It’s time for a Gilbert & Sullivan season on the high seas with Emma Knights Productions!

Pirates of Penzance:
This hilarious adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan’s classic operetta is staged in one hour, with an amazing local cast featuring some of South Australia’s best local performers with live piano accompaniment. Come on this riotous journey across all types of venues and see why we are one of the longest running sell out shows of the Adelaide Fringe!

Friday 21 Feb: 6.00pm – 7.00pm
Friday 21 Mar: 6.00pm -7.00pm & 8.00pm – 9.00pm

H.M.S Pinafore:
H.M.S. Pinafore or The Lass That Loved a Sailor, is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. Directed by Andy Turner, a small and wonderful cast of Adelaide performers will be bringing Pinafore to live, maximising all the silliness in our usual way!

Saturday 22 Feb: 6.00pm

Book early to avoid disappointment!

Experience the South Australian Maritime Museum like never before with an exclusive after-hours visit!

Join the Curators from the History Trust of South Australia for an immersive, expert-led tour.

Explore the museum’s collection, uncover fascinating stories, and gain deeper insights into the exhibitions and the rich maritime history of South Australia.

Pianist Tim Barton returns with a new ‘Rhapsody in Chicago Blues’ 2025 program. This year hear ragtime, classical, original jazz and lots of boogie n’ blues as well as old favorites Rhapsody in Blue, Claire de Lune and the Maple Leaf Rag.

His professional career, now spanning 55 years, has taken Tim around the world as a performer; Ravinia Festival, Orchestra Hall Chicago, House of Blues, Ragtime pianist – Nickelodeon Theatre, Chicago jazz clubs Andy’s and The Green Mill.

On Saturday, 18 January 2025, the City of Port Adelaide Enfield will transform the historic streets of Port Adelaide into a dynamic celebration of music and culture with the return of live music discovery event, New Found Sound.

Back by popular demand after its debut in 2024, the FREE, one-night-only event offers an unforgettable opportunity to explore the precinct and enjoy performances from over 30 of South Australia’s most exciting emerging acts. From the historic SA Maritime Museum to the iconic Clipper Ship, this year’s music discovery event presented in 10 unique venues and spaces, promises a night filled with great music, delicious food and drink, and an unbeatable community spirit to kick off Adelaide’s 2025 summer festival season!

SA Maritime Museum performances will be live on the ketch:
7.30pm Pascoe/Martin
8.30pm San Ureshi
9.30pm David Kotlowy

Check the New Found Sound website for full details.

Gory Stories from the Putrid Past Performances
Limited Season by Heaps Good Productions

You won’t want to miss meeting eminent barber surgeon, Mr Bartholomew Buglebottom and the most famous actor of the times, Mary Poopins, plus somebody else called Greg! Join them as they sail through history on-board the HMS Rancid in search of a cure for your favourite ailments such as boils, the bubonic plague, scurvy and scarlet fever. Learn about the most up-to-date cures – from flesh eating maggots and blood slurping leeches to stinky smells in jars! Along the way discover why now, and not the olden days, is a pretty good time to be alive! 

Dates: 16-19 January 2025
Times: 11.00am & 1.00pm
Duration: 30 mins 

FREE with museum entry.

FREE with museum entry.

Set sail into the murky depths of history with the Gory Stories LEGO® Trail at the SA Maritime Museum. Uncover gruesome tales from the high seas and discover the dark, smelly, and sometimes downright disgusting side of maritime history. It’s a thrilling (and a little bit gross) way to learn about the past. Can you brave the trail and survive the stench of history? The museum’s unsavoury secrets are waiting to be unlocked—if you dare!

Follow the clues, find the hidden LEGO® minifigures, solve the secret word and enter the draw for a chance to win an amazing prize!

What visitors say about the trail and visiting the museum:
“Enjoyable for young and old.”
“It was amazing – 5 stars!”
“It was hard work to find all of the LEGO, but it was worth it if I get the prize!”
“We love doing the trail every school holidays.”

Immerse yourself in the fascinating and gruesome history of life and death at sea these summer holidays, with a series of thrilling events where the cure could be worse than the ailment!
Come aboard our ketch with the quirky crew of HMS Rancid for a Gory Stories performance or set sail on a Vile Voyage with an expert guide who will take you below deck into the disease-ridden world of nineteenth century sea travel. Uncover the nasty realities of life at sea on the Gory Stories trail where you’ll encounter the gruesome challenges faced by sailors and migrants, and of course our ever-popular LEGO® trail has had a Gory Stories treatment too! 

