our vision is to be the nation’s most dynamic …...1 australian national maritime museum annual...

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australian national maritime museum annual report 2004–2005

OUR VISION IS TO BE THE

NATION’S MOST DYNAMIC

CULTURAL RESOURCE,

ENRICHING LIVES BY

PROMOTING KNOWLEDGE AND

ENJOYMENT OF AUSTRALIA’S

RELATIONSHIP WITH ITS

WATERWAYS AND THE SEA

2004-2005 Report.indd 12004-2005 Report.indd 1 19/09/2005 10:11:12 AM19/09/2005 10:11:12 AM

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© Commonwealth of Australia 2005

ISSN 1034-5019

This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted

under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be

reproduced by any process without prior permission

from the Australian National Maritime Museum.

Australian National Maritime Museum

The Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM)

at Darling Harbour, Sydney, opens 9.30 am–5.00 pm

every day (open 9.30 am–6.00 pm January)

Closed 25 December

Entry at 30 June 2005

Museum Ticket (including museum galleries, special

exhibitions, lighthouse and Wharf 7): FREE

Big Ticket (including Vampire, Onslow, James Craig,

Endeavour and audio guide):

adult $30, child/concession $16, family $65

Big Ticket (including Vampire, Onslow and EITHER

James Craig or Endeavour and audio guide):


Navy Ticket (includes Vampire, Onslow and audio

guide): adult $18, child/concession $9, family $40

James Craig Ticket:


Endeavour Ticket:


2 Murray Street Darling Harbour NSW:

Executive, commercial & visitor services,

building services, security, fl eet

Wharf 7 Maritime Heritage Centre Pyrmont NSW:

Vaughan Evans Library, curators, registration,

conservation, design, volunteers and ANMM

administration, Sydney Heritage Fleet:

Mailing address

GPO Box 5131 Sydney NSW 2001

telephone (02) 9298 3777

facsimile (02) 9298 3780

Website (including this annual report)

www.anmm.gov.au

CONTACT OFFICER

For enquiries about this report please contact

the editor

telephone (02) 9298 3647

facsimile (02) 9298 3670

email [email protected]

Editor Jeffrey Mellefont ANMM

Assistant editor Dr Wendy Wilkins ANMM

Photography Andrew Frolows (staff photographer),

Jeffrey Mellefont ANMM, unless otherwise credited

Graphic designer Jeremy Austen, austenkaupe

Layout and production Vanda Graphics

Printed in Australia by Focus Press

cover: Seahorse stern ornament

from the royal launch of King Louis

Philippe, carved at Cherbourg

dockyard, 1830–1848. It’s one

of the magnifi cent sculptures the

museum has borrowed from the

Musée National de la Marine,

Paris, for this year’s outstanding

exhibition Les Génies de la Mer

– Masterpieces of French Naval

Sculpture. Photographer

A Frolows/ANMM

title page: HM Bark Endeavour

at anchor, watercolour (1989) by

Western Australian artist Ross

Shardlow. ANMM collection


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It gives me great pleasure to present the Australian National Maritime Museum’s

Annual Report for the period 1 July 2004 to 30 June 2005. We are now midway

through the museum’s Strategic Plan for 2003 to 2006, and I’m pleased to report

we’re achieving the goals and outcomes which we set ourselves.

There have been some exciting and challenging milestones during the year under

report. None were higher profi le than the arrival of the Endeavour replica at the

museum. The spectacular ship was transferred to the Australian Government by the

HM Bark Endeavour Foundation which had operated it over the last decade and a half.

The replica was then gifted to the museum by the Australian Government, along with

additional funds for its operation. The eyes of Australia are on us as the museum takes

on stewardship of this extraordinary artefact which has been acclaimed world wide,

and which for so many Australians is a powerful symbol of their history.

This year, too, the museum’s Council has endorsed the bold step of making entry

to the museum’s galleries free to all visitors. This initiative has undergone intitial trials

with impressive success, and in making it a continuing feature we are acknowledging

the paramount importance of increasing public access to this, the nation’s leading

maritime heritage resource. We are confi dent that subsequent reviews will reinforce

the value of this arrangement.

The year’s outstanding exhibitions, educational programs and public events build

the museum’s reputation for continually renewing, expanding and elaborating the

concepts of maritime history and heritage. I’d like to pay special tribute to all who

worked to bring the spectacular Les Génies de la Mer – Masterpieces of French Naval

Sculpture all the way from Paris. It’s an exhibition that has, for many people, redefi ned

the notion of what a maritime museum is about.

I would like once again to offer thanks to all who have made these achievements

possible: the Australian Government and the Minister for the Arts and Sport Senator

the Hon Rod Kemp – in particular for his enthusiasm and fi nancial support for bringing

the Endeavour replica to the museum; corporate and individual sponsors, donors

and supporters; my fellow Council members; and a dedicated management, staff and

volunteers.

