Melbourne – A Great Maritime City
Greetings AllMMHN September 2020 Update
Gloom and Doom pervades our daily news – prologued economic and social hardship. Yet around maritime matters there is well-founded optimism particularly in relation to the maritime industry, trade and the MMHN. The sophistication, scale and efficiency of Melbourne’s port activities reflects the dedication of thousands of Victorians involved in servicing our State’s supply chains and we should all be proud of, and cheered by, what has been achieved.
Maritime Trade
Over the past two centuries, maritime trade has enabled Melbourne’s astounding prosperity, so it’s both heartening and fascinating to note that, amidst all the COVID-19 economic negativity, one industry sector continues to flourish. Yes – maritime trade. All levels of government recognise that ports and freight supply chains are critical elements within the economy. Maritime trade is currently playing a key role in keeping the national economy buoyant and ‘afloat’. The ‘Gcaptain’ offshore industry news site concurs: See: 17 August Marine Autonomy Continues As A Huge Growth Market During COVID-19. https://gcaptain.com/marine-
Genesis of the Port of Melbourne
Melbourne’s Heritage Docklands are extensive and unrivalled anywhere else in Australia – extending upstream and downstream from Seafarers Rest Park on Northbank, to other Docklands precincts including Southbank, Collins Wharf, Australia Wharf, Queens Wharf, Victoria Harbour, Yarra’s Edge, the Bolte West Precinct and New Quay, and beyond – to the estuaries and creeks downriver, where the Yarra meets Port Phillip Bay. The port in Melbourne functioned as a maritime trade gateway many years before the creation of Melbourne Harbour Trust (MHT) in 1877 but irrefutably the MHT was a major step forward for Melbourne. The role of the MHT was to develop and manage the growth of the burgeoning Port of Melbourne. And it did! For example, between 1889 and 1892 the MHT constructed Victoria Dock (now Victoria Harbour), an artificial basin that at the time was the second largest excavated dock in the world. Also Swanson Dock, which evolved over the next fifty years to become the epicentre of Australia’s international container trade. Former marshlands were transformed into a highly automated ‘A1’ controlled cutting-edge container terminal. Swanson Dock was named after Victor Swanson, considered a brilliant and far-sighted MHT engineer, who ultimately became the MHT Chairman. In 1965, after studying leading international ports, Swanson foresaw in his MHT Annual Review of Operations that ‘general cargo’ will gradually be stowed, handled, shipped and transported on land at both ends as unit cargo and containerised cargo. How right he was! Just four years later, in 1969 Swanson Dock opened. To access a fascinating time line charting Docklands’ maritime trade heritage See: https://www.portofmelbourne.
Port of Melbourne today
The Victorian State Government privatised the Port of Melbourne (PoM) in 2016. Four shareholder-owned companies now have the benefit of a fifty-year lease – QIC, Future Fund, GiP and OMERS. See https://www.portofmelbourne.
Maritime trade is an intensely competitive industry in which numbers really matter – and they are very big numbers! On 26 June 2020, the Port of Melbourne welcomed the largest (by maximum capacity) container vessel to ever call at the port – the CMA CGM Ural (admittedly, not the most romantic of names!). PoM recently reported some impressive 2019-2020 statistical comparisons. Total container volumes (full and empty) were up 7.2 per cent; full overseas container imports were up 12.8 per cent; full overseas container exports were up 7.2 per cent; and dry bulk shipments up 26.6 % in cement, fly ash and manufactured fertilizer (despite nil June grain shipments). After the privatisation of Melbourne’s port operations, the State Government retained authority over aspects of port management though the Victorian Port Corporation Melbourne (VPCM) to provide information and advice to ship’s masters, shipping agents and owners to ensure safe and efficient operation of all shipping within the port waters.
