Museums of MMV
Perhaps you can't visit all the MMV museums at once, so here they are by
location. Some are in Melbourne itself, others you can reach in only an hour or
two's drive. Or take a leisurely regional tour, and combine maritime heritage
with the famous food, wine and attractions of Victoria's countryside.
Click on the individual museum links for up-to-date opening hours and details of attractions.
Melbourne: Williamstown
Both Seaworks and HMAS
Castlemaine are located at the historic seaport
of Williamstown, and a major exhibition on HMVS
Cerberus is on display
at Seaworks. (There is no access to the actual Cerberus wreck site at Black
Rock.)
Seaworks provides berthing for tall ships visiting Melbourne and hosts maritime
and community events. Museum displays include ship models, bells, diving
equipment, navigation instruments, photos, prints and paintings. The Port of
Melbourne has donated plaques, equipment, an Honour Board, and a collection of
gifts. Seaworks has an extensive maritime library and is located on the
historic Melbourne Harbour Trust site.
HMAS Castlemaine is one of sixty Australian-built Bathurst Class
corvettes to serve throughout World War II, and is the last such vessel still
afloat, having been restored by volunteers over four decades. Exhibits and
memorabilia show what life was like for crews of these vessels. The
ship is located at Gem Pier in the heart of historic Williamstown, near the
information centre, cafes, parks and heritage sites, very close to Seaworks
Maritime Discovery Centre.
Friends of the Cerberus' Victorian Navy collection is currently on display at
Seaworks, Williamstown. It features relics from numerous vessels of the
16-vessel Navy of the colony of Victoria. Launched in 1868,
Cerberus was
the first armoured warship built for Australia, and was the first British
warship to dispense with sails. Designed specifically for Port Phillip,
Cerberus is the only remaining breastwork monitor class warship left in
the world. It has rested in three metres of water at Half Moon Bay since being
scuttled to form a breakwater in 1926. (Entry onto
Cerberus or being in
the water immediately surrounding the vessel is prohibited.)
Melbourne: Docklands
Wattle is one of the few remaining steam operated vessels in Australia.
It was built for the Navy in 1933 at Cockatoo Island Dockyard, and operated
until 1969. Wattle came to Melbourne in 1979 and in 1985 started doing
charters and cruises around Portarlington. Since 2009 Wattle has been
extensively restored by volunteers from the Bay Steamers Maritime Museum, with
the plan of returning to steaming in 2019. Wattle and the workshop
is located at North Wharf, Docklands. Volunteers are there every Saturday, and
welcome visitors and new volunteers.
The Mission to Seafarers, Victoria, active from 1857, has operated since 1917
from the heritage-listed building, 717 Flinders St, on the banks of the River
Yarra. The Mission is highly regarded for its long and continuing service to
those who live and work at sea. Guided tours available or casual visits are
welcome 365 days of the year, refreshments available. The complex includes the
Norla Dome, the Flying Angel club room, a garden, St Peter's Chapel and a
Seafaring Heritage Centre, featuring changing displays drawn from a significant
archive of maritime and social history.
Offshore and
Specialist Ships Australia (OSSA) was formed in March 2017 by a group of
ex-shipping people determined to preserve the history of specialist ships in
Australia. OSSA covers specialist shipping such as Antarctic, offshore oil and
gas, towage, science and defence vessels. OSSA is headquartered at the Mission
to Seafarers.
Polly Woodside is a three-masted iron-hulled barque, built in Belfast in
1885. She carried coal, nitrate, and wheat between Britain and South America,
then cargo in the New Zealand trade. She became a coal hulk in 1923, and was
used as a service lighter in WWII in New Guinea. Restoration by the National
Trust of Victoria began in 1962. The ship was refurbished with 60,000 hours of
voluntary labour, and is an ongoing project. In 1988 the World Ship Trust
recognised
Polly Woodside with an award for "supreme achievement in the
preservation of maritime heritage." The museum offers a history gallery,
theatre, picnic wharf, shop, and children's activities.
Western Victoria Coast
Queenscliffe Maritime Museum covers the maritime history of Queenscliff,
southern Port Phillip and Bass Strait. Displays include the
hazards of the Rip and the Port Phillip entrance, shipwreck relics, the
lifeboat
Queenscliffe, the Port Phillip Sea Pilots, lighthouse equipment,
the iconic Queenscliff couta boats, diving, sea kayaks,
boatbuilding, a hydrographic model of the Rip, and heritage listed maritime
buildings.
Operated by volunteers from the Apollo Bay & District Historical Society, the
Museum is housed in the former Cable Station that connected Tasmania with
mainland Australia. Included are displays and stories from the 'Shipwreck
Coast', and the ships that were the primary means of access before the
Great Ocean Road. The road opened an isolated community, allowing the local
dairy and fishing industries to prosper. There is an extensive collection of
books, photographs and information about the local Indigenous people, and early
settlers.