Mark Bethwaite, Chairman

Australian National Maritime Museum

CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

Chairman Mark Bethwaite with

the fi gurehead from Queen Marie-

Antoinette’s ceremonial launch, at

the opening of Génies de la Mer


Sculpture


4

Vision statement 1

Contact offi cer 2

Chairman’s message 3

Mission statement 6

Values 7

CONTENTS

SECTION 1 YEAR IN REVIEW

Highlights 2004–2005 10

Director’s overview 12

Exhibitions and major events 20

Statutory information requirements: 26

Effectiveness in managing human resources, joint consultative council,

occupational health and safety, workplace diversity, access and equity,

Commonwealth disability strategy, disability action plan, environmental

performance, insurance and indemnity, risk management, developments in

external scrutiny, reports by the Auditor General, fraud control, advertising

and market research, corporate governance, freedom of information, judicial

decisions, ministerial directions

SECTION 2 PERFORMANCE REPORTING

Key Result Area 1 Engaging our audiences 30

Strategies and performance reporting:

a modern maritime museum; education and visitor programs; market research;

venue hire and catering; The Store; Sydney by Sail

Key Result Area 2 Maritime heritage 36


maritime heritage and material culture, Australian Register of Historic Vessels,

Blackmore’s First Lady, Tu Do, maritime archaeology program, maritime history

book prize, acquisitions, registration and conservation, USA Gallery, Indigenous

affairs, fl eet, Vaughan Evans Library, outreach and collaboration

Key Result Area 3 Infrastructure development 46


early loan repayment, capital works, building services, security,

communications and information management services, human resource

management and OHS, staffi ng overview, volunteers

Key Result Area 4 Reputation and recognition 52


customer feedback, marketing, media, publications and website, design,

corporate support, The Welcome Wall, Members

Performance overview 57


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SECTION 3 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Statement by Council members 58

Independent audit report 60

Statement of fi nancial performance 62

Statement of fi nancial position 63

Statement of cash fl ows 64

Schedule of commitments and contingencies 65

Notes 66

SECTION 4 APPENDICES

01. Visitors and Members programs 98

02. Selected acquisitions to the National Maritime Colllection 102

03. Donors to the National Maritime Colllection 105

04. MMAPSS grants 112

05. ANMM publications 114

06. Staff publications 115

07. Staff conference papers and lectures 116

08. Staff media appearances 118

09. Staff professional appointments 120

10. Staff overseas travel 121

11. Organisation chart at 30 June 2005 122

12. APS staff at 30 June 2005 123

13. Council members 126

14. Council meetings and committees 128

15. Australian National Maritime Foundation 129

16. Sponsors, patrons and supporters 130

17. Corporate and supporting members 131

18. Volunteers 132

19. Volunteer speakers panel 135

20. Consultants 136

21. Customer service charter 137

22. List of Acts administered 138

23. Functions and powers of the minister 139

24. Functions and powers of the museum 140

25. Director’s statement 141

26. Index 142

Images from the exhibition Les

Génies de la Mer – Masterpieces

of French Naval Sculpture.

Photographs © Musée National de

la Marine, Paris


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OUR MISSION IS TO BRING

MARITIME HERITAGE TO LIFE

AND PRESERVE IT FOR FUTURE

GENERATIONS THROUGH...

national

leadership and

international

collaboration

programs and

products that are

creative, inclusive,

enjoyable and

memorable

fostering

traditional skills

and practices

research,

acquisition,

conservation,

interpretation,

outreach and

education

top: More than 60 members of

the Zamprogno family from Italy

attended the unveiling of panel 36

of the Welcome Wall, in October

2004.

left: Replica of Lt James Cook’s

Endeavour sails home.

The best of all was the

National Maritime Museum.

I had a lovely wander there.

And it’s a good thing to do on

a wet day, beautiful. Gee, they

do it well. Had a walk around

Endeavour, the Captain Cook

replica ship. Just fabulous.

Mike Carlton

Sydney 2UE


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OUR VALUES

we value

partnership and

collaboration

we promote a broad

interpretation of

maritime heritage

and culture

we strive for the

highest standards

of service

we focus on the

lives of people

as the core of

our products and

programs

we regard

engagement,

innovation and

creativity as the

keystones of our

work

we champion

integrity and ethical

practice

we encourage

commitment,

application and

achievement

top: Decorated powder horn from

a whale ship, Boston, USA, circa

1840, on display in Scrimshaw

– Art of the Whaler.

left: Esther and Evie Rolfe-

Douglass dressed sailor-style for

the school holiday About Time

program in Sailor Street


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left: Transom of a model of the

100-gun, 17th-century fl agship

of Louis XIV, Le Soleil Royal.

Reconstruction by Jean-Baptiste

Tanneron, Paris, 1839 © Musée

Nationale de la Marine, Paris.

opposite: Detail from Tanneron’s

model of walnut, boxwood and

ebony.


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1SECTION ONE THE YEAR IN REVIEW

…no one should be excused

from seeing Les Génies de

la Mer. It is unlikely there

will be a more amazing

exhibition held anywhere

in Australia this year.

The craftsmanship that has

gone into these sculptures

that ornamented the ships of

the French navy…is simply

breathtaking…

John McDonald

Spectrum, Sydney Morning Herald


10

HIGHLIGHTS 2004–2005

Attracted 1,602,315 interactions

with the museum (including

411,340 museum visitors) and

raised $5.5 million gross revenue

Established American Friends of

ANMM to support the USA Gallery

Celebrated the return of the

Endeavour replica to Australia (left),

to make her home at the ANMM

Brought Les Génies de la Mer


Sculpture from Paris to Australia

– a spectacular display of artworks

spanning 1660 to 1860 (left)

Designed and installed About

Time (left) which drew on major

international collections of historical

timepieces and chronometers

Opened Blackmores First Lady

and an installation of Kay Cottee’s

shipboard effects to the public

(above)

