Tools of the Trade ⚓
Discover the Gear Behind Life at Sea
There’s more to sailing than hoisting the sails and pointing the bow towards the horizon!
The Queensland Maritime Museum’s collection of nautical equipment offers a fascinating look at the tools, technology and skills that have kept ships sailing and seafarers working for generations.
From navigating the open ocean to exploring the seabed, our collection covers a huge range of maritime activities, including:
- Navigation and marine surveying
- Weather forecasting and meteorology
- Marine engineering and cargo handling
- Oceanography and navigation aids
- Seamanship and diving
- Fishing and whaling
- Shipbuilding and boatbuilding
- Naval warfare
Finding Your Way at Sea
Before GPS and digital navigation, sailors relied on precision instruments, careful calculations and a keen eye to stay on course.
Explore our collection of fascinating navigation and charting equipment, including:
- Compasses
- Sextants and octants
- Navigational calculators
- Chronometers
- Parallel rules and marine protractors
- Binoculars and telescopes
- Station pointers
Each instrument played an important role in helping mariners plot their position, chart their course and navigate safely across the oceans.
A Piece of History: Our Oldest Treasure
One of the real gems of the collection is an 18th-century octant, believed to be the Museum’s oldest object.
It once belonged to Captain Edward Fiott of the East India Company and offers a fascinating connection to the early days of ocean exploration and navigation.
Charting Queensland’s Maritime History
The Museum also holds a collection of marine surveying instruments, including equipment used by Captain Ferris Roberts, a significant Queensland marine surveyor.
These tools helped map waterways, measure coastlines and build the knowledge needed to navigate Queensland’s waters safely.
From the simplest compass to precision surveying instruments, discover the clever tools that helped generations of sailors find their way.
Come aboard and explore the fascinating gear behind our maritime past! 🌊
More Than Just Tools of the Trade
A Collection with a Story to Tell ⚓
The Queensland Maritime Museum’s nautical instrument collection is a treasure trove of maritime history, preserving the tools, technology and skills that helped keep Queensland’s vessels sailing safely.
The collection represents a wide range of maritime trades and professions. Many items have well-documented histories and were originally used aboard vessels operating in Queensland waters.
What’s particularly fascinating is how the collection captures the evolution of navigation and marine technology. Many instruments show how tools and techniques changed over time, and most remain in excellent condition.
Made by the Best in the Business
Our collection features instruments from some of the world’s most respected British and Australian nautical instrument makers.
These include:
- Spencer, Browning & Rust: A respected London instrument-making company that operated between 1784 and 1840.
- Troughton & Simms: Renowned British makers of precision scientific and navigational instruments.
- Edward Massey: An innovative British instrument maker who secured at least six British patents between 1802 and 1848 for ship logs and other nautical measuring instruments.
Queensland’s Own Instrument Makers
The collection also celebrates the craftsmanship and ingenuity of local businesses that helped keep Queensland’s maritime industry on course.
Highlights include:
- I. C. Piers: A Brisbane instrument maker first listed in 1879.
- Sawtell Opticians: A long-established company dating back to the 19th century. Its products included chronometers, compasses, barometers and telescopes. The company also published nautical almanacs and navigational guides.
Preserving the Tools That Made Maritime History
From precision instruments crafted in Britain to locally made equipment used in Queensland waters, this collection offers a fascinating glimpse into the people, businesses and innovations that shaped maritime history.
Every instrument has a story. Every measurement helped chart a course. Together, they help us navigate our maritime past. 🌊