A 30th anniversary toast

Les Génies de la Mer – masterpieces of French naval sculpture (2005), from the Musée de la Marine, Paris, displayed elaborate wooden figures and emblems that decorated the ships of the French navy from 1660 to 1860. Image Andrew Frolows/ANMM

Reminiscences from our founding members

Turning 30? It’s an exciting time of life – a time to savour, a time for reflection. As part of the museum’s 30th birthday celebrations this year, we talked to some very special members of our community who are celebrating their three-decade involvement with our museum – our highly valued founding members. By Daina Fletcher and Matt Lee.

THE MUSEUM HAS 30 FOUNDING MEMBERS who joined us in our first year of opening. So, who are they and why did they join the brand-new museum back in 1991? What are their observations of the museum over its 30 years and their recommendations for the future? Many, like former Senator for New South Wales Vicki Bourne, were attracted to the idea of joining a national museum at its very inception and being part of a growing museum community dedicated to exploring and communicating the cultural history of Australia’s maritime identity. Vicki is very proud to be member number nine and was one of those who joined up before the museum doors had actually opened. Others, including sailor John Jeremy AM, former CEO of Cockatoo Island Dockyard, either come from maritime walks of life and or have friends or family who do. Others had careers in the Royal Australian Navy. Some just love boats and ships – as sailors, would-be sailors, romantics, workers or athletes – and were dazzled by the idea of seeing a tremendous variety of craft displayed in and around the museum. Some members were attracted to the working lives of the vessels that were then being assembled at the museum’s wharves and in nearby Berrys Bay – tall ships, the wooden pearling lugger John Louis from northern Australia, the smaller couta boat Thistle from the south and the former naval destroyer HMAS Vampire. As well, there were elegant racing craft such as the 1888 gaffcutter Akarana and robust world-cruising ketch Kathleen Gillett, built in 1939 – what a feast for boat-lovers. Among the favourite themes of founding member Richard Newton, a video producer, are the floating vessels, the Wharf 7 watercraft display, maritime archaeology, navy and defence. He nominated James Cameron’s Challenging the Deep exhibition and SY Ena among his highlights, on top of long lunches at the museum’s waterside café.

One of the many benefits our members noted was the idea of belonging, friendship and fun. So many enriched their social lives and networks through the museum, meeting like-minded people and sharing similar interests and an enthusiasm for all things maritime.

Above all, most of our founding members melded their interests in the maritime world, museums and history. They connected to us through their passion and shared aspirations to demonstrate Australia’s interdependence on the world’s oceans and seaways, and its status as a nation of islands whose waterways define and sustain it. Marion Carter is both a founding member and a founding volunteer. She has dedicated nearly 15,000 hours to the museum, many of them in its Members’ Lounge. Marion joined the museum for a unique reason – she loves cruise ships. Back in 1991 the Overseas Passenger Terminal, where most cruise ships docked, was located opposite the museum. Marion visited the museum a few days after it opened, noticed that it was the perfect place to take photographs of the ships berthed opposite, and joined up. Our members’ support is deep and multifaceted – many have donated objects and funds. From our perspective this represents a critical contribution because, as the future unfolds, we will depend more and more upon community support and involvement, including gifts to the collection and financial support from dedicated key individuals. Many founding members have deepened their involvement by joining specialised supporter groups such as our Chairman’s Circle. Our founding members are also often called upon for advice. Vexillologist John Vaughan OAM donated a model of the Cutty Sark and at our launch in 1991 designed a house flag for the museum. As a flag historian he has proved an invaluable ‘brains trust’ over the years, when consulted by our curators puzzling over ship flags on early artworks. John Jeremy AM, often called the ‘Dr Google of shipping on Sydney Harbour’, has contributed to the museum in many ways. He was a founding member of the Council of the Australian Register of Historic Vessels (ARHV) in 2006 and has been part of varied consultative groups, including the steering committee for the development of the Action Stations building. He too has joined our Chairman’s Circle.