Just off the Great Ocean Road is Cape Otway Lightstation, the most significant
lighthouse in mainland Australia. Built in 1848, it perches on towering sea
cliffs with breathtaking views of Bass Strait from the observation deck.
Surrounded by magnificent Great Otway National Park, the Lightstation's
heritage precinct also offers accommodation, whale watching, the Indigenous
Cultural Centre, a historic telegraph station and a secret World War Two radar
bunker.
The museum is home to Australia’s richest collection of shipwreck artefacts
from some of the 200 ships wrecked along this coast, including the famous
four-million-dollar Loch Ard Peacock. Stroll the cobblestones and explore over
forty historic buildings. Scale the spiral stairs of Lady Bay lighthouse, inspect
the 80-pound cannon and marvel at the coastal views. At night, experience
dramatic maritime stories told through the
multimillion-dollar Sound and Light Show Experience.
Portland's Maritime Discovery Centre houses the
visitor information centre and a maritime museum, with displays
documenting the region’s rich history including whaling, shipwrecks, rescues,
navigation and the local fishing industry.
Centrepiece of the museum is the lifeboat
Portland (1858) famous for its role
in the
Admella rescue of 1859.
Other objects include
photographs, technical instruments, diving equipment, maritime tools and
the skeleton of a 14 metre Sperm Whale.
Murray River Ports
Pioneer Settlement is a true-to-life historical re-creation of a Mallee
township – the buildings, the machinery, the characters. Explore the
fascinating exhibits, take a ride through town on our horse and carriage or
vintage car, visit the blacksmith, print shop, working machinery exhibits and
many other faithfully restored displays. Our award-winning show 'Heartbeat of
the Murray' appears nightly and uses water, light, laser, sound and special
effects to tell the incredible story of the Murray River. A trip to Pioneer
Settlement would not be complete without a cruise aboard the PS
Pyap on
the beautiful Murray River, or a look at the recently restored queen of the
Murray, the paddle steamer
Gem.
The Port of Echuca was built in 1865 by the Victorian Railways. For many years
Echuca was the main shipbuilding centre for the river transport industry, and some
of the boats built here, such as the PS
Adelaide, still operate on the Murray
River today. The Discovery Centre offers audio visuals, models and displays to
interpret the story of Australia's inland river system and the history of
paddlesteamers, providing an extraordinary insight into our
pioneering days. The Echuca Wharf is the surviving section of a great red gum wharf which
once stretched more than four hundred metres.
Eastern Victoria Coast
Western Port Oberon Association trading as the Victorian Maritime Centre
operates a maritime museum located on The Esplanade at Crib Point. The former
Oberon Class Submarine
HMAS Otama is anchored off Crib Point. The MV
Wyuna, at
one-time a Port Phillip Bay pilot vessel, is in Tasmania ready to return to
Victoria. The museum features an extensive collection of historic artefacts
and memorabilia from the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Merchant
Navy. VMC is a not for profit organisation and is managed and operated by
volunteers. Open every Saturday and Sunday, 10 am to 3 pm.
The Amazon 1863 Project Inc. was formed in 2019 to protect the recently
revealed Amazon shipwreck on the Surf Beach at Inverloch on the Bass
Coast, in South Gippsland. The Committee encourage annual memberships
and sell merchandise to fund artefact conservation and share the
history of this A1 Class mid-nineteenth century wooden sailing
ship. Bass Coast Shire plans for the Inverloch Cultural Discovery
Centre will be the perfect facility to showcase artefacts and
the Amazon story.
Perched atop dramatic cliffs, the Cape Schanck Lighthouse has ensured the safe
passage of ships since 1859. Located in the Mornington Peninsula National Park
and surrounded by magnificent historic buildings, the lightstation allows
visitors to recreate in their imaginations the simple life of a bygone era.
Guided tours up into the lighthouse and out onto the balcony, including entry
to the Museum. Also self-guided tour up into the Museum and the Signal Tower
lookout (does not include entry to the lighthouse).
Port Welshpool and District Maritime Museum is housed in one of the original
fishermen's homes of Port Welshpool. It houses a collection that showcases the
history of the district, including maritime artefacts, a shell collection and
story of the founding families of the area. It is also the site of the
Janet
Iles, a fishing boat built in 1914 for the Smith family. The museum's
YouTube
video provides an overview of museum attractions. The museum is open on
Saturdays, except for June and July where the museum is closed except by
appointment.
On Victoria's South Gippsland coast, Port Albert's maritime museum
captures the region's rich nautical heritage. From Gunaikurnai origins
to European settlement, gold rush era, and modern times, the museum
offers a comprehensive historical journey.
Highlights include the Cape Liptrap lighthouse lens, a rare Breeches
Buoy Rocket Lifesaving system, and exhibits on the CLONMEL shipwreck.
The museum showcases navigation tools from sextants to satellite
technology, early coastal radio equipment, and port markers.
Outdoor displays feature restored work boats, the original wharf crane,
and Australia's first automatic acetylene light. This compact museum
provides an engaging exploration of Port Albert's significant role in
Australia's maritime history.
