The WA Museum – Maritime, the WA Museum – Shipwreck Galleries and the WA Museum - Albany are offering an exciting selection of archaeological events for budding adventurers to celebrate National Archaeology Week from the 17th – 23rd May.
Join WA Museum Curator of Maritime Archaeology Ross Anderson at the WA Museum – Maritime, as he takes you into coastal waters to delve into the mysteries of the HSK Kormoran and its fateful battle with the HMAS Sydney in 1941. He will look into the discovery and identification of the pistol from the HSK Kormoran discovered at Red Bluff, Quobba Station in 2007.
Experience the chill of the southern pole as Dr Ian Godfrey, WA Museum Head of Conservation, takes you on a journey to one of the most isolated places on earth. Dr Godfrey will be highlighting recent research work he has undertaken on Sir Douglas Mawson’s Huts in Antarctica.
Dr Michael McCarthy, WA Museum Curator of Maritime Archaeology, will detail the Museum’s search for the archaeological evidence of the French in Shark Bay, as well as the exploration in the Falkland Islands where the wreck of the de Freycinet’s Uranie and remains of the nearby survivor’s camp represent one of the great elements of Australia’s ‘maritime heritage abroad’.
WA Museum Conservation Scientist, Vicki Richards, will enlighten you on the deterioration problems facing our iconic Batavia and the famous Swedish wreck, the Vasa.
The film The Hunt for the HMAS Sydney will also be screening daily at 11.00am and 1.00pm.
The WA Museum - Albany will be offering two lectures exploring the work of archaeologists from the Western Australian Museum.
On Thursday 21 May, Dr Moya Smith, WA Museum Head of the Anthropology and Archaeology Department, will be discussing the traces of traditional Aboriginal fishing practice that can be seen around the coastline as lines of stone which include both simple lines and more complex arrangements.
On Friday 22 May, Dr Smith will be taking a closer look at the wide variety of projects that members of the Anthropology and Archaeology Department have worked on since the 1970s including fieldwork, exhibitions and working with the collections.
Dr Smith has worked at the WA Museum for 30 years, doing field surveys in most parts of the state, before focusing her own research with Aboriginal communities in the South West and near Broome.
