HISTORICAL shipwrecks and maritime innovation across the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia were the focus of a recent two-day symposium in Sydney.
The event was hosted by the Vere Gordon Childe Centre’s Change and Innovation research cluster, led by Associate Professor Cindy McCreery (history), Dr Natali Pearson (archaeology) and Dr James Tan (ancient history).
The Sea Changes Symposium: Power, Money and Technology in the Maritime World brought together scholars from across Australia to examine how the ocean had served as a site of technological innovation, economic exchange and cultural transmission.
The symposium was opened by Professor Chis Hilliard (head of humanities) and representatives from the government of India.
The first day, held at the University of Sydney, featured presentations on legal and cartographic technologies of maritime power and imperial narratives in the ancient Mediterranean.
Along the way, speakers touched on topics as diverse as the custom of the sea (cannibalism), pirates and the historic trade in cassowary eggs and other exotica.
A highlight was the roundtable on Southeast Asia, in which speakers Shinatria Adhityatama, Michael Leadbetter and Vito Hernandez led an engaging discussion on maritime urbanism, deep history and ocean governance.
Participants then moved to the Chau Chak Wing Museum for a bespoke, maritime-focused tour by Craig Barker.
The day concluded with a sell-out History Now lecture by Professor Wendy van Duivenvoorde (Flinders University) on technological innovation and human connectivity, attended and opened by the Consul General of the Republic of Indonesia to Australia, Pendekar Sondakh.
Attendees then enjoyed networking drinks and canapes.
Day two was held at the Australian National Maritime Museum and provided an opportunity to bring theory into practice. Highlights included an object-based learning workshop and curator-and volunteer-led tours of vessels, collections and the new maritime archaeology workshop.
The presence of representatives from the governments of both India and Indonesia brought home the geographic scope and ambition of the Symposium, and the role the Indian Ocean has played in shaping both global histories and future collaborations.
The Symposium was supported by the University of Sydney’s Vere Gordon Childe Centre, School of Humanities, Sydney Southeast Asia Centre and Chau Chak Wing Museum; the History Council of NSW; and the Australian National Maritime Museum.
The Vere Gordon Childe Centre promotes and empowers research to come to new understandings of the human past, its importance in the present, and its lessons for the future.