Maritime Heritage

The Maritime Heritage department maintains collections, undertakes research, and develops exhibitions to communicate the ongoing local and global significance of Western Australia’s maritime history and cultural heritage.   

The Maritime Heritage department is responsible for the management, conservation, and protection of Western Australian maritime cultural heritage sites under the Commonwealth Underwater Cultural Heritage Act 2018 and the Maritime Archaeology Act 1973 (WA) (currently being updated). 

The department’s collections include both archaeological artefacts from maritime cultural heritage sites and materials/objects that tell the social and technological maritime histories of the State. These collections range from early Dutch shipwreck artefacts dating from 1629 to 1727, to the 1983 America’s Cup winning yacht, Australia II 

The collection highlights include the surviving hull timbers of Batavia and the SS Xantho engine, both reconstructed and on display at the WA Shipwrecks Museum; and HMAS Ovens – a Cold War-era submarine – and the pearling lugger, Trixen featured at the WA Maritime Museum.

The team also conducts research and maritime heritage fieldwork to contextualise Western Australia’s maritime history within the Indian Ocean and broader global networks. The findings are communicated through publications, exhibitions, documentaries, and our community outreach programmes.  

Trial wreck site 3D model

See Australia’s oldest known
shipwreck site

During a 2021 expedition, the main Trial wreck site was surveyed using 3D photogrammetry. 

A shipwreck in shallow water near a sandbar, beneath a light blue sky. Most of the upper half of the shipwreck is exposed to the air above the water's surface.
WA Museum

Review of the Maritime Archaeology Act

The Western Australian Government, through the Western Australian Museum (WA Museum), has proposed changes to the Maritime Archaeology Act 1973 (WA) to reflect changes in national legislation, international and best practice, and to take account of the changing context of maritime archaeology over the last 50 years.

News and content

A colourful scan of an underwater shipwreck

Diving up to 100m into the Indian Ocean west of Perth, a team of elite technical divers are uncovering and identifying shipwrecks in conjunction with the Western Australian Museum. Some of these shipwrecks have been at the bottom of the sea for more than 100 years.

A Diver on SS Xantho bow, an underwater shipwreck

Curator of Maritime Heritage at the WA Museum Dr Ross Anderson said Xantho was a seemingly inconsequential vessel hidden in the pages of history, until its wreck was discovered by the Museum’s research team in 1979.  

Black and grey model of a shipwreck

To commemorate the 199th anniversary of the wrecking of the Belinda vessel near Esperance on 19 July 1824, Western Australian Museum and Curtin University released a digital 3D model of this sealing vessel.

Explore the Maritime Heritage collections

A page out of a very old journal

Maritime Journals

The vast Western Australian coastline was visited by hundreds of ships pre-colonisation, particularly Dutch trade ships. Many of these ships, such as the Emeloort, passed by without incident, documenting what they saw of the coastline as they went.

The hull of the Batavia, on display at the WA Museum Shipwreck Galleries

Maritime Archaeology Databases

Access the WA Museum's Maritime Archaeology Database to explore our shipwreck coastline. Find information on recovered ships, artefacts, Indigenous contact, numismatic (coin) materials and our international ANCODS agreement.

Heavily constructed open motor workboat used for servicing navigational beacons, buoys and lighthouses from the Commonwealth Government lighthouse tender MV Cape Don. The workboat’s hull is carvel planked in Oregon wood. It is installed with a 4-cylinder Kelvin diesel 20 horsepower engine.

Historic Vessel: Cape Don workboat

Toothpick boards are constructed of a timber frame, clad in varnished wood (such as plywood or balsa) sheets that are fixed using adhesive. This makes the board hollow, providing buoyancy. There is a removeable plug in the deck at the nose of the board to drain water after each use.

Historic Vessel: toothpick board

The open built Endeavour is a snub-nosed, carvel planked 14-foot wooden dinghy. It can be rigged as a sloop or a gaff, and has a centreboard, foredeck, and side decks. The hull to the waterline is painted white, while the deck, side benches and underside of the hull are painted brown. The original sail insignia shows the letter “E” inside a red and white diamond.

Historic Vessel: Endeavour

This double outrigger canoe was likely constructed from a single piece of hollowed Gyrocarpus Americanus wood and painted white. It comes with two booms, to which two floats can be attached. One float is broken. The vessel features two loose seats, one with a back rest. The floats are slipped in metal stirrups and wired on.

Historic Vessel: Christmas Island kolek

Research projects

Prof Martijn Manders (Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands/ Leiden) University, Corioli Souter (Head, Maritime Heritage WAM) Robin Jonkers and Danielle Vlasbloom (Leiden University) working with Traditional owners and other community members at the Museum of Geraldton, May 2024

Shared Histories, Different Memories

This project aims to recognise Aboriginal voices and stories relating to the Dutch shipwrecks on the Western Australian coast. Supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

VOC Archives and Australia 

Undertaking the digitisation and translation of 17th to 19th century Dutch maritime journals and letters. Supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The Australia Indonesia Museum (AIM) Project

The AIM Project seeks to develop long-term partnerships between Indonesian and Australian museum professionals and their institutions through co-curated exhibitions, joint research projects, training, and knowledge exchange.

Two people standing aboard a ship

Mobilising Dutch East India Company collections for new global stories

This project aim to situate Australian VOC collections in a global context, creating new stories about Australia as part of the VOC global network. (ARC LP210300960)