MV Cape Don Strikes Back

by Jeni Bone on 30 Jul 2008 Action by NSW Maritime to banish historic lighthouse tender, MV Cape Don from its mooring at the Old Coal Loader, Balls Head, Waverton, by 14 August, 2008 has prompted a barrage of emails from volunteer and specialist workers who have contributed to the restoration project over the five years.

All have been outraged that this historically valuable project which has occupied thousands of man hours by the volunteer society could suddenly be considered “unsafe” and unnecessary.

“If the ship is banished to the ‘dolphins’ at Snails Bay, Balmain, where there is no wharf, power or fresh water, the project will die and so will a large part of Australia’s maritime history”, says the group of volunteers attempting to persuade the state government and NSW Maritime to spare the vessel.

Derek Emerson-Elliott, founder and chairman of the trust that owns the MV Cape Don, has called upon everyone interested in preserving the MV Cape Don and all that she represents to fight the eviction order.

The MV Cape Don was built in 1963, one of a unique class of ships purpose-built to service navigational aids (including manned lighthouses) primarily around the West Australian coastline.

She was built as a mini-liner, with the lavish passenger accommodation necessary to carry technicians, relief lighthouse crews (sometimes whole families) and officials sometimes for quite prolonged periods.

Retired in the 1980s when Australian lighthouses were automated, she is now being restored in Sydney Harbour at the Old Coal Wharf in Waverton by the 'MV Cape Don Society', and is registered as the largest vessel in private ownership in Australia.

In a response submitted by its PR rep, the group states: NSW Maritime’s “aggressive manner in giving the ship and hundreds of restoration volunteers little more than a month to vacate has astounded the ship’s many supporters”.

It continues, explaining the North Sydney Council and NSW Maritime were once staunch supporters of the project. “That NSW Maritime has suddenly changed its official attitude towards the not-for-profit organisation has confused everybody, especially when many who work for maritime are totally behind the project and its continued presence at Balls Head”.

“It would be a sad day if the MV Cape Don was to become a political football between warring factions with a government department, not to mention the slap in the face for a project that celebrates Australia’s maritime history.

“By kicking the ship out of Balls Head and sending it to the 'dolphins' in Snails Bay, Balmain, the project loses wharf access, shore power and fresh water. Volunteers will not be able to access the ship and it will lose valuable relationships with the many students, police, customs and naval officers that regularly use the MV Cape Don as a training vessel.

“NSW Maritime might just as well have signed the MV Cape Don’s death warrant and sent it to the bottom of Sydney Harbour! Gone will be a museum ship celebrating the finest of Australian shipbuilding, and gone will be dreams of making the vessel Australia’s first hospital and aid ship.”

One passionate patron sent an email which read: “This ship has so much potential, and has already given so much joy to a lot of people, especially the people who have sailed the high seas with her, not to mention all the volunteers working tirelessly to ensure she is restored back to her wonderful, proud self. She will be providing Australians with an insight into Australian maritime history as well as providing aid to remote Indigenous communities.”

The same correspondent pointed out that “relocation will jeopardise the whole restoration project, making it virtually impossible for volunteers to access, not to mention having no power, water etc. Can't the wharf be fixed to make it safe?”

Another, himself a serving Radio Electronics Officer onboard the Cape Don during the 80s and “one of the many hundreds of volunteers who have toiled for many, many thousands of hours to restore the vessel”, wrote to express his opinion that at no time during the past five years has he heard “that the vessel has been misused or involved with any inappropriate actions by any individual or company onboard”.

“With regard to the statement that the wharf is condemned, this just shows the politics involved. The wharf was derelict when we took over the ship five years ago.

'To our knowledge, nothing has changed since then. We have formally requested the date the wharf was condemned, and who condemned it. We have also asked to see a copy of the report so that we could make a responsible decision on safety.

'NSW Maritime’s solicitor, has said in response to our request: ‘In relation to your request for a copy of the engineer's report regarding the Coal Loader wharf, I do not believe that it is appropriate to make the document publicly available at this time. It is an internal working document obtained by NSW Maritime to enable it to make decisions about the wharf’.

“In any case, we only use a very small portion of the land-based edge of the wharf to access the ship. The ship is actually tied up to a galvanised steel wharf which is in sound condition.

“The small portion of the wharf we use to access our galvanised wharf has been maintained and strengthened by us over the years. It is roped off from the rest of the wharf, and we police the area whenever we have members of the public visiting the ship.

“We have also provided the Authority with a plan to rebuild the access area at our own cost and asked permission to commence work. That permission has been denied.

He continues, explaining that there has in fact been no refusal to pay wharf fees. The “live music event” mentioned in NSW Maritime’s statement was held at the venue to raise funds for the ship’s refurbishment and involved representation by dignitaries of local and international business, sponsors, marine associations and North Sydney Council. “In fact, NSW Maritime were also invited and sent representation. We strongly dispute that any signage was covered or removed by any society members.

“Maritime sold the vessel to the society for profit, allowed work to continue for a number years without commentary and now they have their own agenda for our removal that we are most certainly not privy to. We are to be committed to open anchor with no power, no water and no access, just left to rust in the middle of Balmain Harbour.”

As part of the crew of the Cape Don, he tells of her journeys and significant contribution to Australian maritime history as “a hard working vessel that paved the way for modern maritime traffic to develop around the Australian coast”.

“This vessel deserves the recognition, and would be a wonderful asset for the training and development of maritime service in Australia – not just thrown on the scrap heap.”

Last week, the team behind the MV Cape Don’s repair and protection secured a win, with the vessel now on the Australian Register of Historic Vessels.

The plight of the boat has been covered by various media outlets, including the ABC’s Stateline program and several newspapers and local magazines.

Volunteers have suggested in correspondence to Minister for Small Business, Minister for Regulatory Reform, Minister for Ports and Waterways, Joe Tripodi, a solution that they say “will enable the MV Cape Don to continue to be refurbished, thereby protecting the last lighthouse ship in Australia whilst allowing the vessel to be open to the public as the only historical museum for lighthouse ships in Australia”.

“Cockatoo Island is a wonderful example of Australian ship building during the twentieth century and still retains many remnants of its past including large workships, slipways, wharves and other buildings that have retained a working model of the islands industrial past.”

More at www.mvcapedonsociety.org.au