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Princess Cruises Takes Australian History to Sea

PrincessCruises has created history with a new onboard exhibition showcasing majormoments from Australia's past.

Theexhibition, titled Defining Moments in Australian History has been developedin partnership with the National Museum of Australia and will feature onboardthe cruise line's record fleet of five Australian-based ships until 2021.

Throughpublic discussion, online resources and community events, the initial programat the Museum in Canberra identified 100 key defining moments in Australianhistory, including the opening of the Sydney Opera House, evidence ofIndigenous Australians on this continent over 50,000 years ago and theformation of the children's entertainment group The Wiggles.

Usingexisting content and images, the Museum then designed and produced 20 panelsthat provide an introduction to Australia and its people, for display onPrincess' ships.

Thesepanels form part of the onboard exhibit, giving an overview of key events thatdefine Australian history, along with several artifacts, exclusive to thePrincess exhibition, which are on show for guests to view. These includeconvict leg irons, a Dead Man's Penny (memorial plaque) and Aboriginal stonetools.

PrincessCruises Vice President Australia & New Zealand Stuart Allison said theresponse from guests had been extremely positive.

"We'vehad a great reaction from our guests. On exhibition days the atrium is packedwith people who are curious to see what moments have made the top 100, theylove it," Mr Allison said.

NationalMuseum Deputy Director – Collections and Content, Janda Gooding said theNational Museum was delighted to partner with Princess Cruises to bring its DefiningMoments in Australian History project to an even wider audience.

"TheNational Museum is committed to sharing high quality Australian-historystorytelling with as many people as possible and travelling exhibitions likethis one allow even more people to enjoy our programs," Dr Gooding said.

"We'vealso been very pleased to be able to operate a special program on EmeraldPrincess throughout the summer season, with a National Museum curator onboardto present the Defining Moments project and engage with guests," shesaid.

Thesuccess of the program is the level of public involvement, so the Museum isinviting Princess guests to join the debate about the nation's past duringtheir cruise, and to suggest a defining moment of their own.

Ashort video, featuring interviews on the streets of Sydney and Melbourne andwith author Tom Keneally and historian Michelle Arrow, has also been producedfor the exhibit and will be shown on Princess' ships several times during eachcruise that features the exhibition.

Moreinformation:

LibbyMoffet/Emma Hartley MG Media Communications02 9904 0011

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