A new lecture series, focusing on the roles and relationships women have with the sea, is starting at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall.
The talks will feature some of the country's leading academics and speakers, exploring both historical and contemporary perspectives.
It began on Thursday, September 19, with Dr Elaine Murphy discussing 'Women and the Navy in the Age of Sail'.
She delved into the 17th and 18th centuries, highlighting women who sailed on men-of-war ships, sometimes disguised, but often openly.
She also covered women who conducted business with the navy, occasionally engaging in deceit, and the shore-bound families of sailors and their survival tactics.
Dr MacKenzie will recount the life of Mary Broad, a Cornish convict in Australia who became an escapee.
Ms Broad's story, celebrated in biographies, drama, fiction, and film, includes a 69-day voyage in an open boat from Port Jackson in New South Wales to Dutch Timor.
Ms MacKenzie aims to reveal the true identity and experiences of Mary Broad.
Cornish writer Elizabeth Dale, known as 'The Cornish Bird', will give her first public talk on Thursday, November 7.
She has extensively documented Cornwall's lesser-known stories, and will present 'Forgotten Women of the Cornish Coast'.
Ms Dale will share some of her favourite female characters from the past, using their hidden histories to demonstrate her fascination with Cornwall's history.
The series concludes with Cornish writer Clare Howdle interviewing Sharon Austin, a wreck diver, researcher, and founding member of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Maritime Archaeological Society.
Ms Austin, one of Cornwall's few female wreck divers, has been discovering and documenting the county's famous shipwrecks for over 30 years.
She will share her experiences in wreck diving, illustrating the skill, planning, and risks involved, and the allure of the ocean floor.
Tickets for the lectures are available for in-person attendance in the museum’s lecture theatre and can also be watched live online.
They start at £5 and can be booked via nmmc.co.uk.
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