The CMA CGM Ural
The Naval Historical Society of Australia
The pandemic seems to have challenged our grasp of Federation. So perhaps it is timely to consider times gone by when Victoria had its Navy. To fuel further speculation, see the following extracts from the work of P. Webb, Victorian Chapter of the Naval Historical Society of Australia: Victoria was separated from … New South Wales in 1851, and was fast to realise that her very existence could stand in jeopardy without a navy. Gold discoveries drew thousands of people from all over the world to Victoria by mid-1852. There was no way for local authorities to enforce control over the port waters so an appeal was made to the Imperial Government for an armed vessel to be stationed in Port Phillip. HMS Electra under Captain Morris arrived at Williamstown in April 1853. In 1884 the Australian colony of Victoria added two ‘flat-iron’ type gunboats to its navy. The vessels were patriotically named HMVS Victoria and HMVS Albert in reverence to Queen Victoria and her late consort Prince Albert. On 26 January 1884 a crew comprising active and time expired Royal Navy personnel was signed on in Newcastle in readiness for the long delivery voyage to the colony of Victoria… HMVS Victoria went to war once only, when she operated as a despatch vessel attached to HMS Pelorus in New Zealand waters during the Taranaki Rebellion … War in the Crimea caused local panic with fears of invasion by a cruising Russian squadron …The Colonial Naval Defence Act of 1865 laid down a definite policy by which colonies could provide, maintain, and use their own vessels of war.
After implementation of the Act, vessels of the Victorian Navy were titled HMVS instead of HM Colonial Ships, although official correspondence shows occasional lapses until the hoisting of the Victoria Ensign. See https://www.navyhistory.org.
Mission to Seafarers News
Located in heart of the ‘Seafarers Precinct’, the early Docklands area within the CBD, the iconic Mission to Seafarers premises may be evolving – in a positive direction. MMHN is pleased to report that last week, the City of Melbourne Council unanimously endorsed the commitment of funds to support preparation of a Feasibility Study underpinning a Maritime Centre for Melbourne and more specifically preparation of a Business Case to establish a Maritime Centre at Mission to Seafarers. Such a Maritime Centre would continue to provide welfare services to seafarers as well as maintaining the marvellous Mariners Chapel – and would be configured to create space for maritime exhibitions, educational activities and celebrations. Read the Motion in detail: https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.
The MMHN Board thanks the many maritime stakeholders, and particularly members of the Museums & Heritage SAG, who responded so promptly to a ‘Call to Action’ for written and verbal submission to Council in support of this exciting proposal to rightly put maritime heritage ‘on the chart’ in the City of Melbourne.
World Ship Society News
MMHN appreciates the magnificent images and detail provided each month by the WS. It is a concern that increasingly restrictions impairing ‘ship spotting’ access to usual locations has become almost impossible at the moment. Restrictions are less prohibitive at the southern end of the Bay so hopefully the images of maritime trade vessels will continue to flow and bring pleasure to many. See the images each month – and do consider joining. .See http://www.mhav.net/wss.php. n non-pandemic times the World Ship Society (Victoria) conducts visits to ships, excursions to photograph ships of interest on the Bay and other activities.
OSSA report
COVID-19 appears to have been an extraordinarily productive period for OSSA members – many of whom have fascinating tales to tell of life at sea. One OSSA member, Capt. Rob Anderson, shares some of these tales ‘warts and all’ his first book, colourfully entitled When the Ship Hits the Fan. At 15 years of age, Rob joined British flag ships as a deck apprentice, later serving as an officer in general cargo, container, salvage and passenger ships. At 29 Rob gained his first command of a ‘foreign-going’ ship, one of the youngest men ever to do so in Australia. For the next forty years Rob served as a Master and Marine Pilot on the Great Barrier Reef and in Torres Strait. Wonderful to note that Rob accumulated such a breadth of maritime expertise but perhaps equally impressive to note the pride Rob feels in having taught around 400 seafarers gain their Masters 4 Certificate.
See: https://affirmpress.com.au/
Report from the Alma Doepel
Restoration works on the Alma Doepel, which were progressing so well pre-COVID, are now stymied. Work on the ship and barge in Shed 2 is closed to volunteers and visitors. But, as we all know only too well, maritime heritage restoration is a costly business. To ensure that the Alma Doepel backs into the water, fundraising efforts continue in anticipation of works resuming ASAP. Funds are being sought for specific elements of the restoration including oakum to complete caulking, buying & fitting port propellers & shafts and the bow thruster tunnel. (Total $39,000.) Check the Sponsorship Prospectus, noting that all donations are recorded for posterity in the history of the ship. See https://www.almadoepel.com.au/>
News on the Aurora Australis
Sadly, on 12 August 2020 Federal Minister Paul Fletcher (Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts) under the Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act 1986 allowed the ‘export’ of RSV Aurora Australis, following an application by the owners P&O Maritime Service. The Australian Charter of the vessel from P&O ended in March. The staunch fight by Federal MP Andrew Wilkie and the Aurora Australis Foundation to keep the Aurora Australis in Hobart in its retirement, looks to have lost. A perplexing quote from Minister Fletcher I needed to decide if the export permit should be refused on the grounds that losing the Aurora Australis would significantly diminish the cultural heritage of Australia. While it is a significant vessel, that is a high bar to meet. The ship is an important part of local history but it does not pass the test. Maritime heritage and Antarctic enthusiasts may question this assessment. Part of Local History? National maritime history may have been a more accurate assessment. The Minister claims to have followed the process under the Protection of Movable Cultural Heritage Act before a decision was made on this Class B Australian Protected Object (which can include certain objects of water transport such as power-driven vessels). Reports from registered experts registered under the Act and recommendations from the National Cultural Heritage Committee. There appears to be no political will to retain this key vessel in Australia’s maritime and Antarctic heritage. A buyer was on hand. In June 2020, the Argentine government was reported paying $US2 million – it too has an Antarctic presence. No date for the ‘export’ is yet set.
