Barangaroo Boat finds its forever home
15.05.2026
Australia’s oldest surviving colonial-era boat, dating back to the early 1800s, has found a permanent home at the Australian National Maritime Museum.
Discovered during the excavation of Sydney Metro’s Barangaroo Station on Sydney Harbour’s foreshore in November 2018, the historic boat was uncovered in remarkably well-preserved condition.
Following its discovery, a seven-year journey involving several months of careful excavation and years of detailed conservation work by Sydney Metro and a team of specialists ensued.
The landmark transfer of the boat from Sydney Metro to the museum means heritage buffs, Metro fans, along with local and international visitors will be able to enjoy this incredibly significant piece of Australia’s transport history.
The museum has begun to prepare the boat for permeant exhibition and will keep the community informed of its progress.
The nine-metre-long by three-metre-wide vessel was built entirely from local Sydney timbers. The boat uses the traditional clinker technique, where planks overlap for added strength and agility.
It is believed the boat was well-used as it had undergone extensive repairs and would have been utilised to transport goods around the harbour before being abandoned in the 1850s.
Over the decades, it was buried beneath Sydney’s developing foreshore and preserved beneath layers of wharves, warehouses, and shipyards.
Along with the 294 individual timber pieces that make up the boat, a range of artefacts associated with the vessel, including elements of rope and leather, are also now in the National Maritime Museum’s collection.
The Barangaroo Boat was one of more than 85,000 artefacts found during excavation of Sydney Metro’s City & Southwest.
Other incredible discoveries found below Sydney city included a family burial plot located below Central Station, the footings of a historic home at Blues Point, and First Nations artefacts that reflect cultural practices predating European settlement.
Every significant artefact has been carefully catalogued, preserved, and relocated for future study and display.
Archaeological investigations are currently ongoing at Sydney Metro’s future Parramatta station site, where one of the biggest-ever heritage excavations in NSW is underway and 100,000 artefacts have been retrieved to date.