Hosted the third Australian visit of

the steel-hulled yachts of the Global

Challenge round-the-world race

Unveiled three new Welcome Wall

panels (above), with a total of 1,119

names, one ceremony coinciding

with Refugee Week and another

with the Greek Festival


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Provided 12 grants worth a total

of $30,000 under the Maritime

Museums of Australia Project

Support Scheme (MMAPSS) and

two regional museums internships

Organised and led a unique history

and culture tour of the coasts

of southern India, marketed to

museum Members and the public

(above)

Added 1,708 items to the

Australian National Maritime

Collection

Implemented Phase I of Australian

Register of Historic Vessels

Produced an Indigenous protocols

document, developed by a working

party with the aim of raising

awareness of Indigenous issues in

programs and procedures

Completed a disability action plan

Congratulated museum apprentice

shipwright Manny Ariel on winning

the NSW Medal for best shipwright

apprentice of the year

Supported maritime archaeological

programs (right) of various

organisations including the NSW

Heritage Offi ce

THE YEAR IN REVIEW | HIGHLIGHTS 2004–2005


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Interactions, visits and visitor profi le

The number of people who visited our exhibitions and historic vessels, and took tours

of the Wharf 7 Maritime Heritage Centre this year, was 411,340. If we compare this

with visitation just two years ago, it’s an increase of nearly 40%. School visitors this

year totalled a pleasing 34,897. Some 40,500 guests or clients attended functions

held at the museum as part of our venue hire operation, while 3,145 museum

Members attended events organised for them. Overall for the year 2004–2005

there were 1,616,015 interactions with the museum. This is our measure of all who

availed themselves of our services and facilities in one way or another. In addition to

the visitations already noted, this includes categories such as enquiries assisted and

users of our research and information services.

Free admission

The museum’s Council has endorsed the continuation of our initiative of making entry

to the museum galleries free of charge. When we decided to trial free entry in late

2003 we were the fi rst of Sydney’s major museums to do so. The initiative was to make

our exhibitions more accessible than ever before, and it has worked. Over the initial

trial period we saw a substantial increase in our visitation over a comparable period in

the previous year, and the numbers have remained encouraging.

The challenge for us was always to ensure that the loss of ticket revenue was offset by

increased patronage of our other facilities, and ticketed attractions such as the replica

of HM Bark Endeavour, by those larger numbers of visitors, so we could continue to

provide the full range of attractions and services that our public expects of us. Our

confi dence that we will be able to do so is refl ected in Council’s decision to approve

free entry as a continuing feature of the museum. Australian maritime history will be

one of the benefi ciaries, as even more people come through our doors and learn about

our fascinating past and present.

DIRECTOR’S OVERVIEW

above: Director Mary-Louise

Williams with Minister for the Arts

and Sport, Senator Rod Kemp,

at the opening of Les Génies de

la Mer – Masterpieces of French

Naval Sculpture.

left: Detail from Napoleon I’s

ceremonial launch. Gilded lime

wood, Van Petersen, 1810.


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The Endeavour replica

One of the most signifi cant additions to the museum in many years took place, when

the internationally acclaimed replica of James Cook’s legendary Whitby collier, HM

Bark Endeavour, was transferred into the museum’s care. Endeavour will be based

here, managed and operated by our own staff, after more than a decade of world

voyaging. The ship had been operated by the HM Bark Endeavour Foundation, created

in 1991 to complete construction in Fremantle WA, and to manage it as a voyaging

museum after it was launched in 1993. Senator the Hon Rod Kemp, Minister for the

Arts and Sport, received the replica on behalf of the Australian Government from the

Foundation’s chairman Dr Michael Sharpe AO, in order to gift it to the museum.

Managing Endeavour as a high-profi le heritage icon and an exceptional educational

asset, and maintaining the replica in sailing survey, is a huge commitment for the

museum. It takes us into operational areas previously outside our core business. We

commenced immediately by building a team comprising the most experienced square

rig and replica managers and shipkeepers to do the job. We have been generously

aided in this by additional annual funding from the Australian Government, which will

allow us to keep the ship in the best condition possible and to be fully operational on

Sydney Harbour. Long-distance offshore voyaging is extremely expensive and for that

we will seek corporate sponsorship, in order to extend the ship’s ambassadorial role.

Managing the Endeavour replica opens up many superb opportunities for the

museum. For many, many Australians Endeavour has an almost mystical status as a

symbol of the nation’s colonisation history; operating such an iconic ship demands of

us a sensitivity to all Australians’ view of history. As the new custodians of this vessel,

the eyes of Australia will be on us.

Exhibitions

It’s been a bumper year for exhibitions, which have been colourful and hugely diverse

in nature and style, as we strive to attract new and wider audiences.

The highlight of our year – some might say decade! – was the truly wonderful

exhibition Les Génies de la Mer – Masterpieces of French Naval Sculpture.

THE YEAR IN REVIEW | DIRECTOR’S OVERVIEW

top: Endeavour replica moored

at Museum Quay, the museum’s

historic vessel basin.

above: Endeavour’s great cabin set

up in museum mode for visitors,

with replicas illustrating life as

it was when Cook, Banks and

Solander worked there during the

voyage.


14

These magnifi cent sculptures, fi gureheads and other works of art decorated

French warships and vessels of state from 1660 to 1860. The artworks represent

a fascinating period and some of the most powerful and intriguing characters of

history, the likes of the Sun King (Louis XIV), Marie-Antoinette and Napoleon. Their

grand scale, epic subject matter, sensuous colour and forms have bowled over our

audiences.

