Maritime Museum Of Townsville in Townsville, Queensland | Community museum

Maritime Museum Of Townsville

Locality: Townsville, Queensland

Phone: +61 7 4721 5251

Address: 42 - 68 Palmer Street, South 4810 Townsville, QLD, Australia

Website: http://www.tmml.org.au

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23.01.2022 How Capt. Cook Navigated Queensland by GPS It’s hard to fathom now, but when Capt. James Cook and the crew of Endeavour explored the east coast of Queensland in 1770, navigation instruments like the octant and sextant were high tech. Along with a magnetic compass, spyglass, alidade, and other tried-and-true navigation tools, Cook had the means of plotting his position anywhere on Earth. Well, almost anywhere, and the accuracy sometimes fell short. Yet in designing our new di...splay featuring the navigation instruments of Cook’s time, it struck us that we have recreated the 18th-century version of GPS. Endeavour surely needed all navigation help she could get. Although Cook carried charts of the north, west and south coasts of Australia developed by Dutch sailors en route to the East Indies, the east coast of Australia was terra incognita to European explorers. And a treacherous coast it was. Imagine threading the Great Barrier Reef without a single chart to give advance warning of shoals, rocks and reefs. It therefore fell to Cook and Endeavour to use both celestial and coastal navigation to determine their position and create new charts as they went. They located one reef near present-day Cooktown on the night of 11 June 1770 when they ran into it in the dark and nearly lost the ship. They named it, aptly, Endeavour Reef. Today, a tap on the screen of a phone or laptop gives our latitude and longitude to the thousandth of a minute. We hope it’s something you’ll think about when you stand before our new display and ponder how Capt. Cook and Endeavour navigated Queensland with their own state-of-the-art GPS. To learn more about our museum and the activities we offer, visit our website at: https://www.tmml.org.au/ We are open 7 days a week at 42-68 Palmer St. in South Townsville.

21.01.2022 Dear visitors. Although the museum normally is closed the last Sunday of each month, it gives us pleasure to announce that we will be open for visitors this coming Sunday, 30 August, so that those attending this year's Townsville 400 Supercars will have a chance to check out what we are all about.

20.01.2022 What Am I? At the Maritime Museum of Townsville, we receive many intriguing donations. Each one has to be numbered, named and described. Sometimes we have to play detective to get the answers. Here’s the firsthand story of one notable object: The boat I served on was built in Scotland in 1942 and came to Townsville in 1947. She was named after the man who was the Secretary (someone we now call the Chief Executive Officer) of the Townsville Harbour Board from 1903-1960. He ne...ver took a single day of leave from work, and neither did I. My boat was decommissioned in 1969, and now you can see me at the Maritime Museum of Townsville. " What am I? What type of boat did I serve on, and what was her name?

19.01.2022 This date in history... A SCARY NIGHT ON SALAMANDER REEF At 11:00 p.m. on the night of 9 December 1919, the 171 (or 191?) passengers aboard SS Bombala (Australian Steamships Co) were retiring contentedly to their beds when the ship gave a sickening lurch followed by a grinding crunch. Rushing on deck, they saw the ship’s bow tilted upward, all forward movement stopped, and the crew scrambling to lower the lifeboats amidst shouts of Don your life jackets! About three miles e...Continue reading

