Charles Darwin at Sydney Maritime Museum

A Review of the Exhibition 'Voyages and Ideas that Shook the World'

Jul 22, 2009

Sydney Maritime Museum's exhibition presents an unusual slant on Charles Darwin's significance by considering his role on one of the first survey ships, HMS Beagle.

The bicentenary of Charles Darwin’s birth has spawned a plethora of events celebrating the father of evolutionary theory and the consequences of his work.

Darwin’s lifelong focus on the natural world was started by the extensive collections he made in the Beagle’s circumnavigation of the world. But little consideration has been paid to the importance of the work of the survey ship that he was on. The exhibition Voyages and Ideas that Shook the World goes someway to setting that right.

The exhibition begins by illuminating, through original documents, paintings and helpful signposting, the series of events that led to Darwin’s great voyage.

Success of the Early Survey Ships

In the early 19th century, Britain sent survey ships around the globe to establish sea routes, particularly to places like Australia with its rich mineral deposits, and to explore beyond the fringes of European settlement. An elite group of captains, surveyors, naturalists and artists were on board.

Charles Darwin became one of those fortunate naturalists more by accident than design. His father, Dr Darwin, had despaired of his ability to settle to anything. At 22 he had made abortive attempts to train as a doctor and a clergyman. It was only when he met John Henslow, the charismatic Professor of Botany in Oxford that he realised where his interests lay.

Henslow knew of a vacancy on a survey ship for a naturalist and introduced Darwin to HMS Beagle’s Captain. Dr James Fitzroy was 24 years old, almost exactly the same age as Darwin. Fitzroy had served on the Beagle's first survey voyage of South America, when the Captain, Pringle Stoke, had committed suicide; James Fitzroy knew how important it was to have like-minded company on board.

Ensuring that life on board survey ships was as congenial and comfortable as possible was a priority for all. The living conditions were cramped and the Beagle was away for 5 years from 1831.

HMS Beagle's Floating Community

As each section starts, a useful reminder of the survey ships, including HMS Beagle, is given in the form of a ‘Who’s Who?’ guide to ships and crew.

Drawings of the structure of the Beagle and records made by its inhabitants are presented beautifully – one of the strengths of this exhibition. The viewer is left with a sense of who was on board and how they lived. All naval officers were trained as artists and the drawings of the onboard artists, such as Symes Covington, are much in evidence. Charles Darwin’s cramped living quarters, where he slept and worked, are shown in replica alongside some of his equipment, including an early model of a microscope.

Other facets of the Beagle voyage are presented towards the end of the exhibition where Fitzroy’s reputation as a weatherman is highlighted. On its first survey voyage, the Beagle lost several men in a violent storm. Fitzroy realised that understanding how storms build up was imperative to the safety of long voyages and he subsequently invented the first barometer.

Charles Darwin the Voyager.

In a time line drawn alongside a ramp joining the floors of the exhibition, the length of the Beagle’s voyage is cleverly illustrated. Touching down in different countries of the world, Charles Darwin wrote constantly of his wonder at the myriad beauty and diversity of the natural world and appropriate quotes are presented.

However, this exhibition does not set out to cover Darwin’s career as a naturalist. The sections on, for example, classification, his collections, and his experiments are sparse. And it does not address itself to the younger visitor. There are one or two interactive displays and computer programs with teenagers in mind, but parents with twitchy toddlers would be well advised to think twice about attending.

That aside, the exhibition presents a picture of the importance of survey ships, the magnitude of the task the voyagers set themselves and Charles Darwin’s influence on HMS Beagle. The world of cartography and natural history were revolutionised by the information the survey ships collected and Voyages and Ideas that Shook the World illustrates this well.

The copyright of the article Charles Darwin at Sydney Maritime Museum in Aus/NZ/Oceania Travel is owned by Catherine Whitlock. Permission to republish Charles Darwin at Sydney Maritime Museum in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.