HMS Beagle exhibition at the National Maritime Museum

3:52 AM Tue 7 Apr 2009 GMT

'Beagle model' . Click Here to view large photo

A major exhibition at the Australian National Maritime Museum takes you on the sea voyage that inspired Charles Darwin's great theory of evolution.

The young scientist circumnavigated the globe on the HMS Beagle in the years 1831-36 and the exhibition introduces his shipboard companions and shows you what they saw.

It includes ships plans, models, charts, documents from the voyage and scientific instruments of the type used on the Beagle.

There are pictures of landfalls and people encountered along the way painted by the ship's artists Augustus Earle and Conrad Martens, some of Darwin's original correspondence and specimens from his natural history collection - crustacea from all around the globe.

And a mock-up of his tiny cabin shows that the young 1.8 metre tall Darwin was cramped for space for the whole five years!

There's all of this, and displays on other contemporary sea voyages to the southern hemisphere by natural historians who supported Darwin's revolutionary ideas.

Charles Darwin - Voyages and ideas that shook the world is on view, free, until 23 August. The Australian National Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour, is open daily from 9.30 am to 5 pm.

All inquiries, (02) 9298 3777 or visit www.anmm.gov.au

by Bill Richards

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HMS Beagle exhibition at the National Maritime Museum

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