The new Royal Thai Naval Dockyard Museum offers a look at early shipping on the Chao Phraya River and the origins of the Thai Navy. It also promises the younger generation a chance to discover their roots.
As part of the commemorations for His Majesty the King's 84th birthday in December, the dockyard has turned a century-old wooden house into a museum full of rare old portraits, die-cast models and venerable marine gear, all enlivened by video presentations.
The two-storey building in the Thonburi dockyard was erected during the reign of King Rama IV, utilising the charming "gingerbread" architecture style of the Victorian era.
Upstairs it's all solid wood, with balconies on every side, while the ground floor is brick and cement. Capping everything is a beautiful, panya-style wooden roof decorated in some bygone time with refined scrollwork.
The museum, which just opened officially last month, is meant to be an education in boat construction and the industry's history.
Visitors first see an exhibit called "From the Palace to the Royal Dockyard", which tracks the earliest uses of the Chao Phraya and its banks.
On view is an old drawing - someone's portrait - and a scale model of Thonburi and vicinity, the Kingdom's strategic and commercial focus after the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767.
You marvel at the network of canals and fortresses that are today decrepit or in ruins but at the time provided the ideal setting for Rama I's palace and the nation's rebirth with the Rattanakosin Era.
Soon there were many temples and government buildings, including the one at the riverside that Rama III would make the headquarters of Royal Siamese Navy.
"Royal Dockyard to Naval Dockyard Department" moves into the reign of Rama VI, when the military was strengthened in the face of a growing threat from European colonialism. The king expanded the dockyard, the better to build the country's first warships.
Our fighting vessels have gone from Chinese-style junks to sailing ships and steamers, and there are models here of all of them, made from different materials. Also on view are vintage photographs of the dockyard and the Phra Ruang, which sailed into battle in World War I. Some of its unused cannonballs are here, and its chinaware too.
Lieutenant Commander Rasana Sompong is the new museum's curator.
"At present we have three huge dockyards," she says, "the Thonburi Naval Dockyard, the Phrachulachomklao Naval Dockyard in Samut Prakhan and the Mahidol Adulayadej Royal Navy Dock in Sattahip in Chonburi, which is the biggest shipyard in the region."
The exhibit "His Majesty the King with Naval Architecture" is a lesson in building a sailboat, which His Majesty famously used to do as a hobby. You see photos of the King shaping the Mod, Super Mod and Micro Mod sailboats that he designed himself.
"The King is interested in both handicrafts and water sports and he's still keen about making and sailing boats," Rasana says. "In this exhibit we show the extent of his creativity and knowledge."
A large die-cast model of the coast guard vessel Tor 991 is the main attraction in the segment called "Improve the Effective Performance". The exhibit examines the development of the Naval Dockyard Department since 1855 and explains techniques in shipbuilding through diagrams and displays of equipment.
You can learn more about the different types of ships used by the Navy - torpedo boats, tugs, oil tankers, cruisers, troop carriers, even fishing boats and - perhaps some wishful thinking here - an aircraft carrier.
"National Cultural Conservation" features a model of one of the graceful royal barges and a video of the splendid Royal Barge Procession along the river.
Descending to the ground floor, visitors discover many old tools and more vintage photos in the exhibit "Preparing for Combat", while "Dockyard and Shipbuilding Industry of the Country" explains the various enterprises involved.
Finally, but separately, there's a temporary exhibition about research undertaken by the Royal Naval Dockyard Department that also looks at submarines, a vessel that's recently moved to the top of the Navy's shopping list.
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The museum is at the Royal Thai Naval Dockyard Museum on Arun-Amarin Road. It's open daily from 9am to 3pm. Visits can be arranged at (02) 475 4185 and www.Navy.mi.th/Dockyard.
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