Exclusively displayed at the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery 7 December 2011 – 19 February 2012

Shattered dreams, fresh beginnings, an expansive economy, rising fears and the emergence of a middle class are detailed in this exhibition that traces the journeys of so many who were lured by the dream of a better life.

Sea of dreams: The lure of Port Phillip Bay 1830–1914 tells the intriguing story of Port Phillip Bay and the integral part it played in 19th and early 20th century survival, settlement, trade and commerce, defence and leisure.

With more than 100 works displayed, many of Australia’s best known and loved artists are represented. There are paintings by Charles Conder, Fred McCubbin, Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton and Louis Buvelot, along with rare drawings and prints by Emma Minnie Boyd, S. T. Gill, Georgiana McCrae, John Mather and Eugene von Guérard.

Want to know more? The exhibition catalogue is richly illustrated with several essays by well known historians.

Late night opening
Due to the popular demand, we are extending our opening hours until 8pm on the last weekend of the exhibition,
Friday 16 - Sunday 18 February. Come and wave goodbye to this wonderful and important exhibition with us!

In conjunction with Sea of dreams we are collecting stories of the Bay and people who settled near its shores in the period
1830–1914. Please share your story with us, either by visiting the Gallery or via email. Read the full stories of others at the Gallery, or see extracts below.

My great great Grandmother was on the Ship “India” that was burnt down in the Atlantic Ocean and the painting is in your exhibition. As a baby on her way to Australia from Scotland with her Mother and Father the ship "India" caught fire and sank. She was thrown from the sinking ship to people already in a life boat and separated from her parents. This life boat was eventually rescued and these people were landed in Rio de Janeiro. Her parents were rescued from the sea by another ship and taken also to Rio in America. Mr. & Mrs. Robertson found Agnes and after six weeks of looking they were reunited with their baby daughter. Agnes and her parents sailed on the Ship "Grindlay" their new ship to Australia and arrived in Melbourne 22 October 1841. Great story to pass down the generations and now we can see an original painting of the Ship the India.
RR, 13 Jan 2012

My great grandfather sailed from England late 1852. He was a solicitor in London and his reasons for leaving are unclear. He and his family travelled in some comfort. He and his wife had one cabin, while their four children and the nanny had another cabin. He kept a diary which is now in the Latrobe Library. This records the great sadness of their departure. Among their possessions was a ‘kit house’ which was first erected in South Yarra and later moved to Queenscliffe where it is now part of a larger house.

An extract of the diary written soon after he arrived in Melbourne has always interested us. He wrote that he had gone to visit a friend who “was living in miserable conditions in a tent in a bush in a place called Prahran”. He was the first solicitor in Williamstown and later helped create a legal firm which today is part of Freehills. Among his papers is a note to his wife, listing his assets which in the 1880s included ‘9 acres at Schnapper Point to which I give no value’!
TK, Jan 2012

I grew up (...) listening to the stories of my ancestors who travelled out on (...) 'The Lightning' in 1849. It was very exciting to see her in the painting (Thomas Robertson's The Red Jacket in Hobson's Bay 1856-57)
L. Henry, 29 Dec 2011

The (...) family with eight children ranging from 4.5 - 19 years came on "North Atlantic" from Liverpool at a cost of £160 - we still have the ticket...
JS, 23 Dec 2011

... My great great great grandparents, who were in their sixties, were on the 1857 trip to Australia when the new record of 69 days was set for the trip from Liverpool to Port Phillip.
JA, 23 Dec 2011