Ballina – La Balsa Rafts and Maritime Museum

In the seventies, there was great interest in the expeditions of Thor Heyerdahl. He believed, incorrectly, that the inhabitations of the South Pacific could have come from South America and not Asia. He built some rafts to prove this theory. A few years later, another expedition was planned – South America to Ballina on a Balsa Raft!

Well, at the time, the destination was not specifically Ballina, but that’s how it turned out. One afternoon in 1973, after five months on the ocean, the three La Balsa rafts reached landfall at Ballina. The American population theory had long been disproved, but as with people who still climb Mount Everest, this latest group of people thought they’d give it a go too.

While the scientific value of the voyage is questionable, there’s no denying the determination of the people who undertook the voyage. They endured any number of endurances during their trips and must have been mighty glad when they finally floated over the Ballina Bar into the quiet waters of the Richmond River.

The town became a centre of international media attention which it has never seen before or since. Children from the local schools were all brought down to see the rafts and the glorious explorers on board.

Today, a museum has been built to house the rafts and the artefacts from the journey. By the time the rafts reached Ballina, they had pretty much fallen apart into tiny pieces. The three rafts were cannibalised to reconstruct the single complete raft that now sits in the museum.

Inside the museum, there’s a film showing the history of the voyage, as well as all the bits and bobs from the voyage. They’re quite interesting to look at, even though the museum has not been updated for about twenty years.

I’ve been to the museum of Thor Heyerdahl’s expeditions in Oslo – the Con Tiki museum. The two museums are not that dissimilar. A whole lot of rafts and paddles. The one in Oslo is quite a bit bigger, but the content is the same.

If that didn’t whet your appetite for all things marine, there’s also a huge collection of model boats! I suspect they are the property of one very enthusiastic model building who was looking for somewhere to store his toys. There’s a lot of them and I can’t say they were that interesting!

The museum sits right next to the Ballina Baths, so once you’ve finished risking your life on the scary slides, the museum is an interesting way to spend a few hours.