
Nine ships left Britain in 1836 bound for the newly-created province of South Australia. They carried 546 souls, all hoping for a better life on the other side of the world. Over many months they braved the perils of the ocean, including some of the most treacherous seas in the world.
Most passengers had never been to sea before and along with their sadness at leaving home, most battled seasickness, made worse by the cramped quarters they shared with others. They were often anxious and this anxiety was not misplaced.
Bound for South Australia features rare artefacts that passengers carried on those first ships. It relays accounts from their journals to offer glimpses of their voyages: what they ate, where they slept, their hopes for the new land and how they faced the trials of the voyage.
The exhibition also features evocative ship cabins from the 1930's, 1910s and 1950s to highlight what life on board was really like.
Hear Kevin Jones, the Museum's Director, interviewed on the exhibition here.
The exhibition works in collaboration with the Bound for South Australia digital re-enactment of those nine voyages made between February and December 1836 - www.boundforsouthaustralia.net.au. It uses physical objects to reinforce the personal stories sourced from original source material, including captains’ logs, letters and diaries kept by those on board, and passenger lists on the blog. Brought together for the very first time, these sources combine to produce real life accounts of these early South Australians – their hopes and fears, their excitement at the adventure, their moments of terror as they encountered the awesome power of the ocean.
In weekly episodes, blog subscribers and virtual visitors meet the people, and hear about their experiences in their own words. Weekly entries will be posted on the website until the end of 2011, or subscribers can receive email updates and notifications of new posts, or follow the action on a twitter feed.
 
 

|