The Museum - Our collections

Our collections

90% OF THE MARINE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ITEMS DISPLAYED IN THE MUSEUM WERE COLLECTED BY MEMBERS OF THE “ASSOCIATION FORTUNES DE MER CALEDONIENNES" AND "ASSOCIATION SALOMON"

Over time, the Museum's collections (over 8000 items) have grown thanks to the marine archaeological work of the “Association Fortunes de Mer Calédoniennes" and "Association Salomon" carried out on a large number of historical wrecks.

About half of the items in the Museum's collections were collected from the two vessels of the La Pérouse expedition, wrecked in 1788 at Vanikoro Island, Solomon Islands.

The rest of the items on display come from wrecks discovered around the New Caledonian reefs: men-of-war (e.g. the Seine), sailing cargo vessels (e.g. the Tacite), ore carriers (e.g. the Roanoke or the Ville de St Nazaire).

The Museum collections also include items relating to maritime activities: lighthouse equipment, lights and buoys, charts, ship models, navigation instruments. Some of these items (10%) are on loan to the Museum from private collections.

La Pérouse collection

Dragoon helmet and gorget - ©Osada

Composition with elements of weaponry - ©Osada

Seashells - ©Osada

Inkpot, candlestick, chatelaine, sealing wax, buttons - ©Osada

Flute - ©Osada

Azimuth compass - ©Lange

Graphometer - ©Lange

Sextant (signed "Mercier") - ©Lange

Coins - ©Osada

North American native artefacts - ©Osada

Religious objects - ©Osada

Glass beads - ©Osada

Parts of a quadrant (Langlois's) - ©Osada

Leadline weights - ©Osada

Dishware from China - ©Osada

Whistle, little bells - ©Osada

Pewter dishware - ©Osada

This collection celebrates a great voyage of discovery undertaken during the Age of Enlightenment. It illustrates the state of European scientific knowledge in the later part of the 18th century and what was known of the Pacific and its people at the time.

The items retrieved from the wrecks shed light on the vessels and navigation methods of the time (parts of ships, shipboard supplies, cooking implements, navigation instruments, weapons, etc.). It also displays items representative of the various places discovered or visited by the ships (geological samples, marine life specimens, anthropological artefacts, etc.).

Seine collection

Double helm of the Seine

Showcase of objects from the Seine - ©Lange

Showcase of objects from the Seine - ©Lange

Scale model of the Seine -

Showcase of objects from the Seine- ©Lange

Showcase of objects from the Seine - ©Lange

Showcase of objects from the Seine- ©Lange

Showcase of objects from the Seine - ©Lange

The Seine was the first European ship wrecked in New Caledonia (1846). She was a French naval corvette, and its remains shine an interesting light on the early stages of French colonisation in the South Pacific.

The objects retrieved from the wreck are characteristic of the naval vessels of the period, and offer a fascinating glimpse of what shipboard life was like onboard a crowded man-of-war in mid-19th century, such as jars of fruit preserves – still full of fruit. The most conspicuous item is the fine double ship's wheel, brought up from the seabed in quite good condition.

Tacite collection

Bottle : photo and sketch - ©Faucompré

Jar - ©Faucompré

Smiling Jack - ©Faucompré

Scale weights - ©Faucompré

Candlestick base - ©Faucompré

Stem glass - ©Faucompré

Oil bottles - ©Faucompré

Wine bottle - ©Faucompré

"Amsterdam" stoneware jug - ©Faucompré

Candlesticks and coral deposit - ©Faucompré

Lead gun-stocks (toys) - ©Faucompré

China doll heads - ©Faucompré

Small glass inkpot - ©Faucompré

Opaline unguent jar - ©Faucompré

Douche apparatus - ©Faucompré

Glass jar and screw-top - ©Faucompré

Glass jars - ©Faucompré

Billiards chalks - ©Faucompré

"Eau des Carmes" bottle (patent medicine) - ©Faucompré

Scale weights - ©Faucompré

Large ceramic jar - ©Faucompré

Whetstone - ©Faucompré

Candle jar and candleholders - ©Faucompré

China doll-head and dress - ©Faucompré

The Tacite is a good example of the kind of sailing vessels which were supplying New Caledonia with commercial goods in the middle of the 19th century. The Tacite sank a few weeks before Christmas with is holds still half full of goods and materials.

A great quantity of dishware, glassware, bottles of wine, champagne and gin, and much more was retrieved from the wreck. These give a good idea of the daily life of the colonists at the time: perfume bottles, patent medicines, children's toys, etc.

Lights and buoys collection

Original oil lamp of Amédée lighthouse - Dépôt DITTT

Lion-head gargoyle - Dépôt DITTT

Rapeseed-oil lighthouse lamp - Dépôt DITTT

Fresnel lens of Amédée lighthouse - Dépôt DITTT

Various lights from navigation aids - Dépôt DITTT

Amédée lighthouse brass plate - Dépôt DITTT

The mid-1860's saw the beginning of the installation of a network of aids to navigation. Many of the objects on display come from the collections of New Caledonia's Lights and Buoys Authority.

The most striking object of this collection is the great Fresnel lens of the Amédée lighthouse, installed in 1865, shown with the original rape-seed-oil light.

Ship models collection

S/V Boussole

S/V France II

M/V Notou

Double canoe - Dépôt Musée de Nouvelle-Calédonie

Outrigger canoe - Dépôt Musée de Nouvelle-Calédonie

M/V Polynesie

S/V Resolution

M/V Monique

S/V Seine

M/V Tayo

M/V Triomphant

The Museum has a rich collection of ship models, including ships that were wrecked in and around New Caledonia. It includes some of the naval frigates which plied the South Pacific during the 18th century, sailing cargo vessels, passenger liners, along with traditional sailing canoes.

These models, veritable works of art, are wonderfully crafted and highly detailed.

American presence in New Caledonia collection

American war helmet and bottle

Machine-gun from Airacobra P39 and various objects from the American military

During the War of the Pacific, over one million American soldiers, airmen and sailors transited through New Caledonia on their way to and from the war zones. Many of the objects displayed were recovered from aircraft wrecks found in the waters of the lagoon.