Of Pigs and Whistles: travelling exhibition opens at Eden Killer Whale Museum

The eastern seaboard routes served as highways in and out of the region, sometimes before towns had even been gazetted, or roads and train-lines constructed.

Of Pigs and Whistles - How Steam Navigation Linked South East NSW to the World is a new travelling exhibition which explores the history of steamship navigation in the region and the enormous significance of maritime industry's contribution to the development of the South Coast and hinterland.

Founded in 1858, the Illawarra Steam Navigation Company tells a story spanning almost 100 years, revealing the fascinating history surrounding shipping's role in creating a vital link to the rest of the world following European settlement.

Curated by heritage management and interpretation consultant Angela George with support from writer and arts worker Leah Szanto, the exhibition also involves considerable input and contributions from the combined museum community of the South Coast and hinterland, including Councils of the Bega Valley, Eurobodalla, Shoalhaven, Wollongong City and Snowy Monaro.

Given that the South Coast boasted such a rich supply of produce and natural resources, ports in the region became integral to the state's economic and social story.

Curator Angela George said the exhibition would give viewers an opportunity to learn about the shared narrative which united the broader region and its populations across the expanses of geography, over many kilometres and multiple generations.

"From the time the company was formed until the time it ceased, it dominated the colonial maritime industry - it was the in and out of the place and the key to its survival," Angela said.

READ ALSO:

READ MORE:

"If you had to go to a city for medical treatment, or if you needed clothing or other supplies shipped in, it came on the Illawarra Company or went out on the Illawarra Company."

Pigs and passengers travelled together, while captains faced the dangerous job of navigating uncharted waters and coastlines. There were high seas and high dramas, with some miraculous rescues, and tragic losses.

In Angela's opinion, viewers might find the link and significance of the humble pigs in the history of the company quite surprising.

"There are so many humorous stories about the pigs, from the porkers that shared cabins with passengers, to the heroic pig that played lifesaver to a shipload of passengers," she said.

"I find the human side of the story so interesting in terms of the people who worked for the company and the role the company played in the community. It wasn't like big businesses are these days, the Illawarra Company became a real part of all the communities it served."

The curator said life must have been incredibly demanding for those involved in this particular chapter of maritime history, in part because charts and equipment during the 19th and early 20th Centuries were considerably less sophisticated.

"Can you imagine sailing from Sydney to Eden a couple of times a week, stopping at just about every port, dozens along the way, then turning around and going back again? They must have been exhausted navigating the risks," Angela said.

"People depended on the shipping line as the most reliable service. We take it very much for granted now that we can just jump in the car and be in Sydney in six hours, that wasn't an option then.

"Even by the 1950s when the company ceased to operate, there were no sealed roads and it would have taken two or three days, often with no easy way to cross rivers," Angela said.

Of Pigs and Whistles - How Steam Navigation Linked South East NSW has opened at Eden Killer Whale Museum and is scheduled to be displayed in 2023 at Bega Pioneers Museum, Tathra Wharf Museum, Bermagui Museum, Merimbula Old School Museum, Batemans Bay Heritage Museum and Moruya Museum.

Of Pigs and Whistles - How Steam Navigation Linked South East NSW has been funded by a Create NSW grant, is managed by South East Arts and features exhibition design by locally-based Workhorse Design.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:

Bookmark www.begadistrictnews.com.au

Make sure you are signed up for our breaking news and regular headlines newsletters

Follow us on Twitter: @Bega_News

Follow us on Instagram: @begadistrictnews