Binnacle

On the deck of a ship, a compass is kept in a box or on a covered stand, protecting it from the weather. This is called a binnacle, and this example dates from about 1900. Attached to the box is a weather-protected lamp, which would have been very helpful on a dark, rainy night. This item, which is from a whaling ship, is part of the Museum’s maritime collection. Whaling ships from America, England and France worked the coast in the 1800s, and the Castle Rock Whaling Company operated from 1845 to 1872 along the coast off Cape Naturaliste.