The exhibition came about through a collaboration between the Musée National

de la Marine, Paris, owner of the sculptures, the Musée des beaux-arts du Québec

in Canada, and ourselves. It’s a great accolade for us that these French national

treasures were allowed to come here – they may never leave Paris again – and a

great satisfaction that our energy made it happen. It cements a closer alliance with

important French cultural institutions and has boosted our connections with the

French community in Australia too.

Special mention must be made of our sponsors SDV International Logistics, Cathay

Pacifi c Cargo and ANL Container Line Pty Ltd, since moving priceless items on this

scale is a gargantuan undertaking.

Other exhibition highlights of the year included:

About Time – a brief history of timekeeping on sea and land – drew on major

international collections of historical timepieces and chronometers, made possible by

our growing links to important overseas and Australian collections. Just one example:

the British National Maritime Museum lent its extraordinary working copy of the

Harrison 1 chronometer. The exhibition enjoyed the major support of sponsor IWC

International Watch Co Schaffhausen, the Swiss watchmaker.

Gina’s Journey – from Istria to Australia, a series of intensely personal paintings in a

vibrant style by 74-year-old Croatian migrant Gina Sinozich, captured her family’s 1957

voyage from Istria in Croatia to Australia. Most were commissioned by us from the self-

taught artist who has burst upon the gallery scene in recent years.

Sailor Style – Art Fashion Film continued its run until February, a cheeky and irreverent

history of the sailor suit and its place in popular culture.

above: Winged mermaid

fi gurehead in maritime pine,

from the sloop L’Australie, carver

unknown, 1844.

right: Louis XIV’s royal galley

La Réale, oil on canvas, artist

unknown, circa 1694. Both images

© Musée National de la Marine,

Paris


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Among the year’s other exhibition’s were Children of the Crocodile, an examination of

East Timor’s recent history and links with Australia; displays of works by documentary

photographers and Indigenous artists – and in an entirely new approach for us, an

exhibition of classic speedboat photographs selected from our collection by a guest

curator who bid for the privilege at a fundraising dinner held by our Australian National

Maritime Foundation!

We also saluted our founding Chairman who died late last year with Peter

Doyle AM, Fisherman (1932–2004), a display of personal effects in memory of the

contributions to this museum made by this legendary Sydney restaurateur and

environmentalist.

Staff overcame considerable logistical and conservation hurdles to realise a cherished

goal: making the famous yacht Blackmores First Lady accessible to visitors in our

Watermarks exhibition where it’s the centerpiece. They can now board, enter the cabin

and view an installation of Kay Cottee’s shipboard effects from the historic 1987-88

solo circumnavigation that made her Australia’s best-known sailor.

Travelling exhibitions

An additional 13,700 visitors to the South Australian Maritime Museum saw a

travelling exhibition, Siglas de Pescadores – Signs of fi shermen, which was nearing

the end of its Australian tour. We imported this appealing ethnographic study of an

Atlantic fi shing community in Portugal in mid-2003, and after appearing here for seven

months it travelled to venues all around Australia.

Since importing and touring exhibitions is an important but complex and demanding

part of our outreach activities, staff have this year developed a Temporary and

Travelling Exhibitions Production Guide for exhibitions developed, hosted and toured

by the museum.

Major events

For the third time we hosted the Australian visit of the steel-hulled yachts of the Global

Challenge round-the-world race which moored at our wharves, pausing during their

punishing circumnavigation which takes them the wrong way, against prevailing winds

and tides. The race was conceived of by the famous British yachtsman Sir Chay Blythe

as a character-building event for non-professional sailors, who are sponsored to sail

the fl eet of rugged, identical yachts.

One of the most popular museum events ever, Wetworld, returned this year over the

summer school holiday to encourage children to experiment with the many enjoyable

properties of water. This year, a new wet lab was added to increase the fun and

learning, with an emphasis on conservation and avoiding water wastage.

We unveiled three new Welcome Wall panels, with a total of 1,119 names cast in

bronze, on the museum’s tribute to migrants who have journeyed to Australia to make

new homes. The unveilings once again attracted thousands of family and friends of

Welcome Wall subscribers, one ceremony coinciding with Refugee Week and another

with a national festival celebrating Greek culture.

top: Gina Sinozich with one of her

paintings from Gina’s Journey

– from Istria to Australia

above: Estanislau da Silva

(centre), East Timor’s Minister for

Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries,

visited the exhibition Children of

the Crocodile – the Australia–East

Timor Story with son Sahe and

daughter Nairana



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Demonstrating the museum’s engagement with the wider Asian and Indian Ocean

region, a unique maritime-themed history and cultural tour of the coasts of southern

India was developed and marketed to museum Members and the public. The three-

week tour, led by a staff member who specialises in Asian maritime history, took in

spice ports of antiquity and colonial periods, contemporary fi shing communities and

traditional boatbuilding, and a host of littoral cultural sites.

Our seminar and lecture program is developing an impressive depth and diversity.

Many are commissioned to support current exhibitions – for example a seminar in

conjunction with the exhibition About Time which featured stellar academics Professor

Paul Davies, Peter Ekin and Professor Marilyn Mitchell. Others keep our audiences

up to date with developments in maritime history and related topics, with thought-

provoking and sometimes controversial topics such as Navy historian Dr Tom Frame’s

Anzac Day lecture ‘The Gallipoli campaign and HMAS Voyager: a tale of two tragedies’.

