Flinders University has acquired a fleet of historic ship models thanks to a generous donation, including an excellent model of HMS Endeavour – a ship commanded by Lieutenant James Cook on his first voyage to Australia, and a museum quality replica of the HMS Trincomalee – a vessel built at the end of the Napoleonic wars.
The models have been placed on long-term loan with Flinders’ Maritime Program, thanks to Emeritus Professor Vincent Megaw, a long-standing supporter of the University who also played a key role in the development of the Flinders University Art Museum’s collections, as a member of staff.
The models span ships from the Viking Period through to the 1920s with an emphasis on the 16th to 18th centuries, and include ships significant to Australia’s early European history.
Emeritus Professor Megaw has always been interested in the nautical and maritime, and was a facilitator in the development of Flinders’ Maritime Archaeology Program when the archaeology program was in its infancy.
In the last two decades, he has amassed a large collection of high-quality boat and ship models that now number more than 50. The majority represent historic vessels, complemented by vernacular ship types demonstrating regional forms such as a Dutch yacht and typical English southern sailing dinghy.
Craftmanship varies from basic reconstructions to accurate and detailed historic replicas. Of particularly high quality construction and historic accuracy is the model of the HMS Trincomalee (a ship that exists today) and the Royal Caroline.
The excellent model of HMS Endeavour was docked for some time on the third floor of the Flinders University library, while the Dutch East India Company 1629 Batavia model has been on loan to the SA Maritime Museum in Port Adelaide.
The collection is currently primarily housed in the Archaeology Laboratory with several models on loan around campus. For several years, the models have been used in teaching undergraduate and post-graduate topics. Students get the chance to use the models to learn and visualise basic knowledge regarding ship parts, shapes and construction details.
The ‘Flinders Fleet’ is an integral element in the teaching of ships, a collection that is unique to Flinders University and unparalleled in Australia.