon class Submarine HMAS Ovens is an authentic Cold War-era vessel situated on Fremantle's historic World War II submarine slipway. This exhibit serves as a living memorial to submariners and those who gave their lives while serving from Fremantle during World War II.
Guided tours of the submarine leave every half hour (10am - 3.30pm) from the Western Australian Museum - Maritime. Bookings are advised. The guided tours take approximately one hour and reveal intimate details about living and serving aboard the 89 meter long vessel. Quite amazingly, 63 people served aboard the vessel living amongst pumps, controls, sensors, tactical equipment and torpedoes in extremely cramped conditions.
Adjacent to the main museum, the Shipwreck Galleries tell the story of many ships that have been wrecked along the Western Australian coast. Pride of place is the a reconstruction of the actual keel of the Dutch cargo ship, Batavia, which founded on reefs in the Abrolhos Islands north of Perth in 1629. A stone arch intended for a castle in Batavia (Jakarta, Indonesia) was part of the Batavia's cargo ship Batavia. It has been reconstructed stone by stone and stands alongside the Batavia's hull and other artifacts from the wreck.
Location: Cnr Marine Tce. and Cliff St. off Phillimore St, Fremantle. Contact: (08) 9431 8444.
How to get there: train to Fremantle.
About The Building: The museum is housed in the Commissariat Stores building. Its was one of the first places built using convict labour in the Swan River colony, construction began in 1852. The building was designed by James Manning and was constructed under the supervision of Captain Henderson, Royal Engineer and Comptroller General of Convicts for Western Australia. It now houses part of the Western Australian Maritime Museum.
More than one third of Western Australia's population was born overseas. The Welcome Walls projects pay tribute to those migrants who arrived by sea, landing at Fremantle or Albany, and to the many benefits they gave to their new home, enriching the lives of all Western Australians. In Fremantle, over 400 panels commemorating the names of migrants who arrived through this area have been erected at the Western Australian Museum - Maritime at Victoria Quay.