Still others refl ect our multidisciplinary approach, for example culinary academic

Dr Barbara Santich’s ‘Australian cuisine in the golden age of windjammers’, delivered

in the galley of the 1874 barque James Craig.

Collections

The National Maritime Collection’s profi le is growing among other Australian exhibiting

institutions, with a sharp rise in the number of items we have out on loan. Items were

on display in National Archives of Australia’s Beacons by the Sea travelling exhibition

and the Powerhouse Museum’s Sport more than heroes and legends travelling

exhibition. Others were on loan to the Supreme Court of Queensland for their Lucinda

exhibition, the Surf Life Saving Association of Australia to celebrate their centenary,

the South Australian Maritime Museum for their dolphin display and the National

Museum of Australia for their Encounters exhibition.

The number of objects registered in the National Maritime Collection this year was

1,708, among which were 95 groups or collections. The diversity of our collecting

activity never ceases to astound and entertain, as we acquired artworks and

photographs, ship models and surfboards, tools and instruments, books, stamps,

coins, programs, memorabilia, baleen, banners, textiles, ceramics, Olympians’ swim-

wear, cloth sailor dolls, a bottle of brandy that once belonged to Sir Francis Chichester,

a can of butter from Kay Cottee’s world voyage, and a whale penis fi tted as a lamp.

Several collection areas grew in strength, with a very strong showing of maritime art

and ship portraiture entering the collection. And we built on our extensive holdings

of material relating to Australia’s most famous boatbuilding dynasty, the Halvorsens,

with a collection of scrapbooks, plans and clothing relating to the ocean racing and

sporting interests of Trygve and Magnus Halvorsen, and drafting tools used by Trygve

and Lars Halvorsen. Among these plans of Halvorsen-designed and crewed yachts that

dominated Australian ocean racing in the post-WW2 period are those of the legendary

Freya, three-time winner of the Sydney–Hobart yacht race in 1963–65. A number of

these items will be displayed next year.top: Scrimshaw – Art of the Whaler

highlighted ANMM’s extensive

collection of these sailorly arts

and crafts.

above: Photograph, 1938, from

ANMM’s Sam Hood collection, in

the exhibition Sydney – Working

Harbour


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Partnerships and collaborations

Phase I of our Australian Register of Historic Vessels got underway with the

appointment of contract yacht designer and heritage vessel specialist, David Payne,

to develop a data base and methodologies, and to research and enter the fi rst tranche

of signifi cant vessels. The register will become an important national research tool

for maritime heritage and an outreach program extending the network of maritime

museums in this country.

We developed strategies for the offi cial launch and promotion of a new organisation,

American Friends of the Australian National Maritime Museum, which has been

incorporated to raise knowledge of and support for the museum’s USA Gallery.

The USA Gallery is the enduring product of a generous endowment which was the

United States’ bicentennial gift to Australia in 1988. American Friends will facilitate

fundraising and promotional activities, and has gained the support of Australian

diplomatic missions in the USA.

A museum working party produced and published an Indigenous protocols document,

with the aim of raising awareness of Indigenous issues as they impact upon museum

programs and procedures. Doing so enhanced our links with bodies such as the

Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, the Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander Commission and the Australia Council, by taking their

own protocols as a starting point to develop specifi cs for material in our collection.

Producing this document is a strong statement that we will promote respectful

treatment of Indigenous materials, cultures and forms of expression.

Twelve grants worth a total of $30,000 were provided under the Maritime Museums

of Australia Project Support Scheme (MMAPSS) to non-profi t maritime museums

and historical societies, most of them community-based and run by volunteers, to

conserve and display their maritime heritage. Projects range from boat restorations

to conservation of exquisite artworks. The scheme was initiated in 1995 and since

then, 113 projects across all Australian states and most of its territories have been

supported. It’s our most important cultural outreach program, administered by us and

jointly funded by the museum and the Australian Government through the Distributed

National Collection Program of the Department of Communications, Information

top: Crown Princess Victoria of

Sweden visits the museum to

open the exhibition Swedish Style.

Photographer E Maloney/ANMM

above: ANMM Members whale-

watching off Sydney Heads



18

Technology and the Arts. This year we secured a substantial increase in the Australian

Government’s contribution, which will enable us to more than double the number of

grants commencing with the 2005–2006 round of grants.

We also awarded two regional museums internships which allow people from smaller

museums who are managing maritime heritage collections to spend up to four weeks

with our staff, developing skills. This year’s interns were Ray Robinson from the Port

Broughton Sailing and Boat Club Inc of South Australia, and Marie Nunan, a volunteer

from the Geelong Heritage Centre in Victoria.

A second staff exchange was undertaken with the National Maritime Museum,

Greenwich, UK. This important program develops relations with what is arguably the

world’s pre-eminent maritime museum – certainly one with critical strategic links to

Australian maritime history. Dominic Mackintosh, ANMM marketing services manager,

spent two months with the Greenwich museum’s marketing arm. Liz Campbell, a display

technician at Greenwich, spent six weeks with our exhibition designers and preparators.

Trained underwater archaeologists and divers on staff contributed to the maritime

archaeology programs of various organisations including the NSW Heritage Offi ce.

