Segment of Ship's Wheel, 1894
2002/2
Shipbuilding
This chunk of wheel, cut from native timber, was part of the New Zealand Schooner Huia. New Zealand shipbuilding stretches back 800 years to the arrival of the Māori people. They found the land covered in ancient trees and used them to build boats. Local timbers were still used when the Huia was built in 1894.Extinction
This piece of wreckage was salvaged from a long-lost ship called the Huia. The Huia was named after a species of New Zealand wattlebird considered sacred in Māori culture. The species were hunted to extinction by European colonisers in the 19th century. The last confirmed sighting of a Huia was in 1907.Wrecked
A crew member cut this segment from the wheel of a stricken ship. The Huia ran aground in 1952 and was stranded for two nights until the decision was made to abandon ship. Just as the last of the crew evacuated a large wave picked up the Huia and smashed it to pieces.Continuity
If a ship is replaced piece by piece until all original material has been discarded, is it still the same ship? This is the central question of the Ship of Theseus thought experiment, one of the oldest concepts in Western Philosophy. Spatiotemporal Continuity suggests an object maintains its identity despite undergoing alterations.
Segment of Ship's Wheel,
1894
2002/2
Shipbuilding
This chunk of wheel, cut from native
timber, was part of the New Zealand
Schooner Huia. New Zealand
shipbuilding stretches back 800 years
to the arrival of the Māori people.
They found the land covered in ancient
trees and used them to build boats.
Local timbers were still used when the
Huia was built in 1894.
Extinction
This piece of wreckage was salvaged
from a long-lost ship called the Huia.
The Huia was named after a species
of New Zealand wattlebird considered
sacred in Māori culture. The species
were hunted to extinction by European
colonisers in the 19th century. The last
confirmed sighting of a Huia was in
1907.
Wrecked
A crew member cut this segment from
the wheel of a stricken ship. The Huia
ran aground in 1952 and was stranded
for two nights until the decision was
made to abandon ship. Just as the last
of the crew evacuated a large wave
picked up the Huia and smashed it to
pieces.
Continuity
If a ship is replaced piece by piece
until all original material has been
discarded, is it still the same ship?
This is the central question of the Ship
of Theseus thought experiment, one
of the oldest concepts in Western
Philosophy. Spatiotemporal Continuity
suggests an object maintains its
identity despite undergoing alterations.
