BALLINA NAVAL &
MARITIME MUSEUM
Dedicated to the preservation of the history of the Royal Australian Navy
and the Maritime History of the North Coast of New South Wales, Australia.
The museum is operated by volunteers, many of whom were there when history was being created.
The Building was supplied by Ballina Council whose support has been greatly appreciated, as has some local businesses.
To our visitors we say "THANK YOU".
Opening hours are: 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. seven days per week
The museum is only closed on Anzac Day (morning only), Good Friday, Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Address: ....REGATTA AVENUE (opposite swimming pool),
BALLINA N.S.W. 2478, AUSTRALIA
email: ...... balnavmu@ceinternet.com.au .. or .. curator@ballinamaritimemuseum.org.au
This museum is home to the LA BALSAS raft
On May 27,1973 three balsa rafts left Ecuador and arrived at Ballina on 21st November 1973.
The aim of the expedition was to prove that ancient civilisations from South America could
have traversed the Pacific in large numbers to populate the Pacific Islands and Australia.
One recreated raft was constructed from two of the rafts and along with other items from the expedition are on display at the museum. The history and a video record of the expedition is available at the museum. .
Other features of the museum include a reference library of over a thousand books, naval ships of the past century and paintings of warships by ex-navy artists, hundreds of models of ships and aircraft of all types, The larger models are approximately 4 metres long. There are several marine engines, a 21" torpedoe and many artifacts from ships, there are sections with thousands of photographs devoted to the maritime history of the Richmond river and historical data about the port of Ballina, replicas of a messdeck, the wheelhouse of a naval ship, an original letter from Lord Nelson, etc, etc..
One recreated raft was constructed from two of the rafts and along with other items from the expedition are on display at the museum. The history and a video record of the expedition is available at the museum. .
Other features of the museum include a reference library of over a thousand books, naval ships of the past century and paintings of warships by ex-navy artists, hundreds of models of ships and aircraft of all types, The larger models are approximately 4 metres long. There are several marine engines, a 21" torpedoe and many artifacts from ships, there are sections with thousands of photographs devoted to the maritime history of the Richmond river and historical data about the port of Ballina, replicas of a messdeck, the wheelhouse of a naval ship, an original letter from Lord Nelson, etc, etc..
Typical of the displays in this museum..
The ship model at the top is HMAS NESTOR II and the lower model is HMAS ANZAC II.
The display case at the rear features naval uniforms.
The display case at the rear features naval uniforms.