From a small silver medallion beautifully engraved by a First Fleet convict to the 119-metre Royal Australian Navy destroyer, HMAS Vampire, the Australian National Maritime Museum has an incredibly diverse collection of more than 130,000 items.

Here, the museum’s curators reveal the fascinating stories behind many amazing objects, including the fastest vessel in the world (Spirit of Australia), a boat made from 2,000 beer cans, the remarkable Saltwater Collection of bark paintings from Arnhem Land, and surfboards inspired by the Bra Boys and the 2005 Cronulla race riots. They tell of unforgettable people - both famous and lesser known - whose lives have been shaped by the sea.