South Australian shipwreck story retold as graphic novel in stunning new Maritime Museum exhibition

Opening this July at the Australian National Maritime Museum is A Graphic Tale of Shipwreck: Rediscovering South Australian, a brand-new exhibition about South Australian, a British barque wrecked near modern-day Victor Harbor, South Australia in 1837. The exhibition showcases this exhilarating story in the unique and visually stunning medium of a graphic novel.

Based on an upcoming graphic novel created by Professor Holger Deuter and Dr James Hunter, A Graphic Tale of Shipwreck: Rediscovering South Australian showcases the Museum’s maritime archaeological research and highlights the variety of engaging and immersive ways in which these important stories can be told to, and appreciated by, a wide variety of people.

This exciting new exhibition combines award-winning VR (Virtual Reality) technology developed collaboratively with the University of Applied Sciences, Kaiserslautern, with striking comic art-style to allow audiences a chance to explore and experience South Australian and its shipwreck site.

Additionally, exhibition visitors will experience South Australian’s 2018 discovery and subsequent investigation by being able to view original and reproduction archival documents, and descriptions of archaeological techniques that reveal how South Australian was finally discovered 183 years after its loss, with video and audio content to explain these processes.

Only one crude historical sketch is known to exist of South Australian and no known visual representations exist of the men who crewed it. This exhibition will bring to life South Australia’s oldest known shipwreck and provide a unique visual perspective of this historic event and the people associated with it.

Museum CEO and Director Ms Daryl Karp has said, ‘This exhibition highlights an exciting new way of storytelling, bringing to life these significant stories in Australian maritime history. We’re thrilled to be showcasing the brilliant designs of James and Holger, but also this groundbreaking new technology which allows the discovery of shipwrecks to become an immersive experience.’

Dr James Hunter said, ‘Too often exhibitions showcase the aftermath of shipwrecks. Rarely do we see the process of a ship’s destruction visually represented. This exhibition will allow visitors a rare perspective of this historically significant event by providing captivating imagery and objects that highlight South Australian, its loss, and its shipwreck site.’

This free exhibition will open on July 6th in the Theatrette at the Australian National Maritime Museum.

For more information on the exhibition, please visit: A Graphic Tale of Shipwreck: Rediscovering South Australian - Australian National Maritime Museum