19.01.2022 Today in history - another shipwreck, one of the around 1,400 known wrecks off the Queensland coast. On Wednesday, 13 August 1856, the "Duroc" grounded on Mellish Reef, also known as Herald's-Beacon Islet. This reef is located 580 nautical miles (1,074 km) east of Cairns. The "Duroc" was an Imperial French Navy gunboat, powered by sails and steam. She was homeward bound between Noumea (French Caledonia) and France. All on board, including the wife and baby daughter of the cap...tain, survived and managed to reach the safety of Timor after sailing via the Torres Strait, in three small ship’s boats and a boat (named La Deliverance) constructed from wreckage on the reef's cay (a low sandy island on the surface of a reef). Even before the "Duroc" shipwreck, Timor had been the logical goal of shipwrecked crews passing through the Torres Strait: the boat of the "Bounty" skippered by Captain Bligh (1789), William and Mary Bryant's voyage from Sydney Cove (1791), the survivors of the "Pandora" shipwreck (1791) and the boats of the "Morning Star" (1814) and the "Governor Ready" (1829). In 1977 an Australian expedition visited Mellish Reef and retrieved a number of objects, some of which are on display at the museum, including deck spikes and part of a boiler tube, made into a mug with an inscription. See more

19.01.2022 This date in history. Late Saturday afternoon, on 25 July 1942, two Japanese "Emily" flying boats left their base at Rabaul (eastern Papua New Guinea), carrying a load of 250-pound bombs. Both arrived over Townsville half and hour before midnight, but whilst circling the city looking for targets were eventually caught in the glare of searchlights and hence had to escape. Returning after midnight the aircraft dropped bombs, targeting port installations. These bombs missed and ...exploded harmlessly in the shallow waters east of the port. Other information sources state that the bombs were simply jettisoned. The aircraft arrived back at Rabaul early in the morning of 26 July. A team of Australian Army Sappers was sent to find unexploded bombs but instead retrieved a number of fragments. One such fragment found its way to the collection of the Maritime Museum. This first Japanese bombing raid on Townsville would be followed by two others, causing no damage except to a palm tree at Oonoonba. Have a look at the bomb fragment on display at the Museum, the tail assembly of a 250-pound bomb and a model of an "Emily". Open daily except the last Sunday of every month. See more

19.01.2022 Ahoy, mateys! In honour of International Talk Like A Pirate Day on Saturday, 19 September, the Maritime Museum of Townsville (we are located in Palmer Street, South Townsville) is launching a fun, new family activity called the Pirate Trail. On this self-guided tour you can peek inside a treasure chest, see models of ships used by pirates, and learn what pirate life was really like. Just pick up a handout at the front desk and look for the skull-and-crossbones icons throughou...t the Museum to locate objects associated with piracy. Were there pirates in Australia? Do pirates still sail the seas today (yes, they do)? When you have completed the Pirate Trail, return to the front desk to claim your booty! The Pirate Trail also is available as a led and self-led activity for school groups and other organisations at special rates.

18.01.2022 When the Port of Townsville first started trading in 1864, the modern concept of sustainability was unknown. Today, it has become so important that the theme of World Maritime Day on 24 September 2020 is Sustainable shipping for a sustainable planet. Sponsored by the International Maritime Organization, under the aegis of the United Nations, it highlights goals such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, developing cleaner fuel oil, reducing marine litter, and improving ef...ficiency through the electronic exchange of information. It’s a huge challenge for the Port and all those organisations involved with shipping. In days past, the two-story timber building that sits at the centre of the Maritime Museum of Townsville had a front-row seat on all the port action. It is, in fact, the former Pier Master’s Office. It dates from 1931 and was sited between Berths 4 and 5 at the port. From there the pier master controlled all incoming and outgoing ship movement. What sights this building must have seen as the port expanded and welcomed vessels from all over the globe! The Maritime Museum was founded on the upper floor of the building in 1986 and grew quickly. The pier master already having moved to newer, larger quarters, the refurbished wood structure was trucked in 1992 to its own larger site on Ross Creek. Renamed the Port Building, it now houses the Yongala Gallery and our administrative office. As a repurposed structure listed on the Local Heritage Register, it embodies both the history of the Port and the Museum’s sustainability goals of today. And it still has a great view of the waterfront, overlooking the berths of the Townsville Yacht Club and the coming and going of many beautiful boats. For more information, visit https://www.tmml.org.au/ Then come to 42-68 Palmer St. in South Townsville and catch some of the action yourself.

