The Kenneth McPherson Memorial Lecture 2013
Presented in association with the Australian Association for Maritime History (AAMH)
Batavia Lecture Series 2013 – Presented by Prof Alan Powell
Emeritus Professor of History, Charles Darwin University
The maritime history of Australia’s monsoon coast, stretching from Broome to Cape York represents a complex and ancient heritage. These stories are shaped by the permeable movements of seafarers through the coasts, islands and open waters of Australia’s northern edge and those peoples living in and above this zone.
The strong and lengthy sea links between Western Australia and the Northern Territory offer a myriad of questions through which to explore this history. Did seamen from the Indonesian islands discover north Australia long before the coming of the Macassan trepang-gatherers in the late 17th century? Why is Macassan/Aboriginal interaction in Arnhem Land so much better documented than that in the Kimberleys? After recognizing the comprehensive seafaring of the Dutch who mapped two thirds of the continental coast, why is the great marine surveyor Philip Parker King who charted this area so little remembered (as compared with Matthew Flinders)?
Join Prof Alan Powell as he explores the monsoon coast through many of its signature storylines: the northwestern saltwater Aboriginal tribes; the pearling fleets and industry that has thrived; trepang-harvesting; European exploration; the dominant role of Western Australian shipping in connecting Darwin with other northern ports; and the drama and significance of these sealanes during World War II.
COST: $12 per person. Includes refreshments after the lecture
BOOKINGS: Essential on 9431 8455. Please RSVP by 5.00pm, Wednesday 12 June
WA Maritime Museum Fri 14 Jun 2013 6:00pm – 7:00pm