The Western Australian Museum acknowledges and respects the Traditional Owners of their ancestral lands, waters and skies.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that this digital guide may include images, sounds, and names of now deceased persons.

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A heavily corroded metal circular object on display behind glass. There are four holes around the centre so the circle appears to be in four quarters.

Astrolabe

Navigation

Steering by the Sun and Stars
A range of instruments have been used to measure position using the height of the sun, or a more distant star, above the horizon.

The mariner's astrolabe was adapted from the type used on land by the ancient Greeks and later Indians, Persians and Arabs.

This astrolabe was used on the Dutch ship Vergulde Draeck, wrecked off our west coast in 1656

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Deep Dives

A long thin wooden rod attached to the display with a rope. There is a piece of wood on the rod you can move back and forth. The display reads 'try navigating with the cross-staff.'

The Europeans Arrive - the Portuguese and the Dutch

Finding your way in an unknown world - the cross staff

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A rectangular wooden block with a rope through the centre. It sits on a display labelled 'try navigating with a kamal.'

The First Explorers- Arab Traders in the Indian Ocean

Finding your way in unknown waters- the kamal

Article

A heavily corroded metal circular object on display behind glass. There are four holes around the centre so the circle appears to be in four quarters.

Mariner's astrolabe from the Dutch ship Vergulde Draeck.
Credit: WA Museum

The Western Australian Museum acknowledges and respects the Traditional Owners of their ancestral lands, waters and skies.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are advised that this digital guide may include images, sounds, and names of now deceased persons.