Our involvement in the search for remains of James Cook’s Endeavour continues, in

Newport, Rhode Island, in the USA. This year Nigel Erskine, ANMM’s new curator of

exploration and acting senior maritime archaeologist, was sent to assist the Rhode

Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP, led by American archaeologist Dr Kathy

Abbass) with its underwater surveys and test excavations.

I was recently invited to join the board of the Foundation for the Preservation of

Captain Cook’s Ships, a US organisation which provides administrative and fund-

raising support for RIMAP’s work. We’re happy to be working with the Foundation and

RIMAP to establish a strategic approach for our forthcoming involvement with the

wreck site. It’s a project of great signifi cance to us all.

I have been appointed acting President of the International Congress of Maritime

Museums, continuing this museum’s tradition of close involvement with, and

executive membership of, this world body which does important work on standards

and policies that relate to our discipline.

above: In the Navy exhibition.

right: Director Mary-Louise

Williams welcomes the Endeavour

replica. Behind (L to R): ship’s

former master, Chris Blake;

Minister for the Arts and Sport,

Senator Rod Kemp; chairman

of the HM Bark Endeavour

Foundation, Dr Michael Sharpe AO.


19

Issues and outlook

Our continuation of free museum entry is a keystone of our marketing that now

positions us to maximise our audience share. With the right mix of attractions we’re

confi dent that we can do this, and resist the now well-documented, worldwide decline

in museum audiences.

Sailing over our horizon is the long-awaited Vikings exhibition, to open in November

2005 ready for the summer crowds. Treasures of the Viking world, artefacts and

replicas, have been sourced from great European collections, to dig beneath the

legend and myth and reveal the truth about these incredible navigators, explorers,

warriors, traders and artists. Next year we’ll also open Dreamboats and workboats

– the Halvorsen story. It showcases our extensive collection documenting the lives

and work of this Norwegian migrant family which became a household name with their

popular Hawkesbury hire fl eet and fi nely crafted vessels.

Work on several long-term projects which will improve our infrastructure and services

made excellent progress during the year. The very complex task of developing the new,

state-of-the-art Collection Management Information System neared completion. We

began planning for the redevelopment of the Commerce exhibition theme, and we

selected a consultant and tenderer to redevelop the museum website, among other

things to align it more closely with our business process.

And we continued the ongoing process of developing the comprehensive site

masterplan, to provide for future growth and to grapple with the challenges posed

by our site and the wider precinct. Our neighbourhood gets busier and busier as the

rapid development of Pyrmont and Darling Harbour continues, with a number of major

construction projects underway that will increase residential and commercial activity

on our doorstep. Closer to home we face the demands of maintaining an 18-year-old

building and wharfage which needs upgrading. Our attention is now focusing on the

building’s eastern façade and how it can be redeveloped to provide better public

amenities and facilities.

While we have an outstanding track record in importing and touring exceptional

international exhibitions – part of our role as the nation’s leading maritime heritage

organisation – one constant hurdle that we face is the rarity of suitable, major

exhibitions with universal appeal. Another is the escalating costs of moving exhibition

material and obtaining insurance coverage, exacerbated by international security

concerns and procedures.

Along with increased costs of our own security operations, we share with many

organisations a growing list of compliance issues from governance to occupational

health and safety, risk management, equity and access, on-line standards and

copyright compliances. Working in the Australian Government sector, the standards

and consequently costs of compliance are high, accompanied by increasing needs to

monitor developments and make submissions.top: Staff organised their own

viewing of the 2004 transit of

Venus, 235 years after Cook

observed a transit in Tahiti

above: Entertainers at a

Caribbean-themed corporate event

held at the museum.

Photographer L Faye/ANMM



20

EXHIBITIONS AND

MAJOR EVENTS

Sydney – Working Harbour

Sydney’s working harbour has a major

role in Australian industry, trade,

national profi le and tourism. The

exhibition showed how developers and

governments are making changes to

this working harbour. Included were

photographs from the museum’s

outstanding collection of Sam Hood’s

work – a fi ne record of ships, seamen,

work on the wharves and leisure boating.

Sponsored by Sydney Ports Corporation

Coordinator Daina Fletcher

Curator Shar Jones

Designers Adrienne Kabos

Eszter Matheson

South Gallery

24 September 2003–18 July 2004

Visitors 354,683

Sailor Style – Art Fashion Film

From the manliness of Jack Tar to the

sauciness of ‘hello sailor!’, the sailor

suit has always seduced. This cheeky,

fl amboyant and theatrical exhibition

traced the evolution in nautical wear

from around 1748 when it was purely

functional, to its fashionable and

fetishised forms, exploring ‘sailor style’

as a contemporary cultural phenomenon

and celebrating the iconic sailor suit and

its infl uence on popular culture.

Coordinator Mariea Fisher

Curator Rosie Nice

Designers Johanna Nettleton

Daniel Ormella

Nortel Networks Gallery

3 June 2004–20 February 2005

Visitors 202,784

below: Tug Heroic and Queen Mary,

1942, Sam Hood photograph,

ANMM collection.

below right: Greta Garbo 1929,

courtesy Austral Press


21THE YEAR IN REVIEW | EXHIBITIONS AND MAJOR EVENTS

NAIDOC 2004

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander

people’s work from the museum

collection went on display to celebrate

NAIDOC Week and the theme of Self-

determination – Our Community – Our

Future – Our Responsibility. NAIDOC

is the National Aboriginal Islander Day

Observance Committee.