Gory Stories from the Putrid Past Performances
(limited season) 

You won’t want to miss meeting eminent barber surgeon, Mr Bartholomew Buglebottom and the most famous actor of the times, Mary Poopins, plus somebody else called Greg! Join them as they sail through history on-board the HMS Rancid in search of a cure for your favourite ailments such as boils, the bubonic plague, scurvy and scarlet fever. Learn about the most up-to-date cures – from flesh eating maggots and blood slurping leeches to stinky smells in jars! Along the way discover why now, and not the olden days, is a pretty good time to be alive! 

Dates: 16-19 January 2025
Times: 11.00am & 1.00pm
Duration: 30 mins 

Vile Voyages: A Chilling Journey Below Deck 

Descend into the dark, cramped world of 19th-century sea travel and our basement cabin display, where our expert guide will lead you through the horrifying realities of overcrowded steerage, disease outbreaks, and the brutal hardships of life at sea. Vile Voyages is not for the faint of heart—come and learn what it truly meant to sail the treacherous seas of the 1800s. 

Dates: 1-27 January 2025
Times: 11.45am & 1.45pm
Duration: 20 mins 

Gory Stories LEGO® Trail (recommended for younger children) 

Explore the Gory Stories LEGO® Trail and uncover the gruesome tales of disease, superstition, and medicine at sea— sure to be a fun-filled voyage into the putrid past! Our other Gory Story trail follows the same path, so you can bring your adults along too! 

Gory Stories Trail (recommended for teens and adults) 

From superstitions to amputations, fresh air to fresh food, what happened on board to protect passengers and crew? Follow the Gory Stories trail and discover the spine-tingling shipboard remedies of the 1800s. Both Gory Stories Trails follow the same path through the museum. 

Dates: 14 December – 27 January
Times: museum opening hours
Duration: Self-guided (allow 2 hours) 

All Gory Story activities are FREE with museum entry. Warning, expect some gory stories. 

At the beginning of the 20th century, a photographic portrait was a luxury few could afford. They were exotic, expensive, and far too time-consuming for the average working class Portonian. It all changed with the arrival of portrait photographer Mr Albert Ernest Bond… 

Mr Bond’s Studio: Port Adelaide Through the Lens showcases some of the 2,000 glass plate negatives that were discovered on the old premises of Bond’s St Vincent Street studio. Spanning the 1900s to the 1940s, the portraits are an evolving snapshot of the people of the Port and the events that shaped their community. Subjects include children, sailors, soldiers, brides, graduates, sporting heroes, dance troupes, and even some nuns!  

Within the exhibition explore some of the stories that lie behind the glass and discover a different side to Port Adelaide’s past. Make sure to take your own portrait in our re-creation of Mr Bond’s Studio before you leave! 

Keen for more Mr Bond? You can also view the full collection here. 

Banner photograph: Four sailors, round rig, leggings, Royal Australian Navy Reserve. The name “Heaft” has been written on the negative and “555”. ML588

FREE with Museum entry.

Explore the South Australian Maritime Museum in the October school holidays with our Seafarers LEGO® Trail!

Follow the clues to learn fun facts about various sailing vessels featured within the museum and the people who sailed them. Find the hidden LEGO® minifigures, solve the secret word and enter the draw for a chance to win an amazing prize!

Prize Draw One: LEGO® City Seaside Harbour with Cargo Ship (60422) (8+), valued at $179.99
Prize Draw Two: LEGO® Friends Heartlake City Water Park (42630) (8+), valued at $129.99

What visitors say about the trail and visiting the museum:
“Enjoyable for young and old.”
“It was amazing – 5 stars!”
“Extremely fun and interactive for young children.”
“We love doing the trail every school holidays.”

To celebrate the completion of the Port Dock Railway Line Project and to thank the community, the Department for Infrastructure and Transport are inviting the public to a Community Open Day.

The main works for the new Port Dock railway station include a 120-metre-long platform, a new carpark and bus interchange plus a shelter canopy for passengers, murals and upgraded green spaces. There will be a 30-minute service on weekdays and weekends.

The new station provides improved public transport access to the Museums in Port – with SA Maritime Museum, SA Aviation Museum and the National Railway Museum all within easy walking distance.

Event details:

Saturday 24 August, 11am – 2pm
Lipson Street carpark & Port Dock railway station
FREE ENTRY to Museums in Port – shuttle bus available between venues

• Welcome to Country
• Junction Community Centre workshop
• Local dance performance
• Emergency Services vehicle displays
• Free sausage sizzles (gold coin donation for drinks)
• Free face painting
• Coffee and food trucks
• Local business raffle and voucher prizes – drawn at the main pavilion at 1.30pm
• Stationary train located at the new Port Dock Railway Station – be one of the first to board a train at the new station

Click here for further event information.
Click here for a map of the area.