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MUSEUM EXHIBITS

The exhibits are many and varied.  The list below outlines the main categories of the collection. Click on a category for information about that category.

Photos of some of the exhibits have been arranged into a gallery Click here to view the gallery. There are other photographs in the left hand column of this page.

Feature Exhibits

The main exhibits are described on separate pages.  These include:

Other exhibits include:

BAY STEAMERS

Before the development of road and rail transport to Queenscliff the main method of transport from Melbourne and towns around the Port Phillip region was by sea.  Various vessels transported passengers and freight between Port Melbourne and the main centres around Port Phillip and Corio Bay.

Two famous vessels are the paddle steamers Hygeia and Weeroona which carried thousands of passengers to and from Queenscliff and Sorrento.

In the Museum are models of these two vessels, on loan from Museum Victoria

PS HYGEIA  986 tons, 300 feet long

Built in 1890 by Napier, Shanks & Bell of Glasgow for Huddart Parker & Co.  She was built to compete directly with the popular PS Ozone, and was generally regarded as one of the fastest and finest appointed paddle steamers ever built for Australian service with a top speed in excess of 22 knots.

Licensed to carry 1,600 passengers she operated regular excursion trips each summer between Melbourne, Queenscliff and Sorrento for 40 years and was often chartered for company picnics and special events.

 

PS WEEROONA 1412 tons, 310 feet 6 inches long

Built in Glasgow in 1910 by AS Inglis for the Huddart Parker subsidiary Bay Steamers Ltd.  She arrived in Port Phillip under her own steam via the Suez Canal, Columbia, Batavia (now Djakarta), Thursday Island, Brisbane & Sydney.

With a capacity for 1,900 passengers she was the last and largest of the purpose-built Port Phillip Steamers and remained in service until 1942 when she was purchased by the US Navy.  She was bought back by the Australian Government in 1945 and dismantled in Berry Bay, NSW in 1951.

MORE HISTORIC VESSELS REPRESENTED IN THE COLLECTION INCLUDE

DAVID CLARKE

The first ship carrying assisted migrants to arrive in Melbourne.

CLIPPER LIGHTNING

The fastest wooden ship ever built.  The Lightning burned to her waterline in Geelong in 1869.

PILOT SCHOONER RIP

The model of the Pilot schooner Rip is magnificent

There are photos of the models of Lightning and Rip in the exhibits photo gallery

HYDROGRAPHIC MODEL OF THE RIP AT THE ENTRANCE TO PORT PHILLIP AND THE LONSDALE BIGHT

Horizontal scale:                                1:5000

Vertical scale is exaggerated by a factor of 10

Model made by H J Reed, Hydrographer, Queenscliff  from surveys completed in 1983

The exhibit identifies major features of geomorphology, navigation details, historic wreck sites and points of general interest.

DIVE DISPLAY

Includes an early Siebe Gorman helmet, suit, hand operated air compressor and closed circuit breathing apparatus, early scuba suits, regulators, weight belts and, underwater cameras.  A Snead shallow water diving helmet and lever pump are also part of the display. Young visitors (and the young at heart) can experience what it felt like to wear a dive helmet.

CHINESE FISHERMEN

Amongst the first to settle on the sand flat north of the plank road that is now Wharf Street in Queenscliff were Chinese fishermen.  This sand spit was called Chinaman’s Point, which later developed into the area of town now known as the 'Flat'.  The Chinese dried and cured fish which was taken up to to their compatriots on the goldfields. The Museum features an impressive display of Chinese jars and dishes from the Peter Ferrier Collection. Some of these are shown in the photo.

SHIP WRECK ARTEFACTS

Artefacts on display include items from the SS Time which was stranded on Corsair Rock in 1949.  The salvage rights and cargo were bought by a local consortium of 8 people.  Following the removal and sale of her cargo of sugar, timber and hides an auction of the equipment and fittings from the wreck of the Time was held in the park at Queenscliff.  Many of the items purchased during the auction have been donated or loaned to the Museum to form an extensive Time collection. The photograph at right is of Time on Corsair Rock. The ship telegraph in the left column was salvaged from the Time.

LIFESAVING EQUIPMENT

An important part of the Lifeboat display is the rocket launching equipment used to bring stranded people to shore with the help of pulleys, ropes and a breeches buoy.

This equipment, along with a Schermuly rocket pistol, signal pistol, rocket line throwing apparatus, lifeboat crew wet weather gear, life jackets, armbands and citations for bravery complement the restored Lifeboat Queenscliffe.

SEA KAYAK DISPLAY

The Sea Kayak used by adventurer Paul Caffyn to paddle around Australia in 1981/82 was given to the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum following the 25th anniversary of that first kayak circumnavigation.  Paul's kayak Lalaguli forms the start of a growing collection which recognises the popularity of the Sea Kayak sport around Port Phillip.

In 2009 Freya Hoffmeister became the first woman to paddle around Australia; her kayak is now on display in the Museum.

Information about the Paul Caffyn and Freya Hoffmeister journeys is available here:

Paul Caffyn Original voyage 1981-82

Paul Caffyn 25th Anniversary celebration

 Freya Hoffmeister circumnavigation 2009

HISTORICAL POSTCARDS

An extensive collection of old Queenscliff and Point Lonsdale postcards is part of a display of postcards from around Port Phillip

NAUTICAL PICTURES

Browse the exhibition of nautical pictures on display including tall ships under sail and early steam ships.  Our Librarian is developing a comprehensive index of pictures of ships that have brought immigrants to our shores.  More information about this index will be available soon.

MODEL SHIPS

There are many models on display including a collection of ships in bottles

ALSO......

Anchors from the Komet and Eliza Ramsden, propellers from a J Class Submarine, buoys, channel markers and lights are exhibited at the Museum.

Some hands-on activities include:

  • sound a portable fog horn

  • ring ships bells

  • try a morse key

  • play on Benito’s Pirate Boat, or on Defiance Too a red wooden boat, both located in the museum grounds.

Page last updated 01/07/2010  
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