Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney

The National Maritime Museum, in Sydney

The National Maritime Museum of Sydney testifies to the close link that unites the city to the sea, in a country long accessible only by the ocean. The Sydney audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this fascinating museum of Darling Harbour, that retraces the maritime history of Australia, from the Aboriginal Eora people to the arrival of the colonists, with the replica of Cook's ship and a submarine open to visit.

The maritime history of Australia

This museum testifies to the close link that Sydney maintains with the sea and maritime activity. Located on the edge of the Tasman Sea, in a country that was long accessible only by sea, and endowed with a port considered today as one of the finest of the world, Sydney possesses a rich and fascinating maritime history. The National Maritime Museum highlights it through numerous exhibitions. It grants notably an important place to the Aboriginal Eora people, who occupied these lands for several millennia, and whose memory is evoked here with respect, before addressing the arrival of the colonists in the eighteenth century, illustrated by the replica of the ship of James Cook, the first European to land at Sydney. You also discover numerous objects, models, instruments and craft, as well as an authentic Australian submarine open to visit, that allows to understand the life of the sailors in immersion. It is one of the most fascinating and most symbolic museums of the city: it invites to the encounter of Aboriginal cultures and retraces the way in which the bay of Sydney became one of the most famous and most beautiful of the world. Between indigenous heritage, exploration and innovation, it offers a complete panorama of the relationship of Australia to the ocean. A maritime museum and a memory of the bay, the National Maritime Museum is a fine stop of the discovery of Sydney.

What to see

Here you discover the maritime history of Australia, from the Aboriginal Eora people, present for millennia and evoked with respect, to the arrival of the colonists in the eighteenth century; the museum of Darling Harbour presents the replica of the ship of James Cook, numerous objects and craft, and an authentic Australian submarine open to visit. The National Maritime Museum is a high place of Sydney. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The National Maritime Museum lies at Darling Harbour, in Sydney, reachable on foot or by transport. The opening hours and the conditions of entry follow those of the establishment, which vary; some parts, like the submarine and Cook's ship, may be paying. It is best to enquire before coming.

What to see at the National Maritime Museum of Sydney?

The maritime history of Australia, from the cultures of the Aboriginal Eora people, present for millennia, to the arrival of the colonists in the eighteenth century; the museum of Darling Harbour exhibits the replica of the ship of James Cook, numerous objects, models and craft, as well as an authentic Australian submarine open to visit.