17.01.2022 It was an exceeding dark, stormy night ; and the gloomy horrors of death presented us all round, being every where encompassed with rocks, shoals, and broken water. From the journal of George Hamilton, Surgeon, HMS Pandora, 1791 Indeed, it must have come as a terrible shock to the crew of Pandora to find themselves wrecked on a reef off Cape York Peninsula on the black moonless night of Sunday, 28 August 1791, an hour after sunset. The ship had set out from England the pre...vious November, charged with capturing the infamous Bounty mutineers. Although they missed discovering Fletcher Christian and his companions on Pitcairn Island, they had succeeded in rounding up 14 other mutineers in Tahiti. Now they were bound for home. Then came the dreadful crunch of Pandora’s hull on the reef. All night the frantic sailors pumped, jettisoning the cannons and attempting to sling a sail under the ship to keep out the rushing water. To no avail. She sank the next morning, 29 August, and 4 mutineers and 31 crew drowned. Crowded into Pandora’s four small boats with scant food and water, the 99 survivors endured an arduous three-week journey before arriving at the Dutch settlement in Timor. Was it asking for trouble to name a ship after the beautiful woman in Greek mythology, whose curiosity led her to open a forbidden box and release a plague of evils on the world? The captured mutineers aboard Pandora were manacled and locked in an on-deck cage referred to as Pandora’s Box. When she sank, crew and mutineers alike were forced into open boats at the mercy of the sea, just as the mutineers had done to Capt. Bligh. Of the 10 prisoners returned to England, 7 were acquitted, pardoned or reprieved while the remaining three danced at the end of the hangman’s noose. Pandora holds the distinction of being the first recorded shipwreck in Queensland. Her resting place was discovered in 1977. You can see this model of her at the Maritime Museum of Townsville where she sails on as part of our Shipwreck Trail.

15.01.2022 To all our current and new customers. Normally the Maritime Museum of Townsville is closed the last Sunday of every month. However, because there are school holidays, we will be open on Sunday 27 September! Ask at Reception for information about the Shipwreck Trail and the Pirate Trail.

15.01.2022 As 2020 sails to a close, the Maritime Museum of Townsville extends best wishes for a joyful holiday season to the Townsville community. It has been a challenging year for all of us, and we are grateful for your support. In addition to visiting the museum, you have provided us with creative suggestions for new activities and for enhancing our displays. We have continued to receive generous donations of maritime artefacts, naval memorabilia, rare books for our library, and muc...h more. Visits by school groups have enlivened our galleries and kept us on our toes as we try to keep up with the children’s excited questions. We are especially fortunate to have a team of dedicated, longtime volunteers who keep our buildings and grounds in tiptop condition every day of the year. The museum will close for the holidays on 22 December and reopen on Monday, 4 January. Bring your family and friends to discover our exhibits, follow our popular Shipwreck and Pirate Trails, step inside the 19th-century Bay Rock Lighthouse, and marvel at Townsville’s rich maritime history. For more information, visit our website at: https://www.tmml.org.au/ We look forward to greeting you in 2021!