RSV Nuyina – Moving forward
The Aurora Australis replacement vessel is the very appropriately named, the RSV Nuyina meaning ‘southern lights’ in Palawa Kani, the language of Tasmanian Aborigines. The adaptability and resilience of the Tasmanian Aborigines, who travelled in canoes to small, cold and remote islets in the Southern Ocean, are qualities emulated by modern-day Australian Antarctic expeditioners as they travel south (in far greater comfort and safety). The vessel was designed by Danish engineering company Knud E. Hansen, construction management by Dutch Damen Group and built by the Romanian shipyard Damen Galați, Romania. It is classified as an Icebreaker, Research Vessel Polar Class 3. For more engineering details, see https://en.wikipedia.org/
Australia’s new Antarctic icebreaker will come into service shortly once its final harbour testing, and sea and ice trials, are completed. Due to COVID-19 delays, the Nuyina will not arrive in Hobart until the middle of next year. In March the Australian Antarctic Division reached a deal with Dutch company Maritime Construction Services to use the vessel Everest from December until March 2021.
Maritime Wrecks Convention
Most of us regard shipwrecks as marvelous maritime assets but in global terms this is a tad simplistic. It’s complex. Hazards, insurance, disposal costs, environmental protection are the focus of the maritime industry, and possibly trump, matters of perceived heritage value.
MMHN Board member David Goodwin, currently President of the Maritime Law Association of Australia and New Zealand reports that in August 2020 the Australian government issued a Discussion Paper: Australians Accession to the Nairobi International Convention on the removal of wrecks. It illuminates the issues around wrecks, and a nasty one is happening right now off the coast of Mauritius: , a Japanese bulk carrier, the MV Wakashio, carrying 4000 tonnes of fuel, ran aground on a coral reef, leaking hundreds of tonnes of the fuel oil, and has now broken apart three miles offshore, causing an ecological emergency. See https://shipwrecklog.com/log/
MV Wakashio,
If such a situation arose within Australia’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the Australian government must use a combination of domestic laws, informed by International Conventions, to pursue wreck removal actions and recover costs from liable parties. This would also be the case for any object lost at sea from a ship where the object becomes sunken, stranded or adrift. The complexity of this regime has been illustrated by the YM Efficiency incident in June 2018, where 81 shipping containers were lost overboard from a ship southeast of Newcastle. The ship’s owner, a Taiwanese shipping company, refused to pay the significant cleanup and salvaging costs. Consistent with the above regime of law and conventions specifying the ‘polluter pays principle’, in February 2020 the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) commenced legal proceedings in the Federal Court against Yang Ming seeking to recover costs associated with both cleanup and container removal (an estimated AUD $22 million). Other wreck examples are cited in the Discussion Paper.
The Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks 2007, also known as the Wreck Removal Convention (WRC), of which Australia is currently not a party, may potentially provide an improvement to the current process of wreck removal and associated cost recovery The WRC provides a legal basis for an Affected State to remove a wreck where it poses a hazard, including hazards created by an object lost at sea from a ship (e.g. lost containers). The WRC holds ship owners financially liable and requires them to take out insurance or provide other financial security to cover the costs of removing hazards, providing Affected States with a right of direct action against insurers. These provisions can apply within a State’s territorial sea, providing an alternative framework to any domestic legislation that operates currently. i.e. Australia’s Navigation Act 2012 (the Navigation Act) at the Commonwealth level, as well as state and Northern Territory legislation. The WRC has the scope to not only include foreign vessels and regulated Australian vessels (RAVs) as under the Navigation Act, but also domestic commercial vessels (DCVs) and recreational vessels.
