High Commission of Canada in Australia to present Franklin Discovery Lecture at the University of Sydney

If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever. – Thomas Aquinas
The High Commission of Canada in Australia will be at the University of Sydney to present the Franklin Discovery Lecture on  February 20, 2015. The lecture will explore the intriguing history of the Franklin Expedition—which was lost in 1845 while searching for the Northwest Passage—and the 21^st Century story of the discovery of one of the expedition’s ships. The lectures in Canberra and Sydney will also be live streamed, providing the opportunity for an online audience to ask questions in real time.

The event will be of interest to a wide audience, covering naval, military and colonial history (Canadian and Australian), First Nations history and culture, oral and local history, gender studies, polar/Arctic exploration, 19^th century travel narratives, maritime archaeology, museum studies, the literature of science and nationalism, biography, shipping and maritime studies, and contemporary polar governance.
The lecture will be held on Friday, February 20 at the Sydney Law School, Faculty Common Room, Level 4, New Law Building (F10).
A live webcast will be accessible at http://www.livestreamaustralia.com.au/franklin-discovery-lecture-sydney/.
Please note the date is Sydney, Australia time. In Canada, you can view the webcast on Thursday, February 19, 2015 at 8 p.m. (Ontario time); or at 5 p.m. BC time.
About the lecture
On May 19, 1845, Her Majesty’s Ships (HMS) Erebus and Terror of the Royal Navy departed England on a much-heralded Arctic expedition in search of the Northwest Passage. Under the command of Sir John Franklin, former Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen’s Land (now the Australian state of Tasmania), the expedition’s two ships set out with a complement of 129 officers and crew. The ships were last seen entering Baffin Bay in August 1845. Nearly 170 years later the Canadian Victoria Strait Expedition team, using sonar technology, discovered a ship on the sea floor which, on September 30, 2014 was confirmed to be the lost HMS Erebus. Led by Parks Canada, the 2014 expedition combined state-of-the-art technology with 19th century Inuit oral testimony to make this exciting discovery.
Presented by the High Commission of Canada in Canberra, as part of their Canada Down Under Days, the Franklin Discovery Lecture will explore both the intriguing history of the lost Franklin Expedition, and the 21^st Century story of the discovery of HMS Erebus.
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