17 October 2012
The SA Maritime Museum will put a stop to holiday boredom this summer with an exciting program specifically designed for families. For the adults, two stunning new exhibitions will open on Saturday 15 December: First Voyages: exploring the southern coast and Terre
Napoleon: Land of Napoleon. For the little folk, The Ghosts of Memory Cove explores one of our most inspiring maritime stories in a performance packed with dancing, puppetry, singing and spooky projections.
First Voyages: Exploring the southern coast charts the history of exploration of the Australian continent and the South Australian coast from Ptolemy’s ancient speculations about a great south land , Terra Australis Incognita, to the completion of the map of Australia. It recounts the voyages of Dutch navigators who charted Australia’s west coast from 1616 and the extraordinary work of James Cook who mapped the east coast in 1770. The exhibition also explores the voyages of Macassan seafarers who sailed from Sulawesi to Australia’s north coast from the mid eighteenth century.
Some of history’s most delightful myths about the unknown south land are investigated. Why did Charles Sturt drag a whale boat to the centre of Australia in 1844 in search of an inland sea? A special focus of the exhibition is the voyages of Britain’s Matthew Flinders and
France’s Nicolas Baudin who each mapped the continent from 1801 to 1803 and produced the first complete charts of Australia’s coast. It is a history of particular importance to South
Australians because they also produced the first charts of our coast and left us names including Port Lincoln, Spencer Gulf and the Fleurieu Peninsula. This will be the State's only major exhibition investigating the story of the European exploration of the South Australian coast.
Opens Saturday 15 December 2012
To mark the opening of First Voyages: Exploring the southern coast we will also present a second exhibition Terre Napoleon—Land of Napoleon. It will present a collection of beautiful artworks that were produced in 1807 documenting the fauna, people and places encountered by Nicolas Baudin’s voyage charting the Australian continent from 1800 to
1804. The age and fragility of those artworks means they can be exhibited for only six months. Science brought enlightenment and prestige to France. It was the First Consul himself, Louis Napoleon, who ordered Nicolas Baudin’s expedition to explore Nouvelle
Hollande, particularly its uncharted southern coasts.
Citizen Baudin led the corvettes
South Australian Maritime Museum
126 Lipson Street, Port Adelaide SA
5015
+61 8207 6255
+61 8203 9869 0401 120 924 kcheek@history.sa.gov.au www.samaritimemuseum.com.au
A museum of History SA
Media Contact
Kym Cheek, Marketing Manager

2
Geographe and Naturaliste, leaving Le Havre in October 1800. On board he carried some of
France’s finest scientists to study the botany, zoology, mineralogy and anthropology of the southern continent.
Charles-Alexandre Lesueur and Nicolas-Martin Petit were the expedition’s artists. They painted flora, fauna, people and landscapes. Their work shows the southern coast as it was first seen by European eyes. Baudin named this coast Terre Napoleon— land of Napoleon.
Did it represent a colonial ambition or simply a tribute to the patron of his voyage?
Opens Saturday 15 December 2012 to May 2013
“Heed all ye warnings, you nautical folk,
For there’s bound to be trouble at sea,
Beware and be watching, there’s phantoms about,
Be scared, yes be scared as can be!”
Well, not too scared... sometimes ghosts can be friendly. They help us, guide us and warn of danger. For the kids, The Ghosts of Memory Cove performance has been specially written and produced by renowned children’s entertainer Michael Mills of Heaps Good Productions, who also stars.
The story revolves around Mr Thistle, who joined Matthew Flinders’ crew sailing from England in 1801 to complete the chart of Australia’s coast. He was warned not to take the journey by a mysterious fortune-teller - but he sailed anyway. How did the journey turn out? What became of Mr Thistle? And the crew? Discover the answers in this highly interactive adventure that features dancers, actors, puppets, and a spectacular (and spooky) video projection. The Ghosts of Memory Cove is a wistful and magical re-telling of one of South
Australia’s most important sea-faring adventures. Kids can come as they are, or better still, dress as ghosts or crew ready to take part in the adventure.
Monday to Friday at 11.30am and 1.30pm from 7 to 25 January 2013
Free with museum entry