An analysis of the potential application of the WRC in the Australian context and the benefits accession could offer Australia is being analyzed and is seeking stakeholder in-put. See https://www.
Victorian Shipwrecks
Turning now to maritime heritage as we know it and to actual wrecks, in 1976 the Commonwealth Historic Shipwrecks Act was enacted to prevent private people or commercial organisations from disturbing or removing any part of a located wreck or any artefact associated with it. In 1981 the Victorian Historic Shipwrecks Act was enacted to protect shipwrecks in Victorian waters. In Victoria a permit is required for the Use, Exploration or Recovery of Historical Shipwrecks or Relics. See: https://ablis.business.gov.au/
Of the 600 shipwrecks off Victorian coastline only nine are in Protected Zones. Other wrecks can be explored without damaging, disturbing or removing artefacts. But adequate protection is far from assured. In June 2019, a routine inspection of the historic SS Alert shipwreck revealed that the small iron steamer wreck had been pillaged. The vessel went down in 1893, only one of the sixteen crew survived. Poignant to note that stolen items included the crews’ personal effects, bottles, plates and a lampshade as well as navigation lights. Clearly Penalties of up to $168,000 or five years imprisonment do not deter vandals or thieves. See https://www.heritage.vic.gov.au/media-releases/125-year-old-shipwreck-looted-in-bass-strait
Portland Wreck News
A wonderful discovery was made last week on a beach near Portland by Carole Cram. Local historian Garry Kerr reports that the German barque Marie was wrecked a little north of the Blowholes near Portland in September 1851 (not to be confused with the other Maria wrecked in 1839). The Marie was on a voyage from Antwerp to Sydney via Adelaide. The exact dimensions of the vessel are unknown but as an ‘international trader’, the vessel was probably four or five hundred tons. What emerged in the sands appears to be a ‘deadeye’, which would have been attached to the side of a ship’s hull – highly likely to come from the Marie. Single deadeyes (or bull’s eyes) are used to guide and control a line and, particularly in older vessels, to change its direction. When blocks came into common use for adjusting running igging, deadeyes continued to be used for tensioning standing rigging. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
In recent years divers have found two ship anchors, again most likely from the Marie, offshore a few hundred metres north of the Blowholes. These may have been dropped to lighten the vessel amidst the drama to prevent her being dashed to pieces on the rocks, which eventually happened with no survivors.
Possibly from the wreck Marie ‘Dead Eye’ Photograph from Carle Crfam
Water Transport
Given that Melbourne has arguably more navigable waterways than Sydney, it is puzzling that so few options exist for water transportation. In days gone, by, Melbourne waterway authorities would have been aware of these deficiencies. The MMHN has advocated on our undeveloped transport sector at every opportunity with entities such as the Melbourne Transport Forum and the Committee for Melbourne. Many stakeholders are in furious agreement that THE major impediment to growing water-based transport options readily available in this City, is the bureaucratic tangle facing any brave entrepreneur ready to give the people of Melbourne the option of water transport services. You will find dark humour in the extraordinarily complex regulatory environment facing intrepid water transport operators in Perth. See https://www.transport.wa.gov.
The Maribyrnong River
Melbourne’s second largest navigable waterway, the Maribyrnong River, has inexplicably been ignored for decades – until now. The river reveals many examples of heritagemaritime infrastructure. At long last the City of Melbourne is taking a closer look, see Maribyrnong Waterfront- A way Forward June 2020. https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.
The Maribyrnong River is salty and was known until 1913 as the ‘Saltwater’. The lower river has existed in its present course for at least 2000 years, shaped by the force of floods upstream from the Yarra River estuary and is fed by the Moonee Ponds Creek. Significant swamplands spanned east and west of the river and remnants of these swamps remain, including the Dynon Tidal Canal. In the early 1900s draining and filling the swamps commenced. Following European arrival, the Maribyrnong River became a focus for industry development and the river was used as a dumping ground for industrial waste, as well as for transporting goods to the port. An inexplicable omission in the above document is a failure to make reference to the ‘benefit’ to industry of having close proximity to water to dispose of industrial waste as well as being an effective mechanism for transporting goods which led to industry being attracted to this important waterway and this in turn drove Melbourne’s prosperity.
(A reminder that post-Lockdown you may consider a trip along the river with the Blackbird Cruises See http://www.blackbirdcruises.
