The Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) has launched a 14-month program to mark the 250 years since the 1770 voyage of James Cook and the Endeavour crew charted the east coast of Australia.
The program, Encounters 2020, will involve a range of activities, exhibitions, educational resources, film and digital projects and a travelling exhibition by land and sea around the coast of Australia.
It will cover Australia’s earliest European history from dual perspectives: From the ship and from the shore.
Chief Executive and Director of the ANMM, Kevin Sumption said it was the nature of historical study to always investigate with new eyes and seek out all points of view.
“As a cultural institution we believe it is our role to continually analyse our history and broaden our country’s knowledge,” Mr Sumption said.
“In the 250 years since Cook arrived we really have only looked at it from one perspective, that from the ship,” he said.
“We want to take this opportunity to also to look at it from the perspective of the First Australians on the shore.”
He said the Encounters 2020 program would feature a range of exhibitions, objects and artworks at the museum throughout 2020, including a variety of film and digital resources that explored both Cook’s achievements and views from Indigenous communities on the history of the voyage.
A national education program would provide resources for primary and secondary teachers to offer new insights to Australian students.
However, the program with the largest outreach will be Encounters Around Australia.
“Encounters Around Australia is where we simultaneously set sail and hit the road. From February next year we will have the replica Endeavour undertaking a series of voyages to 38 destinations around Australia,” Mr Sumption said.
“Combined with this will be a travelling exhibition of First Nations’ art that will form a focus for discussion, and together will help bring the dual perspectives theme to as many Australians as possible.”