14.01.2022 MONDAY MARITIME MYTHS & MYSTERIES FROM THE DARKEST DEPTHS IT RISES! THE KRAKEN is a legendary sea monster of gigantic size and octopus-like appearance that could capsize a ship or reach a man even in the tallest of a ship’s mast. It would attack a ship by wrapping its arms around the hull and capsizing it with the crew being drowned or eaten. ... Tales often refer to a creature so big that it is mistaken for an island or series of islands. Even as late as 1752, the Bishop of Bergen wrote in his The Natural History of Norway describes the kraken as "incontestably the largest Sea monster in the world" with a width of one and a half miles. Throughout the centuries, the kraken has been a staple of sailors' superstitions. Kraken is also an old Norwegian word for octopus and an old euphemism in Swedish for whales, used when the original word became taboo, as it was believed it could summon the creatures from the deep. It is believed that the legend may have originated from sightings of giant squids that may grow to 1315 mtrs (4050 feet) in length. Since the late 18th century, the kraken has been depicted in several ways, primarily as a large octopus-like creature to have spikes on its suckers. In the earliest descriptions, however, the creatures were more crab-like than octopus-like, and generally possessed traits that are associated with large whales rather than with giant squid. Could a large squid, say a hundred feet long and weighing two or three tons, attack a small ship by accident and capsize it? Given that some ocean crossing vessels at the time were rather small (for example, 60 feet in length, it certainly seems a possibility. Allegedly this is what occurred to a sailing ship off the coast of Angola in the 17th century. Though giant squids are considerably less than a mile and a half across, some are thought to be large enough to wrestle with a whale. On at least three occasions in the 1930's they reportedly attacked a ship. While the squids got the worst of these encounters when they slid into the ship's propellers, the fact that they attacked at all shows that it is possible for these creatures to mistake a vessel for a whale. See more

08.01.2022 For thousands of years the peoples of Australia and other parts of the South Pacific made and used a variety of watercraft, ranging from single bark and dugout canoes to more complex outrigger vessels. On display at City Libraries Aitkenvale are some items in the Maritime Museum's collection of traditional indigenous watercraft models. Some of them are obviously curios, made by local people. Still, they convey an impression of what these vessels would have looked like in reality. There are still many gaps in the collection - for example we are looking for scale models of local indigenous bark and outrigger canoes. However, we do have a full-size single outrigger dugout canoe from Papua New Guinea - check this out at the Museum.

08.01.2022 WEIRD WEDNESDAYS POINT NEMO - "oceanic pole of inaccessibility" is the world's most lonely place and regarded the hardest-to-reach location on planet Earth. ‘Point’ Nemo is an invisible spot in the vast Southern Ocean furthest from land, in any direction. 2,688km away in every direction. Since the earth is three-dimensional, the most remote ocean point must be equidistant from three different coast lines.... The name is a tribute to Captain Nemo from Jules Verne's '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' and the Latin translation of ‘Nemo’ actually means ‘no man’. When the boats passed Point Nemo, they were closer to astronauts on the space station than to other humans on Planet Earth. If that's your thing - Just punch these digits into your GPS - (4852.5S 12323.6W) and start sailing remember, once you’re there, you’ve got just as far to go to get back. Every week will will be sharing a WEIRD and WONDERFUL fact about our WATERY WORLD .

07.01.2022 The Knot that Saved a Sailor’s Life Have you ever heard of Matthew Walker? Though his true identity is a mystery, legend has it that a knot he invented saved his life. According to the story, Walker was a British sailor who was sentenced to death for an unnamed crime. The judge, a former seaman, offered Walker a full pardon if he could create a knot the judge could neither tie nor untie. Walker called for ten fathoms of rope, and in the privacy of his cell he devised a compli...cated and beautiful knot that did the trick and won his freedom. Given his knot-tying talents, it’s possible Walker was a master rigger in the Royal Navy. The first reference to Matthew Walker’s Knot appears in 1808, and he remains the only person known to have a knot named after him. In bygone days, it was used as a stopper knot to prevent a rope slipping through a hole. Though rarely found on modern yachts, it is still popular as a decoration, both on ships and ashore. You can try your hand at knot tying at the Maritime Museum of Townsville using our Knot Board and instruction cards for five common knots. Who knows? You may even master a Matthew Walker!

07.01.2022 ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 3rd of May 1945 - World War II: German ship "Cap Arcona" laden with prisoners sunk by Royal Air Force in East Sea, 5,800 killed - one of largest maritime losses of life.

