One of the few places in Brisbane where you can experience Australia's history through unique items related to the sea, geographical discoveries and travel is the Maritime Museum of the tropical state. The Museum located on the South Bank of the Brisbane River, near the pedestrian’s Goodwill Bridge that appears to float above the Dry Dock. The Dry Dock is a grand Victorian structure that has become a part of the museum's collection. The museum opened its doors to welcome the children of the St. Seraphim’s Russian School of Brisbane, their parents and the teachers on the 20-th and 21-st of September, 2025.
Founded at the St. Seraphim’s Orthodox Church, the Russian community language school accepted its first students in 1953. The school is registered with the Queensland Department of Education and has the status of an eligible institution. Over the many years of its operation, the school has graduated several hundred students. At the present, the school has more than a hundred of students, who are taught the Russian language, literature, and history of Russia.
For the first time since it was opened in 1979, the Queensland Maritime Museum offered guided tours in Russian. The school students and their parents were impressed with a unique collection of Brisbane’s built skiffs. They also learned about the fate of the governor's yacht Lucinda, where a draft for the Constitution Bill was completed, transforming the six British colonies into the Commonwealth of Australia on the 1-st of January, 1901. The excursionists admired the beauty of seashells and learned a lot about the difficult and dangerous work of divers through the history of the pearling lugger Penguin, built on Thursday Island. Adults and children couldn't believe their eyes when they saw the tiny yacht Happy II that delivered Canadian explorer Howard Wayne Smith to Australia’s shore. Many of the tour participants had heard the story of 16-year-old Jessica Watson, who sailed solo around the globe aboard the ten-meter yacht Pink Lady, but only after having a look into the cabin of the miniature vessel, they realized how much of fortitude and courage was required to make this journey.
A museum guide Tri Le-Viet met the Russian school groups on board the naval river frigate Diamantina, the last vessel of this class in the world. Although this part of the excursion was conducted in English, the children were not disappointed. After all, not everyone gets the chance to visit a real military vessel from the last century, look into the captain's cabin, see the sailors' rest areas, go down to the engine compartment and even operate an anti-aircraft gun!
Yulia Aleksandrovna Chichkanova, a fourth-grade teacher at St. Seraphim’s School, expressed the general opinion of all the excursionists by publishing the following post on the school's Facebook page.
“Our school visited the Queensland Maritime Museum this weekend and it was amazing! Many thanks to Nataliya Nikolayevna Samokhina and Tri Le-Viet for such a wonderful tour. Everything was fascinating: from the real warship to the vintage boat models – the children were delighted.
The things to remember:
- HMAS Diamantina – a real frigate from World War II. We could look into the engine room, the wheelhouse, and even the Captain's Day Cabin.
- The displays of marine models, antique navigation equipment and lighthouse lights.
-- The opportunity to “touch”, try, see in person is always much better.
Thanks to the museum for helping us to learn the history of seafaring, shipping, war, and technology in a lively and engaging way.”
I would like to acknowledge that the excursions in Russian were initiative by the mentor Yulia Aleksandrovna Chichkanova and the school's head teacher Svetlana Yuryevna Trefilova, who dedicated almost thirty years of her life to working at St. Seraphim’s School. One can only admire their love of Russian culture and their dedicated work, which goes beyond the school hours.
Nataliya Samokhina
Brisbane
