Shipping and Shipwrecks

The Shipping and Shipwrecks exhibition uses modern methods of interpretation and presentation to illustrate and explain the history of shipping and shipwrecks in and near Jervis Bay.

The permanent exhibition will use interpretive panels, audio-visual content and a wide range of unique and valuable objects to explore the local maritime history.

Huskisson was a major centre for timber shipbuilding from the 1860s and a port of call for coastal shipping.

The main themes of the exhibition are:

• 19th Century shipping - routes, navigation and communication
• Coastal hazards - storms, dangerous coastlines, false refuges
• Early wrecks - The Hive, Walter Hood, Dandenong
• Lighthouses - Cape St George, Crookhaven Heads and Point Perpendicular
• Modern wrecks - Voyager, Merimbula
• The "Forgotten Fleet" - small ships from Huskisson and other ports requisitioned to serve American forces in the Pacific Islands during World War II
• A Peacetime Disaster - detailing the fatal collision between HMAS Voyager and HMAS Melbourne

Held by the museum are artefacts including navigational equipment, lighthouse equipment, objects retrieved from various wrecks and miscellaneous objects like diving suits and anchors. These items are on display.

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