Old-fashioned Crowe still prefers a map
When it comes to navigating around the world, Russell Crowe is old-fashioned.
The actor has banned GPS devices from his car and insists on relying on printed maps and guide books.
"I like to read a map," he says. "I've have had few of those experiences where the GPS tells you to turn left . . . into what, a brick wall?"
But this passion for maps extends beyond getting from A to B. Crowe collects historical maps - a hobby fitting for the actor who played a ship's captain in the 2003 film Master and Commander.
Crowe spoke of his interest in cartography yesterday while launching an exhibition at the National Library.
Mapping Our World: Terra Incognita to Australia has brought to Canberra the world's most significant and priceless maps.
Many have references to Australia and show how the continent was of interest to early European explorers.
The artefacts come from institutions such as the Vatican, the Bibliotheque Nationale de France and the British Library. Star attraction is the Fra Mauro, a 600-year-old painting of the then-known world.
Businessman Kerry Stokes, who ensured many of the works came to Australia, has his collection of 300-year-old charts on show.
Library chairman Ryan Stokes said getting so many important pieces for one exhibition was a world first.
