When: 9:30-3pm Everyday of the Festival
Where: Marina
Sail in to the WA Museum - Geraldton for ships n' sails and navigation tales. Family friendly events throughout the school holidays. For program information click here.
Sail into the WA Museum – Geraldton these school holidays and uncover the mysterious “southland not yet known”. Who first sailed past the WA coast? What were they looking for? Learn how valuable charts and navigation skills were used to get to the riches of the Spice Islands. Why did 17th Century traders and sailors keep their maps and charts a secret?
In late October, we will acknowledge the 400th anniversary of the first Europeans (Dutchman Dirk Hartog and his crew) to arrive on Western Australian soil, on an island just north of Shark Bay in 1616.
Commemorative dish rubbings
Times: 9:30am – 3pm
Dates: 24 September – 16 October*
Cost: $2
Age: all ages
Bookings: required for groups of more than 5. Call 9431 8388
There are two replica dishes; Dirk Hartog’s famous inscribed dish he left at Shark Bay in 1616, and de Vlamingh’s dish he left to replace Hartog’s in 1697. Make commemorative rubbings of these dishes and discover the fascinating stories behind them and their place in Australia’s history. You will have two beautiful mementos to keep.
Draw the Duyfken
Times: 9.30am – 3pm
Dates: 24 September – 16 October*
Cost: free
Age: 6+
Bookings: required for groups of more than 5. Call 9431 8388
Follow six easy steps and be amazed at your stunning drawing of the little ship Duyfken or Hartog’s larger, more heavily armed Eendracht. What adventures and discoveries will the crew have as they sail to and from the Spice Islands? How many cannons will the ship have? What colours will it be painted and what flags will fly from the masts?
Off the charts
Times: 10.30 am – 11:00am
Dates: Tuesday 27 September & Thursday 29 September
Cost: free
Age: 8+
Bookings: required for groups of more than 5. Call 9431 8388
Discover how the sailors and traders of the 17th Century found their way across more than 14,000km of the southern Indian Ocean to the Spice Islands. Learn what equipment and methods they used for navigation. Discover how valuable the early navigation charts were to these mariners, and how and why they kept them secret.
Spice Odyssey
Times: 10.30am – 11:00am
Dates: Monday 3 October & Wednesday 5 October & Friday 7 October
Cost: free
Age: all ages
Bookings: required for groups of more than 5. Call 9431 8388
Explore the scents, colours and textures of the main spices so sought after by Europeans in the 17th Century. See if you can match the spices with their descriptions and what it was used for. Would you have been a successful trader in the 1600s?
Sailors and traders – activity corner
Times: 9.30am – 3pm
Dates: 24 September – 16 October*
Cost: free
Age: all ages
Bookings: required for groups of more than 5. Call 9431 8388
Children and their families can explore the rich maritime stories, adventures and misadventures along the WA coastline during 17th Century.
Trails
Times: 9.30am – 3pm
Dates: 24 September – 16 October*
Cost: $3 per trail (or $2.50 for family groups of 4 or more)
Age: all ages
Bookings: required for groups of more than 5. Call 9431 8388
Choose from two action-packed maritime themed trails around the Museum.
*The WA Museum – Geraldton is closed on Monday, 26 September for the Queen’s Birthday public holiday