The Jervis Bay Maritime Museum & Gallery is home to the Lady Denman ferry, which was built in Huskisson in 1911 and operated on Sydney Harbour until 1979. In 1981, local volunteers undertook a hazardous voyage to bring the vessel back to Huskisson under tow. The Museum was opened by Aunty Marjorie Timbery, Dawn Fraser and Kay Cottee in 1988. Since then it has developed into a one of Australia’s leading regional museums, and the largest volunteer-run museum in New South Wales.
The stories of the Lady Denman and the Jervis Bay Maritime Museum are inextricably linked. To understand them, you have to go back to the days when Huskisson was known more for its shipbuilding than as a sought-after tourist destination. From 1864 to 1977 hundreds of wooden-hulled vessels were built along Currambene Creek, including sailing boats, steamships, schooners, tug-boats, and two passenger ferries for Sydney: Lady Scott (1914) and Lady Denman (1911).
These two sister-ships carried passengers across Sydney Harbour for many years. The Lady Scott was sold out of ferry service in 1969 and became a cruise boat, while the Lady Denman was decommissioned in 1979. A brave group of enthusiasts and Huskisson locals led by Dick Young fought to save the vessel from the scrapyard, convincing the Public Transport Commission to donate it as a museum piece in Huskisson. After two bumpy attempts, it finally arrived. It is the only Sydney Harbour ferry or Australian commercial vessel to be returned to its place of construction.
This iconic vessel, the last surviving fully wooden Sydney Harbour ferries, along with Vera Hatton’s Tuesday History Group, was the inspiration for creating the Museum. Starting with two buildings in 1988, this community of ambitious volunteers, over the successive years, have applied for Grants to support the growth of the organisation into the highly regarded organisation that it is today.
The Museum has maintained a strong association with the local Aboriginal community, and was one of the first regional museums to actively support on-site cultural activities from its first opening, with on-site elder Uncle Laddie Timbery.