Coordinator Bliss Jensen

Curator John Waight

Designer Adrienne Kabos

Tasman Light

30 June–12 September 2004

Visitors 86,198

Refugee Women – Heroines and

Survivors of War

Featuring the striking images of several

noted Australian photographers of

international confl ict, this exhibition

focused on the special problems faced by

refugee women and their children.


Curator Lindl Lawton


Tasman Light

23 September–5 December 2004

Visitors 57,341

Aquatic Paralympians 2004

Photographs by Robert Prezioso, offi cial

photographer to the 2004 Australian

Paralympic team of Australian swimmers

competing at the Athens 2004

Paralympic Games. The exhibition was

held in conjunction with International Day

of People with a DisAbility to celebrate

the achievements and athleticism of the

swimmers.


Curator Penny Cuthbert


Tasman Light

2 December 2004–13 February 2005

Visitors 103,381top: The Crossing, Nauru 2001,

Renee Nowytarger, courtesy of the

photographer and The Australian

left: Victory is sweet, 2004,

paralympian Ben Austen by Robert

Prezioso.


22

Wetworld

One of the most popular museum events

ever, Wetworld returned this year to

encourage children to experiment with

the many enjoyable properties of water.

This year, a new wet lab was added to

increase the fun and learning.

North Wharf

27 December 2004–25 January 2005

Visitors 29,213

About Time

The quest to determine longitude and the

development of the marine chronometer

were important components of this

exhibition about the ways humans have

sought to measure and control time. A

brilliant display of historic, contemporary

and eccentric timepieces traced the

development of timepiece technology

and its impact on our lives.

Sponsored by IWC Schaffhausen

Coordinators Lindsey Shaw

Michelle Linder

Curators Bliss Jensen

Nigel Erskine

Designer Carola Salazar

South Gallery

28 September 2004–6 March 2005

Visitors 168,012

Peter Doyle AM, Fisherman

(1932–2004)

Peter Doyle, fi sherman, restaurateur

and founding chairman of the Australian

National Maritime Museum, died on

12 December 2004. He was saluted with

a small display of eloquent reminders of

his fl amboyant but down-to-earth life.

Entry ramp

17 January–27 June 2005

Visitors 188,539

Gina’s Journey – from Istria to

Australia

A series of intensely personal paintings

in a vibrant naïve style by 74-year-old

Croatian migrant Gina Sinozich captured

the Sinozich family’s 1957 journey

aboard the Neptunia from Istria in

Croatia to Australia. Most of the paintings

on display were commissioned from the

artist by the museum.


Curator Lindl Lawton


Tasman Light

15 February–May 2005

Visitors 82,126

above right: Cross section of the

vessel Neptunia, Gina Sinozitch, oil

on board, 2001

right: Reproduction of Harrison 1

chronometer, lent by National

Maritime Museum, Greenwich UK.


23

Les Génies de la Mer


Sculpture

A co-production between the Musée

National de la Marine, Paris, and the

Musée des beaux-arts du Québec,

Canada, this was a stunning selection of

wooden sculptures that adorned ships

of the French Navy as well as vessels of

state from 1660 to 1860. The carved

fi gureheads and other sculptures from

the workshops of the French dockyards

were presented as works of art, and

not just as documentary elements

of shipbuilding. Also on display were

paintings, prints, drawings and models

which enlarge our understanding of this

important period.

Sponsored by SDV International

Logistics, Cathay Pacifi c Cargo and ANL

Container Line Pty Ltd

Coordinator Mariea Fisher

Curators Marjolaine Mourot

Mario Beland

Daina Fletcher

Designers David Gaucher

Tanguy le Moing

Daniel Ormella

Nortel Networks and North Galleries

7 April–9 October 2005

Visitors 72,820 (to 30 June 2005)

Speed and Grace – Classic

Wooden Speedboats

The exhibition was curated by David

Thompson, successful bidder at the

Australian Maritime Foundation auction

in 2004. The reproduced archive

photographs and glass plate negatives

from ANMM’s collection presented

images that evoked speedboats’ sense of

style and pursuit of speed.


Curator David Thompson


Tasman Light

18 May–3 July 2005

Visitors 35,170

THE YEAR IN REVIEW | EXHIBITIONS AND MAJOR EVENTS

As the king’s formidable

fl eet trawled the oceans

on the way to war, these

ostentatious sculptures

symbolised the might and

majesty of the French navy…

Gary Smith

The Daily Telegraph

far left: Assemblage of fi gureheads

below: Henri IV, fi gurehead from

ship Le Henri IV, stripped Swiss

stone pine, anonymous carver,

Cherbourg dockyard, 1848. Both

images © Musée National de la

Marine, Paris


24

Global Challenge

The museum hosted a spectacular fl eet

of 12 Global Challenge ocean-racing

yachts stopping over in Sydney as they

raced from east to west around the world,

against the prevailing winds.

It was the third time this race had made

the museum its Sydney stopover.

Festival pontoon

11 February–27 February 2005

Sail Expo and Classic & Working

Boat Challenge 2005

In a Sydney Harbour Week celebration,

the museum displayed over 30 state-of-

the-art yachts and graceful old sailing

boats – the classic and contemporary

side-by-side. The traditional Classic

Working Boat Challenge was hosted from

the museum on Sunday 6 March.

