Four masted ship model in a bottle
Maker
Basil Helm
(Australian, 1903 - 1996)
Date1919-1954
Object number00049679
NameShip in a bottle
MediumGlass, wood, twine
DimensionsOverall: 70 x 70 x 265 mm, 665 g
ClassificationsModels
Credit LineANMM Collection Gift from Margaret Royds
Collections
DescriptionThis square rigged four masted model ship is housed in a Walker's whisky bottle. The bottle has a handmade macrame twine cap. The model was made by Captain Basil Helm.HistoryBurns Philp was formed in the 1870s and originally concentrated on Australian passenger and cargo coastal trade. In the 1890s, trade expanded to the Pacific Islands with the inter-island shipmasters becoming known for their eccentricity and colourful reputation.
Throughout the years of World War II, Basil Helm and other seamen like him were vital to the Allied operations in the region. Helm was exceedingly experienced and knowledgeable in navigation of the eastern coast of Australia, the Barrier Reef, and particularly the ports and waters of the Pacific Islands. This knowledge was invaluable to USA naval and military officers who had little knowledge of the area and for which charts did not exist or contained little information for most of the inter-island routes and ports. Burns Philp masters knew the reefs, shoals, tides and weathers for the places and made their own charts.
Helm was also a pilot with the esteemed Queensland Coast and Torres Strait Pilot Service.
SignificanceThis is an excellent example of shipboard personal items from a Burns Philp line captain at the height of Burns Philp operations during the mid-twentieth century.
