Maritime Heritage Association of Western Australia

08/08/2026

Margaret River Region Open Studios runs this year from the 12th to the 27th September. With the 150th anniversary of the sinking of the S. S. Georgette, a commemorative event will take place on Sunday, 20 September at 11am at photographer John Bowskill's studio 20km south of Margaret River. Author Marcia van Zeller, who has written a historic novel and thesis about the Georgette's sinking, will present her perspective on the conflicting narratives around the sinking, rescue and judicial inquiry that followed. Admission is free but bookings are required. Please go to John Bowskills website link below to RSVP.

John Bowskill’s photographic exhibition for the 150th anniversary of the SS Georgette shipwreck at Redgate Beach, Margaret River, Western Australia.

11/06/2026

ALBANY MARITIME CELEBRATION

Albany is the site for Western Australia's first bicentenary and the 50th anniversary of the building of the Amity replica. Come down for a great Maritime celebration. Whilst European seafarers had been visiting since as early as 1627, with Pieter Nuyts first mapping of the coastline, it was on the 25 December 1826, that HM colonial brig Amity, carrying Major Edmund Lockyer and his party, arrived at King George Sound to establish a military garrison. On 21 January 1827 the Union Jack was raised and a "Feu de Joie" fired by the troops, formally annexing the territory and in doing so, preventing the French from staking a claim of sovereignty.

Information about the lectures in the Museum on Tuesdays
10:30am start for 45mins + question time.
Place The Co-op Building

July 7 Malcolm Traill; History of Maritime Albany
July 14 Darren Russel; Amity Replica maintenance
July 21 Lawrence Cuthbert; History of Albany Maritime Fdtn
July 28 Ian Forsyth; History of Forsyth family in Albany
July 30 Ian Forsyth; Lecture at the Albany Library about George Forsyth, the first Harbour Master of WA.

Visitors are invited to immerse themselves in a visual and historical journey through Albany’s ma

17/11/2025

End of Year Wind Up 2025 - what an excellent gathering with special thanks to Robin & Pam Hicks for making their busy workshop available.
A special year with the opportunity to see the new spars being fabricated for the STS Leeuwin's return to service after the horrendous damage in Fremantle Harbour.

17/11/2025

End of Year Wind Up 2025 - Big thank you to Robin & Pam Hicks for hosting our annual event. Lovely to see so many great faces!
But this year was special with all the work to get STS Leeuwin back on her feet. Below are some photos of the damage and the progress in making the replacements. We are so fortunate to have these great skills still alive in our State.

20/07/2025

The Search and Rescue of the Albany Pilot Launch Pelican
MHA President Ross Shardlow will be giving a presentation at 7pm July 22nd at Six Degrees, Albany $30 inc dinner

18/11/2024

A big thank you to Robin & Pam Hicks for opening up their maritime workshop & museum for Associations end of year celebrations. All the photographs by David Nicolson.

15/11/2024

Last Reminder! Your annual opportunity to see the wonders of a real maritime workshop.

17/08/2024

Make a note in your Diary!

02/06/2024

Albany Maritime Festival is coming up soon!
28th June to 31st July
Take a look at their website: https://www.cityofalbanyevents.com/maritimefestival2024
Ross Shardlow's lecture will be on the 17th of July and the MHA Bookclub on the 18th of July.
Duyfken Book talk by Graeme C***s is on the 22th of
July.

Venues across Albany will be heating up this July, as the annual Maritime Festival returns.

26/01/2024

On the 24th of January it was 25 years ago that the Duyfken Replica was launched.
The MHA celebrated this historic fact at the Orient Bar in Fremantle. This is the speech from our Secretary:-

Welcome Kaya en welkom everyone
We acknowledge the original Custodians of the Wadjuk Noongar on which land we gather today, and pay our respects to their Elders past and present.

We also pay respect to the custodians of the Penne father river where the original Duyfken landed in 1606.

I am the secretary of the Maritime Heritage association and we welcome all members here of the MHA. We have memberships forms and books at the MHA table and there will be also a raffle with the money going to the Fremantle Volunteer Sea Rescue Group Inc.

Jill Worsley made an amazing quilt with the Duyfken on it and will be yours if you win the raffle!

We also welcome members and crew of the former Duyfken Replica Foundation and the members of ABBA and OGA WA and all people who are interested in the Maritime history of our Little Dove and like to raise the glass with us. Thanks Tony, the owner of the Bar Orient, who kindly allowed us to use the Chesterfield Lounge

And there will be some finger food gifted by the MHA.

A special welcome to the George Kailis , Janine Young ,the wife of late Michael Young [ Jacob Jong] the founder of the Duyfken Replica and deputy mayor Jenny Achibald.

We think that maritime heritage is really important for a city like Fremantle and there is so much to celebrate these past months!

It was so pity that one of our most revered and distinguished members, Bill Leonard (William McDonald Leonard) could not be there. But we raised the glass to him.

What our chair Nick Burningham earlier wrote in the MHA journal came together on this anniversary.

There was widely the feeling that Fremantle must continue to be the centre of excellence In retrospect, we should have proclaimed that Fremantle must continue to be the Bill Leonard Centre of Excellence for Replica Ship Building.