Cheryl Mure's company - RMS Titanic Inc. - has the exclusive rights to dive to the Titanic – and they're bringing the artifacts to Australia for everyone to see!

Details below.

Did You Know?

- The fourth funnel on Titanic was fake; it was believed that the fourth made the ship look grander and only carried vents from the engine room and from the huge coal stoves in the main kitchen.

- Upon exploring the wreck site certain long-held beliefs were disproved or confirmed:

· There was no 300 foot long gash in the hull.

· The calculated position for where the ship went down was incorrect. It was nearly 13 miles from there.

· The ship had indeed broken in half despite the discrepancies of many of the passengers.

- The room number “thirteen” was not used on the ship.

- Titanic was carrying dragon’s blood. Brown Brothers and Company shipped 76 cases of dragon’s blood to the United States on Titanic. Dragon’s blood is the sap from a type of palm tree found in the Canary Islands. It was used to colour wood varnish and women’s makeup.

- One of the most exotic objects in Titanic’s cargo was “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam” a book of ancient sayings. The copy was adorned with 1,050 precious stones, each set in gold.

- Journalist William T. Stead was on board and had written articles predicting a great maritime disaster if ships went to sea without enough lifeboats. When he realised he was not going to get on a lifeboat, he went to the smoking room where he sat down in a leather chair to read a book.

- Two month old Millvina Dean was the youngest passenger on board and recently passed as the oldest survivor of Titanic. She passed away on May 31, 2009 at the age of 97.

- This was the last voyage of Captain Smith who at 62 years of age and 38 years service with White Star was set to retire at the end of Titanic’s maiden voyage. He was very cheerful and well liked by the wealthy who travelled on White Star. He was often referred to as the “Millionaire’s Captain.”

The exhibition is on at the Melbourne Museum from next month and will have more than 280 artefacts.

See treasures never before presented in Australia in this Melbourne-only showing.

WHAT: Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition

WHEN: Friday 14 May – Sunday 17 October 2010

WHERE: Melbourne Museum

TICKETS: On sale Thursday 15 April (98th anniversary of the Titanic sinking) – THIS Thursday!

Online http://www.titanicmelbourne.com