MMHN EVENTS
UPCOMING EVENTS
PAST EVENTS
Tour: Heritage Victoria’s Artefact Research Centre
Tour: Heritage Victoria’s Artefact Research Centre
Spencer St Bridge – Fascinating maritime infrastructure
Spencer St Bridge – Fascinating maritime infrastructure
Presentation by historian Fiona Campbell at Magnet Gallery, The District Centre, Docklands
Treasures of the Library – The Royal United Services Institute of Victoria
Treasures of the Library – The Royal United Services Institute of Victoria
The President and Council of The Royal United Services Institute of Victoria are inviting heritage stakeholders to the opening of an Exhibition of the Treasures of its Library.
Wreck Diving in the Bay – Maritime Archeology
Wreck Diving in the Bay – Maritime Archeology
Ship Spotting – Victoria Branch of the World Ship Society
Ship Spotting – Victoria Branch of the World Ship Society
This is an opportunity to gain fascinating insight into the compelling pastime of ‘ship-spotting’ and gain knowledge about the vessels regularly seen plying our waters.
Viking Ships in Melbourne
Viking Ships in Melbourne
Erik Thorup will discuss the interest in Viking vessels in Melbourne and will present images of a viking ship launch in Port Phillip Bay.
Tours of the Williamstown Shipyard
Tours of the Williamstown Shipyard
Part of the Hobsons Bay Heritage Festival, an opportunity to book a conducted Tour of the Williamstown Shipyard.
History of the Alfred Graving Dock at Williamstown
History of the Alfred Graving Dock at Williamstown
A presentation by MMHN Board Member Peter Quinlivian for the Victorian Chapter of the Naval Historical Society of Australia.
C. Blunts Boatyard Open House
C. Blunts Boatyard Open House
You are invited to visit and absorb the rich maritime heritage at your own pace – fascinating tools, materials, memorabilia accumulated since 1858 by five generations of skilled wooden boatbuilders.
MMHN presentation at the English Speaking Union
MMHN presentation at the English Speaking Union
Chair of the Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network Jackie Watts and MMHN Board member Michael O’Brien to present on “MMHN – its establishment, roles, objectives, current progress and language”.
Maritime Moments in Melbourne: Celebrating Melbourne’s rich maritime past
Maritime Moments in Melbourne: Celebrating Melbourne’s rich maritime past
Harbour Trust Image Spotting
Harbour Trust Image Spotting
All are welcome to join the second MMHN Heritage & Museum Special Advisory Group’s workshop to help identify some of the 6000 astounding photographs of our waterways in the PROV Harbour Masters Collection.
Melbourne’s Bridges: The Spencer Street Bridge – POSTPONED
Melbourne’s Bridges: The Spencer Street Bridge – POSTPONED
PLEASE NOTE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED. Melbourne has a plethora of bridges over the lower reaches of the Yarra – have you ever noticed the Spencer Street Bridge?
Book Launch: Across Bass Strait by Jane Lennon
Book Launch: Across Bass Strait by Jane Lennon
Across Bass Strait is a history of the connection between squatters, merchants and mariners to develop the livestock trade from the mainland to Van Diemen’s Land.
John Marshall: the Hull shipowner and Lloyd’s agent who established the shipping connection with Melbourne
John Marshall: the Hull shipowner and Lloyd’s agent who established the shipping connection with Melbourne
Note that this event is run by the University of Hull in England and times are listed as BST (British Summer Time). When you follow the attendee registration link, you can choose to convert the event time to your time zone.
Maritime Image Workshop
Maritime Image Workshop
A unique opportunity to help identify some of the 5000 astounding photographs of our waterways in the Harbour Trust Commissioner’s collection held by the Public Records Office Victoria.
The Power of the Wind: Past, Present and Future
The Power of the Wind: Past, Present and Future
2021 Pre-Christmas Gathering & Conversation
2021 Pre-Christmas Gathering & Conversation
Join us for our 2021 Pre-Christmas Gathering & Conversation at Stella Maris Seafarers Centre. With Guest Speaker Angela Skandarajah, Chief Executive Officer, Development Victoria. We are delighted to be supporting Stella Maris this year and their excellent work globall...
PROV Harbour Trust Photographs Seminar – Due to Covid-19 this event has been postponed until 2022
PROV Harbour Trust Photographs Seminar – Due to Covid-19 this event has been postponed until 2022
This seminar, to be held at PROV, will take the form of a working bee to identify some of the thousands of images in the PROV’s Photographic Collection 1880-1976, created by the Melbourne Harbour Trust Commissioners.
SAILING & WATER BASED EVENTS

