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Temporary Exhibitions
> Wrecked! Tragedy and the Southern Seas

Permanent Exhibitions
> Tapestry of Treasures: The First Nautical Museum
> Dolphins: The Pod in the Port
> Active II
> Action Stations!
> Life's A Beach
> Journeys
> Catch of the Day
> Rock Around the Pot
> Port Life
> Genealogy
> The Mosquito Fleet

> Travelling Exhibitions
> Temporary Exhibition Gallery

The Mosquito Fleet

Ketches are integral to the heritage of South Australia’s maritime foundations. They are one of the last links to the days of working, trading and travelling under sail. For over 100 years these small craft, dubbed the Mosquito Fleet, plied South Australian waters doing the work of present day land rigs and bulk cargo handling vessels.

At their height in the 1880s and 1890s, ketches played a pivotal role in intra-colonial trade and communication. 60 years later, as the Second World War drew to a close it was clear that ketches had endured beyond the introduction of steamships and railways. However, the introduction of bulk handling and containerisation signalled the end of an era for the ketches that were once the only viable trading link between Adelaide and the smaller regional centres.

This core exhibition features an original life buoy from the ketch Annie Watt, beautiful brass navigation instruments from the Leillateah, and the leather jacket worn by Albert ‘Scug’ Cutler, fanatical Magpies supporter and last skipper of the iconic ketch Nelcebee.

Original photographs, drawings and ephemera showcase the romance and nostalgia that bred a culture of sailor art amongst those who worked the Mosquito Fleet.

At the heart of this exhibition lies the replica ketch, Active II, proudly situated within the Museum’s entrance gallery. While children explore the vessel and cramped living quarters of the crew, the reflective visitor can linger in the Captain’s cabin to the sounds of a languid, if not satirical, verse penned by ketch Captain John Anderson in 1914. The poem relates the story of the ketch Napperby, a wild and wonderful ketch with a mind of its own tirelessly battling the will of the crew who sailed her.

The identity of the Mosquito Fleet and its distinct maritime community is celebrated in this exhibition. The dichotomy of the rough and ready sailor alongside the majesty and romance of the ketch fleet adds to the awe of these iconic vessels and their permanent place in the maritime landscape of South Australia.