🥵 Hot day? Let’s cool things down. While the temperature climbs, these gentoo penguins are slicing through icy Antarctic waters. Clumsy on land, but absolute pros in the ocean. Need a cool break? Dive into the Ocean Photographer of the Year. 📸 Antarctica by Romain Barats

🔥 Too hot for the playground? We’ve got you covered. Our hands-on museum spaces are made for little bodies with big energy - safe places to run, touch, splash, explore and learn without the sunburn. ❄️ Fully air-conditioned. Kid-approved. www.sea.museum/en/whats-on/events/summer-school-holidays

✏️ Beach Bods | Life Drawing This summer, Gladdy Drawing Club presents Beach Bods a life-drawing session set inside The Beach, the museum’s summer exhibition and playscape. Wednesday 7 & 14 January, 11am–12pm FREE www.eventbrite.com.au/e/beach-bods-life-drawing-tickets-1977344617981?

Big work underway on Endeavour! We’re beginning a major conservation project to replace her standing rigging - the 56mm shrouds that support each mast and spar, carrying all 28 sails under constant tension. Please donate today to help preserve this remarkable ship. www.sea.museum/en/support/donate

SUNDAY READ: Long before the surfboard became a high-performance object, it was a tool of survival, ceremony and joy. 👉 A brief history of surfboards https://www.sea.museum/en/society-and-water/a-brief-history-of-surfboards Images: (Detail) Engraver: Edmund Scott, ANMM Collection

☀️🕶️ New Year, New Sun-Safe Habits! Throwback to the Gold Coast, 1950s: John Patterson giving his clients a classic sun-tan oil rub 🏖️✨. While sunbaking was all the rage, protecting your skin is the real 2026 resolution! 📸 Jeff Carter, 1957–59 | ANMM Collection

They say they love you… but do they know your favourite museum vessel? ⚓💔 If they don’t know, is it really love for 2026? Tag them and test it 👀

🔍 Here's the list of the most searched for collection items in 2025! You’ve been diving deep - from gentle giants to game-changing boats. 👉 Dive into what’s capturing attention at collections.sea.museum #Top2025 #YearInReview

🧜‍♀️ Mermaids Take Over The Beach! Make a splash after dark as a shimmering shoal of mermaids transforms The Beach into a magical underwater world 📅 When: Friday 16 & Saturday 17 January Grab your tickets now: www.sea.museum/en/whats-on/events/summer-school-holidays #WhatsOnSydney #Mermaids

🐋 Whale strandings are on the rise, but why? From a lone humpback at Byron Bay to mass strandings overseas, heartbreaking scenes are becoming more frequent. www.sea.museum/en/ocean-futures/whale-strandings-on-the-rise Image: © Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania.

From all of us at the Australian National Maritime Museum, wishing you moments of wonder, endless horizons and gentle seas. We’re taking a pause today, but the museum reopens at 9:30am on Boxing Day - see you then! Image: Brian Robinson, Solwater Relic III, Ur Wayii (Incoming Tide).

Today we celebrate the contributions and opportunities of migration. This photograph shows migrants aboard the MV TOSCANA in Trieste in 1954. Stories like these reflect the enduring role migration has played in shaping Australia. 📷 MV TOSCANA, Trieste, 1954

The flags at the Museum are at half-mast today. Beaches are places of connection and belonging, and Bondi holds a special place in Australian culture. Our thoughts are with everyone affected. The beach has always been a place where we all meet - it belongs to us all. Daryl Karp, Director & CEO

SUNDAY READ: Underwater photography didn’t begin with sleek cameras or high-tech gear - it started with a curious naturalist, a fascination with molluscs… and, later on, a mighty underwater explosion. https://www.sea.museum/en/ocean-futures/underwater-photography

More than 800 new names have now been added to Australia’s National Monument to Migration, representing migrants from 56 countries. https://www.sbs.com.au/news/video/more-names-added-to-australias-national-monument-to-migration-a-symbol-of-belonging-and-hope/svke6yhqi

🌊 Two Maritime History Talks Tomorrow! ⚓️ 🕛 12-1 pm: Australian Ocean Liners at War 🕑 2-3:30 pm: Ghosts Beneath the Waves When: Saturday 6 December 🎟 $10 / Free for Members Bookings: www.sea.museum/en/whats-on

Behind the scenes with our conservation team! Assistant Conservator Andi is condition reporting a Mokuy figure just back from Yolŋu Power: The Art of Yirrkala at the Art Gallery NSW. Condition reports help us monitor an object’s condition over time crucial for outgoing loans.

