Wave Queen' Figurehead

The figurehead from the vessel Wave Queen depicts a young woman in a long white dress with a blue shawl. Her hair is dark and a crown of flowers rest on her head. She is holding a scepter in her outstretched right hand and her left arm is down by her side.
Figureheads, carved wooden sculptures which ornamented the bow of a sailing ship, embodied the 'soul' of the vessel and were believed to offer the crew protection and safe passage on the seas. They were also used to identify a ship, reflecting its function, or paying tribute to a person connected with the vessel. The South Australian Maritime Museum has a collection of seventeen ship’s figureheads - the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. The figureheads were sourced and acquired by Vernon Smith, the Honorary Curator of the Port Adelaide Nautical Museum (from which the current museum evolved) over a period of fifty years. He thoroughly documented his search and as result, most of the figureheads are well provenanced with a recorded chain of ownership. The figurehead from Wave Queen references the perils of South Australia's shipwreck coast. The plight of the figurehead after the wreck also demonstrates how these objects were coveted and acquired by those outside the maritime trade.