About this Event
The long, slow passage from the Old Country to Port Jackson is often reduced to a few lines of dates, deaths, illnesses and numbers landed. Yet for the convicts, emigrants, soldiers, officials and ship's crew, those months at sea were anything but incidental. They were transformative, frightening, monotonous, and at times unexpectedly communal.
This presentation looks at the voyage itself from a human perspective - the cramped conditions and routines, the rigid echoes of Georgian England’s class system, and the strange equality imposed by the seasons, storms, dangers, and uncertainty about the future. For a brief moment in their lives, all aboard, willing or unwilling, shared the same timber world and the same horizon.
Told through the eyes of a merchant seafarer, this talk invites us to step into that world and consider what the voyage meant to those who endured it, survived it, and were possibly changed by it.
Mike is a former Australian seafarer with a deep passion for the sea and for the stories of those who crossed it. After a decade serving on Australian and British merchant ships as a deck officer, he transitioned ashore to a career in maritime education and training. His professional roles have included NSW TAFE, the NSW Maritime Authority, Sydney Ferries, and the NSW Fishing Industry Training. A committed advocate for maritime heritage, Mike brings a seafarer’s insight to the human stories behind Australia’s early voyages. He is currently President of Wollongong U3A and delights in sharing his enthusiasm for ships, sailors, and the sea and their connections with Australian history.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Parramatta Female Factory Friends - Research Centre and Ann Gordon Tearooms, 5 Fleet Street, North Parramatta, Australia
AUD 6.61