Congratulations to Aseni Gnanadasa and all student winners at the National History Challenge awards, hosted by Education Minister Jason Clare at Parliament House in Canberra last Monday 24 November. Find out more: https://historychallenge.org.au/ 📷 Steve Keough #nationalhistorychallenge #nhc2025

Happy first day of summer! ☀️🌊 It’s also National Water Safety Day the perfect moment to recognise the generations of lifesavers who’ve been keeping Australians safe in the surf for nearly a century.

🎨⚓ View from the Docks: In Conversation with Sam Wallman Join us on Thursday 4 December for a special evening with artist, writer and wharfie Sam Wallman. 📅 Thurs 4 Dec 6 to 7.30 pm 🎟️ $10 www.eventbrite.com.au/e/view-from-the-docks-in-conversation-with-sam-wallman-tickets-1685773807839

#FlashbackFriday Ok online detectives, we need your help. A visitor recently passed on these images of the Endeavour replica taken by her father. We think the photos were taken in NZ in 1996, but we are not sure which port. Can anyone help identify the location or share memories from that voyage?

Our beloved gaff rigged ketch Kathleen Gillet reached an exciting milestone yesterday as the main mast was lifted back into place. The vessel has been through a major overhaul. Kathleen Gillet should be back on the water by mid-December.

Special Guest Talk Join us on Thurs 4 December from 6- 7:30 pm for a special guest talk with artist and wharfie Sam Wallman. $10 Book: www.eventbrite.com.au/e/special-guest-talk-sam-wallman-view-from-the-docks-tickets-1685773807839?

Duyfken Update During routine maintenance, we discovered rot in the ship's apron. After three weeks of careful inspection and work, we’re pleased to say the rot affected only this one piece. Removing it was quite the challenge. The team had to use a hydraulic jack applying about 2Tons of force.

SUNDAY READ 🌊⚓ Step aboard the Neoliner Origin, the world’s largest sailing cargo ship, on its inaugural voyage from France to the US. Read more: www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/nov/19/shipping-carbon-emissions-neoliner-origin-cargo-age-of-sail? #SustainableShipping #GreenTravel

Dive into the world of freediving! 🌊✨ 📍 Theatre, Australian National Maritime Museum 🗓️ 23 Nov / 2 to 3:30PM (walkthrough from 1 PM) www.eventbrite.com.au/e/special-live-panel-the-future-of-freediving-tickets-1855748877849?

🎬 Can you guess the movie? 🤔 Use the collection of objects below as your clues and drop your answer in the comments! 👀🍿 #MovieMystery #GuessTheFilm #ClueChallenge

A Graphic Tale of Shipwreck has arrived at the Victor Harbor National Trust Museum — right where the story began. It’s already drawing record crowds. Big thanks to our SA partners for helping bring this exhibition home. More info: www.victorharbornattrust.org.au ⚓

Given to a six-year-old girl at the 1941 Welcome Home parade for HMAS Sydney (II), this souvenir Red Ensign carries the pencilled signatures of five sailors. Just 9 months later, all five were lost when Sydney sank with all 645 hands lost. ANMM Collection – Gift from Valerie Sloan.

We’ve all crossed the historic Pyrmont Bridge… but have you seen it from below? 👀 Our conservation team went under the bridge with steam engineer Graham, one of the few authorised to operate the swing mechanism, to get a close-up of this iconic structure. 🌉⚙️

Shifting sands at Maroubra Beach have revealed the wreck of the HEREWARD once again — a 19th-century iron clipper driven ashore during a fierce storm in May 1898. Though the crew survived, the ship never sailed again, slowly pulled apart by waves and weather. Object number 00002278

Rowing Queens! We were delighted to welcome the remarkable team from Seas the Day to the museum this week. Following their extraordinary achievement of rowing across the Pacific Ocean, they shared their journey with us exhausted yet uplifted. Congratulations to you both Miriam and Jess!

This #RemembranceDay, we honour the submariners of AE2. Before the ANZACs landed at Gallipoli, AE2 became the first Allied submarine to breach the Dardanelles, “running amok” to disrupt enemy supply lines. Scuttled after five days of daring action, all 35 crew survived.