Museum Quay,

Festival Pontoon

5–6 March 2005

RV Southern Surveyor

The CSIRO research vessel is used

by marine scientists to explore and

study Australia’s oceans. In the ship’s

laboratories the chemistry of sea water

is analysed, the ocean fl oor mapped and

fi sh populations acoustically tracked.

Special tours of the visiting vessel and

other events were organized by our visitor

services, schools and Members sections.

North Wharf

16–30 August 2004

Visitors 13,329

ON THE WATER


25

Replica of HM Bark Endeavour

On 17 April 2005 Sydney welcomed

the replica of James Cook’s Endeavour

back to her home port, and the HM Bark

Endeavour Foundation handed the ship

over to the Australian Government. The

magnifi cent replica of this famous vessel

of discovery, on which Cook made his

fi rst circumnavigation (1769–71), is now

on display at the museum’s south wharf,

where visitors can see and understand

the life of an 18th-century sailor.

THE YEAR IN REVIEW | ON THE WATER

James Craig

Sydney Heritage Fleet’s magnifi cent

1874 barque James Craig was

recommissioned in 2000 after her epic

30-year restoration and is sailing again

– one of only four such barques in the

world that are still sailing.

Wharf 7 Maritime Heritage Centre

Visitors 98,325


26

STATUTORY INFORMATION

REQUIREMENTS

Assessment of effectiveness in managing human

resources

In addition to the three items below, ‘Human resource

management and OHS’ in Section 2, Key Result Area 3

– Infrastructure Development (page 48 ff).

Joint consultative council

The museum’s joint consultative council comprising

the director, assistant director corporate services, the

human resources manager and three elected staff

representatives met four times this year. The council

discusses a wide range of issues including fi nancial

and human resource planning, workplace diversity,

occupational health and safety, and work and organisa-

tion structures.

Occupational health and safety

See page 49 under ‘Human resource management and

OHS’ in Section 2, Key Result Area 3.

Workplace diversity

A workplace diversity policy was endorsed by the

museum executive and distributed to all staff in

2003–04; its implementation has continued

throughout the past year. For 2004–05 staff

breakdown by gender see table under the heading

‘Human resource management and OHS’ in Section

2, Key Result Area 3 – Infrastructure Development

(page 50).

Access & equity

In line with the Charter for Public Service in a Culturally

Diverse Society the museum creates programs and

products that refl ect the diversity of Australian society.

Commonwealth disability strategy

The museum provides facilities to help disabled people

to access its programs, exhibitions and publications.

The disability action plan

The Workplace Diversity Committee developed a

disability action plan in 2003–04 with an external

consultant, together with performance measures, in

accordance with the Commonwealth Disability Strategy.

A number of targets in this plan were met in 2004–05.

See ‘Disability action plan’ (page 50).

Environmental performance

Management of energy consumption, for which the

museum has won awards in the past, was ongoing, and

signifi cant energy savings are expected to be made

over the next reporting period. The museum’s property

services section is responsible for these and other

issues of improved performance such as targeted

waste disposal.

Insurance & indemnity

Comcover provides professional indemnity cover in

accordance with statutory requirements. Liability cover

is provided for the director and staff.

Risk management

In order to develop a risk-management policy and plan,

the museum has taken advantage of Comcover’s offer

of assistance in risk management and commenced

work with them to establish a schedule of production

and scale of work. Preliminary sessions were convened

with managers from across the museum to identify,

assess and grade risks.


27THE YEAR IN REVIEW | STATUTORY INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS

opposite: The Members Lounge,

sponsored by Freedom Group.

above: Triton blowing in a conch,

stern ornament from La Réale

Gilded walnut, attributed to

François Caravaque, Marseilles

dockyard, 1694. © Musée National

de la Marine, Paris

Developments in external scrutiny

There were no developments in external scrutiny.

Reports by the Auditor General

None undertaken during the period other than for

fi nancial statements.

Fraud control

The museum is developing a fraud control plan with

appropriate fraud prevention, detection, investigation,

reporting and data collection procedures and processes

to meet the specifi c needs of the museum and the

Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines 2002.

Freedom of information

There was one request under the Freedom of

Information Act 1982. The request was granted.

The museum’s FOI offi cer is Russell Smylie,

tel 02 9298 3619 email [email protected].

Judicial decisions

No judicial decisions affected the museum during the

period under report.

Ministerial directions

There were no new ministerial directions made under

Section 28 of the Commonwealth Authorities and

Corporations Act.

Advertising & market research

2002–03 2003–04 2004–05

Advertising agency $91,259 $82,028 $87,394

Market research organisations $13,636 $0 $9,640

Direct mail $763 $505 $402

Corporate governance

The museum council met six times during the year.

Council business is facilitated through fi ve committees

(Finance & Audit; Major Capital Works; Collections

Development and Exhibitions; Marketing, Programs

& Sponsorship; and Fleet) which generally meet in

advance of each full council meeting and additionally

if required. The committees are charged with provid-

ing specifi c advice to council and management. Each

committee comprises the director and a minimum

of two other councilors, one of whom acts as chair.

All councillors are welcome to attend any committee

meeting in an ex-offi cio capacity (refer Appendix 14).

Triennial strategic plans and annual operating plans

are prepared in accordance with the Act. Section 2 of

this report outlines performance against the current

2003–2006 Strategic Plan. The chairman and the

director have biannual meetings with the Minister to

review governance and strategic issues.


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