07.01.2022 In Case of Fire I’m one of the most colorful objects at the museum, and although I don’t have a maritime connection, I do have a significant relationship with Townsville. Wheeled fire extinguishers like me were put to good use fighting blazes in the 1940s using high-pressure water. Manufactured by a company aptly called Quell, I have a capacity of 38 gallons (172 litres). When called into action, a vial containing concentrated sulfuric acid was broken inside the cylinder. T...he acid mixed with a bicarbonate solution to produce carbon dioxide gas which then pressurized the water. My powerful spray helped save property and lives. But why do I bear the strange warning ImportantNever Assume It Will Work? Who would trust a piece of equipment with such a disclaimer in the midst of a raging fire? The answer has to do with the person who donated me to the museum in 2001. You can see me at museum along with an extensive collection of ship models, lighthouse history, a special exhibit on Townsville women in World War II, and much more. We are open 7 days a week at 42-68 Palmer St. in South Townsville. For more information, visit our website at: https://www.tmml.org.au/. Answer: This fire extinguisher was presented to John Holt as a farewell present after 30 years of service as manager of the Townsville branch of Fire Fighting Enterprises, the company which sold and serviced the equipment. Mr. Holt donated it to us in 2001. The humorous label is a testament to his colleagues’ appreciation of his service.

06.01.2022 ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY - 4th May 1904 -Construction begins by the United States on the Panama Canal The Panama Canal is an artificial 82 km (51 mile) waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit for maritime trade. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, the Panama Canal shortcut greatly reduces the time for ships to travel between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, enabling them to avoid the lengthy, hazardous Cape Horn route around the southernmost tip of South America via the Drake Passage or Strait of Magellan.

05.01.2022 Today, the Museum had the honour of welcoming Auntie Gail Mabo as a visitor. Helene James, Townsville City Council Community Development Officer, had arranged this visit. Auntie Gail is in the process of preparing artwork for her next large exhibition and she came to have a look at our collection of historical maps and charts, selected by volunteers Eric Sponberg and Arliss Ryan. A very inspiring and enjoyable morning. Happy to have been of assistance, Auntie Gail!

03.01.2022 FRIDAY FUNNIES

02.01.2022 OOPS! You’ve made a mistake! called a museum visitor, laughing and pointing to an object in our display of shipbuilding tools. The steel item, labelled Hammer, does have a hammer-like head. But it also has an odd shaft with holes, a lug (knob), and the name Donalds embossed on it. According to our records, it was donated in 1989 but without any description attached. Our visitor, however, knew at once that the label was incorrect. As a farmer, he had firsthand experien...ce using just such tools to maintain his own property. In fact, he explained, our hammer was only the handle of a much larger, complicated tool, manufactured by the Donald Company, called a fence strainer. This equipment is used to draw up the slack in a wire and tighten it, and a version of the Donald fence strainer continues to be sold today. It also can be used to tighten the wires on a ship, and so our objectwith a new labelwill remain on display. It’s not the first time a knowledgeable visitor has helped us rectify a mistake. In another instance, a retired naval officer let us know that the left shoulder on one of our naval uniforms bore the wrong epaulet. He went a step further and kindly made a return visit to present us with the proper epaulet. As with the fence strainer, we are glad to be advised of an error and will correct it asap. Our thanks to the farmer for setting us straight! To learn more about our museum and the many activities we offer, visit us at 42-68 Palmer St. in South Townsville, or check out the website tmml.org.au.