Remnant bluestone flood mitigation perhaps
Water Transport
MMHN hopes that wider recognition of, and demand for, this alternate form of transportation will emerge post-COVID. Perhaps a post pandemic re-think by relevant bureaucrats? Could water transportation emerge as a key element of Melbourne’s mix in the future? The plethora of responsible authorities, some of which merely have passing relevance, is widely acknowledged but not eradicated. Peter Wilmoth wrote in the RACV magazine in January 2020 Could water transport be the key the Melbourne’s future?
See:https://www.racv.com.au/
Pier Works
At Gem Pier, Williamstown, $650,000 worth of works Commenced in April funded by the State government for piles beneath the pier to be repaired and replaced. Divers were repairing several piles by wrapping them with marine grade material to strengthen and protect them from the coastal environment. A second stage will see a barge remove and replace piles from the east side of the pier. All of this pier ‘rescue’ is significance as MMHN anxiously awaits the fate of the iconic Central Pier. Heritage Victoria reports that no demolition order has been received to date. We anticipate the bureaucratic struggle ahead of maritime heritage stakeholders to ensure that Central Pier receives the same level of recognition and preservation as Gem Pier. Community activism is staunch in support of Melbourne’s unique heritage Central Pier at the heart of Docklands. See: https://savecentralpier.com.
HMAS Cerberus Redevelopment Update
Works on the $466 million redevelopment at HMAS Cerberus which commenced early 2018 are progressing apace. With an average of 300 contractors working on site each day, it is certainly providing a boost for local employment. Works will be completed by the end of 2022, 18 months earlier than planned. Visitors to Cerberus will immediately notice the new Logistics Centre, accommodating a new Clothing, Naval and Bedding Store and will be used for ‘kit-up’ for the new recruits arriving each month. The training precinct includes the new School of Survivability and Ship Safety (SSSS), a Diesel and Gas Fire Fighting Unit and a Dynamic Leak Stop Repair Unit. These units, due for completion before the end or 2020, will provide a realistic training environment. A new Survival at Sea Training Centre will offer enhanced ‘abandon ship training’ with recruits making safe jumps into a deep training pool rather than leaping off the pier. The pool area will also simulate rain, wind and wave conditions as well as a ‘small boat capsize’ trainer, a helicopter wet winch recovery capability, and a 10m high escape chute to replicate an ‘abandon ship’ exercise. There will be Electronic and Marine Technician training including a purpose-designed area for ‘Air & Surface Torpedo Handling’. Other new schools include School of Catering, Maritime Logistics and the newly-formed Maritime Personnel. Taken as a whole – an excellent training facility. The 100th Anniversary of the commissioning (opening) of Cerberus occurred on 1 September. A small monument commemorates this milestone for Cerberus – the Cradle of the Navy. See News https://navyvic.net/news/
Politics – Who are you going to call?
MMHN is committed to strong advocacy and facilitation, certainly, but proactivity around particular problematic issues is everyone’s business. We encourage you to be involved. Stakeholders should be aware of the expanded ministerial responsibilities of The Hon. Melissa Horne whose electorate is Williamstown. Minister Horne is now Minister for Ports and Freight, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Gaming and Liquor Regulation, Minister for Fishing and Boating, And clearly has ministerial oversight on many areas of interest to MMHN. See https://melissahornemp.com.
Relevant also in relation to museum matters in Victoria, as Minister for Creative Industries, The Hon Martin Foley is the responsible Minister. See https://www.martinfoley.com.
Williamstown Maritime Precinct Study
Maritime enthusiasts are well aware of the key role Williamston played in the early trade history of the colony. Pleasing news in In May 2020, Minister, Melissa Horne, announced $200,000 to create a Williamstown Maritime Precinct Framework – to support future investment and development decisions along the iconic foreshore – an important State Government initiative underpinning future planning for the Williamstown Maritime Precinct .This study will identify potential development opportunities for the Williamstown foreshore developing framework will provide long term benefits for foreshore tenants, the local community including commercial and recreational boating. A project steering committee to engage departmental, agency, council and community representatives to guide, develop and monitor the delivery of the project.. The framework will be run in conjunction with the Williamstown Wave Surge Study currently being undertaken by Parks Victoria The work expected to be completed in late 2020. Contact: melissa.horne@
Museums Series
Scottish Fisheries Museum
The examples of Maritime Museums around the world presented to date have been ‘conventional’ museums, sharing the same persistent concern of conventional museums in Australia, the acute anxiety of diminishing funds. Reflecting on this common problem triggers the essential questions: Given the prohibitive on-going costs of maintaining maritime heritage vessels in the water, are floating exhibits essential in Maritime Museums? What is the essence of a maritime museum? Stories and folklore, of legendary vessels and shipbuilding, the disasters and wrecks, the exploration and navigation, trade routes and cargoes the ways of seafarers in the time-honoured practices on and off-shore, the skills and technicalities of the seafaring life? MMHN Board Member Jeff Malley describes a moving and unusual scope and ‘form’ of a maritime museum from his visit some years ago to e Scottish Fisheries Museum at Anstruther.