The bonds between our members and the museum underscore the old adage that relationships are indeed a two-way street. Author and professional fisherman Garry Kerr lives in Victoria and is an ‘Out of Port’ founding member, a category of membership for people who live more than 150 kilometres from Sydney. Garry has a passionate interest in all Australian boats, especially fishing craft, and has made special visits to Sydney for our Classic & Wooden Boat Festival. He loves that the museum gives a national voice to Australia’s maritime history and delights in seeing working watercraft at our wharves. Garry believes more people need to know about these vessels and the sailors and fishers who worked on them. He has produced many books and documentaries on the subject, which are available in our Vaughan Evans Library. The late Vaughan Evans OAM (1924–1993) was a founding member. An avid maritime historian, he made a huge impact on the museum’s core narratives and research capability, consulting with Professor Peter Spearritt to draft the museum’s first collection development policy. Vaughan and his wife Halycon gave Vaughan’s extensive collection of maritime books to our library in 1986 and it was named in his honour.

Halcyon Evans grew up by the water and loves the sea and boats. She has been a strong supporter of the museum since before it was built. Halcyon’s favourite exhibitions are Escape from Pompei (2017) and Bateaux Jouets – Toy Boats from Paris (2008), an exhibition of mechanical tin toys from France’s Musée National de la Marine. Her choices illustrate the broad subjects that make up the maritime world – proving that it is much more than ‘blokes and boats’. Founding member Vaughan Evans OAM made a huge impact on the museum’s core narratives and research capability

01 Founding members Wendy Hardiman, Lyndyl Beard, Jeanette Wheildon and Marion Carter at a Fourth of July dinner at the museum, 1994. Image Jenni Carter/ANMM 02 The Museum’s North Wharf during the Classic & Wooden Boat Festival 2018. Image Andrew Frolows/ANMM

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Some just love boats and ships – as sailors, would-be sailors, romantics, workers or athletes

Detail from a mural painted by D H Souter for the Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club. Image Andrew Frolows/ANMM

So many members enriched their social lives and networks through the museum, meeting like-minded people and sharing similar interests

While Halcyon loves the boats at the wharves outside, her favourite indoor object is Blackmores First Lady, the yacht of solo sailor Kay Cottee AO, which allows visitors to imagine Cottee’s world during her six months at sea in 1987 and 1988. Schoolteacher Anna Mellefont and her husband Jeffrey joined because the maritime world was a huge part of their lives, and later their children’s. Jeffrey, a sailor, journalist and specialist on Indonesian sailing craft, also joined the museum staff. Jeffrey’s favourite exhibitions are Les Génies de la Mer – masterpieces of French naval sculpture (2005) and Secrets of the Sea – myth, lore and legend (1999). Anna nominates Sailor Style – art fashion and film (2004) and Lamalera: whale hunters of Indonesia (1998). Jeffrey’s favourite objects are the boats, especially Akarana. Anna’s are D H Souter’s impressive five-part mural for the Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club, painted between 1920 and 1934, and Au Karem Ira Lamar Lu, the Torres Strait Islander ghost net installation in the museum’s foyer. Jeffrey cites Indigenous cultures, international maritime history and maritime archaeology and shipwrecks as his top themes, while Anna rates migration, Indigenous culture, ocean sciences and the marine environment as hers.

So what for the future? A common wish is for more research to underpin museum programs. Richard Newton advocates that we:

Maintain or increase the academic research budget. In my opinion this is the fundamental requirement for such an institution, as well as the curation and maintenance of the collection.

The last word goes to to John Jeremy: Above all, the maritime history of Australia … is a human story. People relate well to immersion in this story at a human scale … Like all museums, the maritime museum faces a number of challenges today. Glass cases of artefacts with long and detailed captions may be an important part of any museum but they do not encourage access and involvement by younger generations with short attention spans. New ways of engaging with the public are needed. Another major task of the museum is to reach out to Australians everywhere. It is a national museum. The technology we are surrounded with today may well make this more feasible, though engaging effectively with new audiences has never been easy. So as we celebrate 30 years of the museum, we say a special thank you to those of you who have supported us from the start, and to all our members who have joined us since. We look forward to the next 30 years and the stories and experiences we will share.

Daina Fletcher is the museum’s Head of Acquisitions Development. Matt Lee is Manager – VIP Relations.