🌊 On this day in 1914, the guns of HMAS Sydney and SMS Emden met off the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in what became the Royal Australian Navy’s first sea battle. Diagram by Albert M. Barker, drawn from the captains’ original sketches, maps the courses of both ships during the battle. 00029824 #WWI

SUNDAY READ: After decades of beach walks, Mark and Lucy Longden found something extraordinary buried in the sand between Ocean Grove and Point Lonsdale, the remains of a wooden ship, possibly lost more than a century ago. ⚓️ https://loom.ly/Hagya8c Photo: Rodney Nicholson

🌊 Now Open: Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 Dive into the beauty, drama and fragility of our blue planet. 📅 6 November 2025 to 3 May 2026 👉 www.sea.museum/ocean-photographer Presented in partnership @oceanographic_mag and @blancpain1735

⚓ Visiting Vessel Alert! We’re excited to welcome the brand-new HMAS Arafura to the museum visiting alongside the historic HMAS Advance. Both vessels have served as patrol boats in Australia’s northern waters, and it’s hard not to make some comparisons!

🐴 Here’s your form guide White’s Seahorse (Hippocampus whitei) 🏆 Status: Endangered in NSW 📏 Size: Up to 16 cm tall 🌊 Habitat: Seagrass meadows, sponges & soft corals 👨‍👩‍👧 Family values: Monogamous 🐢 Speed: One of the slowest swimmers in the sea 📸 Photos: William Gladstone

Maritime history is full of mighty moustaches - each one a story of resilience and sea-faring style. Image: Samuel J Hood Studio #Movember #MartimeMoustache

🌊 What’s On This November? Discover Frozen Witness: Aurora’s Polar Voyages Ocean Photographer of the Year launching 6 November. Talks: Royal Australian Navy in Antarctica, The Wallace Line with Ian Burnet, Future of Freediving, to family favourites. www.sea.museum/en/whats-on

🎉 Happy World Teachers’ Day! Today we celebrate and highlight the work of our incredible Museum Educators, many of whom are highly experienced, trained teachers. Explore free online learning resources: www.sea.museum/en/learn #WorldTeachersDay2025 #HatsOffToTeachers

🎃 Need some last-minute Halloween costume inspo? We’ve got you covered maritime style! Take a cue from some of our icons and turn your Halloween look into a sea-worthy statement. Show us your nautical Halloween looks! 👻

The first section of this historic structure was lifted into place by crane today, even in the rain! ☔ Originally built in 1912 at Garden Island, the mast once sent flag, light and semaphore messages to ships across Sydney Harbour. It was dismantled in 1978 and later restored at the museum in 1991.

📸 Throwback to 1978! The Garden Island Signal Mast was dismantled and airlifted by a Chinook helicopter in 1978. The mast originally erected in 1912 before part of it was relocated to the museum in 1991. After extensive repair work over the past six months it will be reinstalled this week.

⛵ Sydney Harbour comes alive! This Sunday, 26 October, watch the pearl lugger John Louis in the Balmain Regatta Working Boats category. A tradition stretching back to the 1830s, captured in our historic Hall photographic collection. #BalmainRegatta #SydneyHarbour #MaritimeHeritage #WorkingBoats

♿ The Maritime Museum offers Sensory Days, audio tours, and social stories on special days, and sensory backpacks are available every day, including toys and noise-reducing headphones - just ask our friendly staff. Learn more: www.sea.museum/en/visit/plan-your-visit/accessibility

This Sunday, grandparents get the VIP treatment! Free entry, tall ships, exhibitions, café treats and 15% off at the shop. Celebrate, explore, and make memories together! 🌊❤️ More info: www.sea.museum/en/whats-on/events/grandparents-day #GrandparentsDay #MaritimeMuseum #FamilyDayOut

⚓ This week in 1944, the Royal Australian Navy played a vital role in what is considered one of the largest naval battles, the Battle for Leyte Gulf in the Philippines. The series of engagements marked a turning point in the Pacific War and set the course for the liberation of the Philippines.

☀️ Beat the heat and dive into some incredible stories! 🎤 Talk: HMS Edinburgh and the Lost Gold 📚 Author Talk: Secrets, Judi Morison 👻 Evening Edition: Australian Ghost Ships 📖 Book Launch: Twice in a Blue Moon, Richard Barnes and Pilbara, Judy Nunn https://www.sea.museum/en/whats-on

🎉 Happy Birthday to the Sydney Opera House! 🎂 Here’s a throwback to Sydney Harbour in the 1960s when the P&O liner ORIANA was being turned around by three tugboats off Bennelong Point 📸 John Richard “Jack” Tyrrell Richardson, around 1960 Gift of Patricia ANMS1125[061] richardson