The Museum documents the ‘lives’ of the fishing community in a series of adjacent old dwellings facing the harbour telling the story of the Scottish fishing industry from the earliest times to the present. Jeff reflects What struck me about it was its balance between people and objects located in a ‘Dr Who Tardis like’ confined spaces inside the four dwellings. The seafaring tales of boats, fish and folk” were told ‘virtually’ resulting in the tiny ‘inside’ spaces, mysteriously expanding. In seafaring villages, women had a crucial role which enabled the men to head out into dangerous waters. My favourite exhibit was on knitting and the different types of knit for different elements of clothing worn by the men at sea. The invaluable and overlooked work of women in such a fishing village was critical to the viability of the fishing industry. Here is the link to a virtual walk through the village concentrating on the fishing industry – reference to the work of women work is scant.
See https://www.scotfishmuseum.org
Anstruther Village
AMSA Connection
MMHN is pleased to announce that MMHN Board Member Dr David Goodwin, a specialist in maritime law, has received an invitation to accept a two-year appointment as a member of the Shipping Consultative Forum of the Federal Government’s Australian Maritime Safety Authority. This will assist MMHN to be fully informed about the latest developments in shipping policy and maritime regulation at the national level.
Australian Maritime Museum Council (AMMC) Connection
MMHN is grateful that its unique role in advocating and connecting maritime stakeholders has resulted in MMHN being granted AMMC Council representation. The AMMC principally represents the national and state maritime museums – ANMM (NSW), Council of Inland Rivers NSW/VIC/SA), QMM (QLD), SAMM (SA), WAMM (WA) Port of Echuca (VIC), MMT (TAS). T. MMHN Board member Martin Dixon, replaces MMHN Board member Andrew Raftis to represent the MMHN on the AMMC. Like most of Australia, the AMMC is meeting via Zoom at the moment but hopefully face to face meetings will resume in due course and will coincide with workshops rotating around the various member venues. Workshops have included such topics as: Shipwrecks, Restoration, Maritime Stories, Museums and Education. MMHN is obviously delighted to share the richness and strength of Victoria’s Maritime heritage stakeholders on this national body.
Australian Museums and Galleries Association (AMaGA)
MMHN has recently joined AMaGA (Vic), the peak advocacy body representing museums and galleries, encompassing a wide and diverse range of national, state, regional and community museums, galleries, historic sites, botanic and zoological gardens, research centres, Indigenous cultural centres, and Keeping Places across Australia. All members share a dedication to culture, the arts, movable cultural heritage and communities, and the knowledge that Australian cultural life is a dynamic ecosystem that generates creativity and innovation and contributes to the social and economic wellbeing of the country. We trust that AMaGA membership will assist maritime stakeholders in Victoria.
See https://www.amaga.org.au/
International Congress of Maritime Museums (ICMM)
It is pleasing to report that the MMHN is now a member of ICMM the world’s only international maritime museum network, facilitating information-sharing and conversations around the globe. Amidst COVID-19, MMHN can participate in ICCM virtual events and the ICCM monthly newsletter. Like the MMHN, ICMM functions through Special Advisory Groups and has recently formed a new working group focusing on the marine environment. It has launched a revised Code of Maritime Archaeology Ethics (the Åland Accord). See https://icom.museum/en/
MMHN Network Connections August
World Ship Society
Australian Museums and Galleries Association (AMaGA)
Federation Square
National Trust (Victoria)
Maritime Law Association of Australia and New Zealand
Melbourne Transport Forum
Port of Melbourne
Royal Historical Society of Victoria
Boating Industry Association
Committee for Melbourne
Better Boating Victoria
Minister Ports etc.
City of Melbourne
Australian Maritime Museum Council (AMMC)
AMSA Merchant Navy Association
International Congress of Maritime Museums (ICMM)
Do keep well
Chair,
Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network
0400 305 323 or email info@mmhn.org.au
We invite you to join now
Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network
The membership form is available on https://mmhn.org.au/