The Port of Melbourne – Port of Osaka Yacht Race
A unique race between Port Cities – Sister Cities first held in 1987 to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the opening of the Port of Osaka. Former CoM Lord Mayor Trevor Huggard sailed in the first race. The City of Melbourne provides the licence to use the “Melbourne to Osaka Double Handed Yacht Club” trademark and have provided hospitality support to competitors in the past. This is Australia’s longest Category 1 yacht race, the equivalent of eight back-to-back Sydney to Hobart’s with only two people on board.
See: http://melbourneosaka.com/en/about-the-race/
Now held every four years (on average) to celebrate the City of Melbourne and the City of Osaka Sister City and Sister Port relationship.
The 2018 event was fully subscribed with a waiting list of keen competitors.
Next event is scheduled for 2022.
The City of Melbourne has an opportunity to support allocated events at Docklands.
The race commences at the Heads. Preparation of the boats occurs at Sandringham.

Melbourne to Launceston Yacht Races
The Melbourne to Launceston Yacht Race is the ‘Grand Old Dame’ of Australian ocean races. It is the oldest ocean race in Australia and the fifth oldest on the face of the planet.
In 1907, Thomas Fleming Day, editor of the American magazine ‘Rudder’ wrote to his friend, the Commodore of the Geelong Yacht Club, T.A. Dickson, suggesting a race across Bass Strait to Tasmania in order to promote the sport of yachting. Day struck a trophy worth 60 guineas, a fortune at the time, as a prize for the winner. More than 100 years later, yachts are still racing across Bass Strait for the honour of winning the Rudder Cup. The Rudder Cup is Australia’s oldest ocean race and the 5th oldest organised ocean yacht race in the world, predating the Fastnet race by nearly 20 years and the Sydney to Hobart race by nearly four decades.

Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race
Now in its 44th year, the 435 nautical mile blue-water classic Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race was the brainchild of Stan Gibson from Hobson’s Bay Yacht Club in Melbourne and Dr. Joe Cannon at Derwent Sailing Squadron in Hobart.
Arguably Australia’s most challenging ocean race, the Melbourne to Hobart starts from Portsea Pier.

Couta Boat Events
The Couta Boat Association is dedicated to the promotion of iconic wooden Australian gaff rig fishing boats now raced in competitive and social fleets.
The Victorian Couta boat is a distinct Australian designed working boat going back to the latter part of the 1800s. Queenscliffe, just inside Port Phillip Heads, was a fishing community, which initially worked their local areas inside the bay. To go out the heads required a boat capable of handling the ‘The Rip’ as the passage is known, and then the much rougher offshore conditions. By the 1890s they had established a fleet that was working out into the strait, using sailing craft that were different from the inshore boats. When railways reached coastal communities the ability to transport fish quickly to Melbourne encouraged the fleet size to expand and made it practical to fish offshore and to freight the catch to the market.

Round the World Yacht Races
Round the World Yacht Races e.g. Volvo Ocean Race, World Clipper Races
These races are multi-million dollar events and involve many sailing clubs throughout Melbourne. More could be done to optimise an economic up-lift in Melbourne itself and reinforce Melbourne’s historic role as a port city destination.

Dragon Boats Victoria
President – Adrian Stephens
Based at Victoria Harbour Docklands.
Dragon boat racing has cultural origins in ancient China and has evolved into a highly competitive sport right across the globe. Dragon Boats Victoria delivers regattas across metropolitan and regional Victoria. Their premier event is the Victorian State Championships, which is held at the end of each season in March.