02.01.2022 Excitement was in the air on the morning of 1 October 1983 when the high-speed catamaran Reef Link I departed Townsville on its inaugural trip to the Great Barrier Reef. As the vessel’s handwritten log notes, conditions were perfect: the wind N-NE at 15-18 knots and waves less than one meter. The destination for the 142 people aboard was John Brewer Reef, 25 nautical miles (48km) east of Great Palm Island, for a day of sun and fun. Reef Link I was the vision of Doug Tarca, a... man with big ideas and a flair for putting them into action. A professional diver, he began introducing people to the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef in 1967 when he opened Tarca’s Coral Gardens in South Townsville. The displays of fluorescent corals wowed visitors, but Tarca wanted to share his passion for the Reef by taking people to see its splendors firsthand. Now Doug Tarca and his son Peter were on board Reef Link I to do just that. It was the development of high-speed catamarans, beginning in the 1960s, that made day trips to the Reef comfortable and feasible. Built in Cairns, the 22-meter Reef Link I traveled at 29 knots and reached John Brewer in 2 hours 10 minutes. There, she tied up to the pontoons Tarca had installed, and the passengers enjoyed swimming, sunbathing, snorkeling and scuba diving. A highlight was a trip in the Yellow Submarine, a semi-submersible designed by Tarca which enabled guests to see the Reef below the water line. There were a few glitches. The log notes that on arrival the buoys marking the lagoon entrance had gone missing. The awning on the coral viewing barge broke and had to be taken down. On the return leg, an even speedier 1 hr. 55 min., twelve passengers were mildly sick. Nevertheless, the service was a hit, and in 1988, Tarca took reef tourism a step further by opening a floating hotel at John Brewer. An overall slump in the tourism industry led to the hotel’s closure in 1989. Reef Link I shifted to ferry service between Townsville and Magnetic Island until being sold in 1996. Doug Tarca passed away in 1993. The Museum is proud to be the custodian of the Doug Tarca Archive, consisting of documents, photos, plans and many objects, some of which were donated by members of the Tarca family still residing in Townsville. The former Reef Link I now operates under a new name by Freedom Fast Cats in the Whitsundays, Freedom Adventurer. For more information, visit https://www.tmml.org.au/ Then come to 42-68 Palmer St. in South Townsville to see our Doug Tarca exhibit, including models of the Yellow Submarine and the fabulous floating hotel.

01.01.2022 Platypus Lives On Without dredging, the Port of Townsville would not exist, so it was undoubtedly a big day in mid-November 1884 when the dredge Platypus set to work. Constructed in Scotland to the specifications of the Queensland government, she had steamed through the Suez Canal and arrived first in Brisbane before making her way north to Townsville. In an article on 28 June 1884, The Brisbane Courier hailed her as one of the most complete and powerful dredges afloat. Pla...typus was a bucket-ladder dredge, equipped with a series of buckets mounted on an endless loop. On an ordinary dredge, the loaded buckets ride to the top of the ladder and then tip their contents down a chute and onto a barge for transport elsewhere. But Platypus was far from ordinary. This modern steel marvel both dredged and conveyed the material in a well in her bow. In 1889, she was joined by another bucket-ladder dredge, Octopus. A large-scale model of Octopus is among our museum displays. For 40 years Platypus performed regular dredging operations at Townsville, Cairns, Port Douglas, Cooktown, Thursday Island and Normanton. However, as vessel sizes increased, deeper dredging was required. Octopus was scrapped in 1914, and in 1926, Platypus was sunk at the leper colony of Peel Island as a breakwater for the jetty. The leprosarium closed in 1959, but during its existence the male patients enjoyed fishing around her rusting hull. Like many a wreck, she provides habitat for abundant sea life, and as part of the Moreton Bay Marine Park, she continues to delight snorkelers and kayakers today. Here in Townsville, Platypus lives on in the name of the Platypus Channel that she was the first to dredge. The vessel that succeeded her was called Platypus also. Next time you visit the port area or hop on the ferry to Magnetic Island, picture Platypus hard at work creating the safe harbour entrance in 1884. Then stop by the Museum to discover more of Townsville’s inspiring maritime history. To learn more, please visit our website at: https://www.tmml.org.au/ We are open 7 days a week at 42-68 Palmer St. in South Townsville. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/3431499 The Brisbane Courier, Saturday, June 28 1884 The black and white photo from the Museum's collection (c. 1910) depicts Platypus (with twin smoke stacks), with the Empire (now Republic) Hotel on the left and the Australian Hotel on the right.