Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition at Melbourne Museum

On April 15, 1912, Titanic, the world’s largest ship, sank after colliding with an iceberg, claiming more than 1,500 lives and shaking the world’s confidence in the infallibility of modern technology. Almost 100 years later, Melbourne Museum is paying a tribute to the tragedy in Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition, which showcases more than 280 artefacts retrieved from the ship’s debris field, offering visitors a poignant look at this legendary ship and its passengers and crew.

The exhibition has been created with a focus on the Titanic’s compelling human stories, told through authentic artefacts and exacting re-creations of the ship’s interior. Delicate bottles of perfume, china bearing the logo of the elite White Star Line, even a piece of the hull of the Titanic - these and many other objects collected from the wreck site offer poignant connections to lives abruptly ended or forever changed by one of the world’s greatest maritime disasters.

As they enter the exhibition, each visitor is presented with a replica boarding pass of an actual passenger, drawing them back in time to 1912 and the ship’s fateful maiden voyage. Then begins a journey through the life of the Titanic, from construction to life on board, to its ill-fated voyage, tragic sinking and the amazing efforts to recover artefacts. Along the way visitors will marvel at the full-size recreation of the ship’s Grand Staircase, learn countless stories of heroism and humanity and even press their palms against an “iceberg”.

The exhibition also tells the Titanic’s Australian stories, and how its sinking strongly resonated with communities here. In the “Memorial Gallery”, guests will be able to take their boarding pass to the memorial wall and discover whether their passenger and travelling companions survived or perished.

“With more than 22 million visitors to date, we consistently see how Titanic resonates and touches everyone. Each of us can relate to someone on Titanic and the retelling of her story feeds our curiosity time and again,” states Cheryl Mure, Vice President of RMS Titanic, Inc. “We have been anxious to present Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition in Australia for many years. Now through the exciting partnerships with Melbourne Museum and Frontier Events, we look forward to offering visitors a rare opportunity to experience this important piece of history.”

Over the past 19 years, this exhibition has appeared in major museums worldwide - from Chicago to Los Angeles and Paris to London. RMS Titanic, Inc. is the only company permitted by law to recover objects from the wreck of the Titanic. The Company was granted Salvor-in-Possession rights to the wreck site of Titanic by a United States federal court in 1994 and has conducted seven research and recovery expeditions to the Titanic rescuing more than 5,500 artefacts.

Melbourne Museum, which had such an outstanding success in 2009 with “A Day in Pompeii”, is collaborating with Frontier Events to host Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition.

Exhibition closes 17 October 2010

Prices: Adult $24 - Child $16 - Concession $18 - Family (2 Adults, 2 children) $66

The Melbourne Museum is in Nicholson Street, Carlton Gardens. For more information phone 03 8341 7111.