Innovative web-based Australian Register of Historic Vessels

In a far-reaching scheme to help conserve Australia’s maritime heritage in private and public ownership, the Australian National Maritime Museum has launched the nation’s first Australian Register of Historic Vessels.

The initial objective is to assemble a broad picture of Australia’s historic boats and ships – indicating the various types, their numbers, their distribution, the uses they serve and their condition. At a later stage decisions will be taken on which individual vessels should be elevated to a ‘national heritage’ list, those considered to be the most significant historic vessels in Australia and worthy of conservation for the benefit of present and future Australians.

The new Register has been developed by the Australian National Maritime Museum in association with the Sydney Heritage Fleet. Mary-Louise Williams, Director of the National Maritime Museum, said at the launch the Register will foster community interest in Australia’s maritime heritage and help owners maintain and conserve their vessels.

It will be much more than a simple list of vessels with their specifications. It will has a wealth of background information on designers and builders, classes and types, and events in which vessels have participated.

"And it’s very much a work in progress," Ms Williams said. "We’re looking to the community for a stream of additional listings, and more historical and technical information. In time we expect the Register will provide a fascinating web of information linking boats to their communities."

Ms Williams said museums, traditionally known as collectors and exhibitors of historical items in set locations, are developing new skills with ‘outreach programs – taking exhibitions and other services out to the community.

"Ours is a national museum and we are proud to have launched the Australian Register of Historic Vessels – an innovative program which will applies right across Australia," she added.

The new Register, a digital database, is available to everyone, free, on the Australian National Maritime Museum’s website at www.anmm.gov.au/arhv. It will be launched with an initial list of 100 vessels – ranging from an early Australian surfboard and an Indigenous one-person fishing raft to a Murray River paddle steamer, a Newcastle collier and a former Royal Australian Navy destroyer.

Any owner wishing to nominate a vessel for inclusion in the Register will find the assessment criteria, helpful information and a Nomination Form on the Register web pages.

The Register has no legal status, and inclusion in the Register does not impose any constraints on the owner. Neither the Australian National Maritime Museum nor the Sydney Heritage Fleet has authority to direct how a vessel is maintained, repaired or used.

Further information is available on the website www.anmm.gov.au/arhv or by contacting ARHV Project Officer David Payne at the Australian National Maritime Museum, GPO Box 5131, SYDNEY NSW 2001 - telephone (02) 9298 3777, fax (02) 9298 3780, email arhv@anmm.gov.au.

Photo: Anniki and Antonia, Jack Zafer's twin pearling luggers at Thursday Island in the 1950s. Both craft feature on the Australian Register of Historic Vessels.
Reproduced courtesy of the Zafer family.

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