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SPECIAL HISTORIC ITEMS

Click on the item of interest to view details about that item

 

TORPEDO BOAT HMVS LONSDALE

Classified as an historic vessel and protected by the Heritage Act 1995, the hulk of the HMVS Lonsdale is buried in the grounds of the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum.

Built in 1883 in Chiswick, England, the Lonsdale was commissioned for the defence of Victoria to counteract possible invasion by Russia or France. Along with her sister ship the Nepean, HMVS Cerberus, the first class torpedo boat Countess of Hopetoun, and the fortifications at Point Nepean, Fort Queenscliff, South Channel Fort and Popes Eye, the Lonsdale was part of a “first line of defence” for colonial Victoria.

The Lonsdale sat low in the water and looked very similar to a submarine. She was designed to attack by speeding toward the enemy vessel and firing her torpedoes at the last minute.

By 1912 the Lonsdale was obsolete.  She was eventually beached as a breakwater at the back of the houses in Beach Street Queenscliff. Time and the build up of sand as the harbour was enlarged has meant that the Lonsdale is now situated in the grounds of the Maritime Museum.  A dig by Heritage Victoria and Queenscliff Harbour Pty. Ltd. in March 2006 ascertained that the bow had been removed some years previously as local history suggested.  The conning tower was still in place but a request by the Museum to excavate the stern was rejected. Further details of Lonsdale and Countess of Hopetoun may be found on a web site maintained by Eric F. Langenberg for the Maritime Archaeology Association Of Victoria.

The Museum has plans to erect a “Site Memorial” for this special vessel which was part of Victoria’s first Navy.

 

HERITAGE LISTED FISHERMEN’S WAITING SHED.

Erected on the old fishermen’s pier in the 1870s, the building was used as a shelter, ”waiting shed” by the fishermen.  In 1895, a local fisherman Henry Zanoni began to paint on the inside walls of the shed, many of the vessels that entered Port Phillip.  He continued his painting as a hobby over the next 51 years.

For many years the waiting shed had a collection box fixed to one wall and the money which was collected was sent to the Geelong Hospital.  Consequently, Henry Zanoni was presented with a Life Membership certificate by the Hospital. When the pier was demolished in the 1950s the waiting shed was relocated to the edge of the creek near the slipway.  Some years later it was again relocated to Lower Princes Park.

When the Maritime Museum was established in the 1980s the waiting shed found a permanent home in the Museum’s grounds and has since been classified by the National Trust.

 

FISHERMAN’S COTTAGE

Initially the cottage was built in Bridge Street, circa 1870-1880s, by Thomas Ikin a professional fisherman, who was born in Tasmania in 1840.  This 2 roomed cottage was home to Thomas, his wife Anna (the local midwife) and three children.

The cottage was moved from Bridge Street to the Museum grounds in 1990.  Many comparable buildings are still part of the Fishermen’s Flat historic precinct. At restoration, much original material was left intact but the roof, some weatherboards and studs were replaced and the fireplace and chimney rebuilt. Newspaper, earliest date 1886, was found as insulation between the weatherboards and  lining boards.

Anne Ikin, granddaughter of Thomas, was a frequent visitor to the cottage.  On 19 September 1990, aged 89 years, Anne described the furnishings and paint colours to us and also discussed life in the cottage with three children, Obadiah (Anne’s father), John and Alicia.

The cottage provides an insight into early Queenscliff’s social history  and the living conditions of the fishermen in those times.

 

DECKHOUSE OF THE SHANDON - CREW’S QUARTERS

 The Shandon was an iron sailing ship of 1397 tons, with dimensions – length 245.9 feet, beam 37.8 feet and draught of 21.3 feet.  Built in 1883 at Port Glasgow she had a chequered career as a trader for nearly 40 years.  She was converted to a lighter until  the end of WWI then re-rigged as a barque and spent the next four years trading across the Pacific Ocean. In 1922 she was in use as a coal hulk in Adelaide. During WWII she was a coal hulk in Townsville.  Shandon had one moment of glory in 1934 when she was involved in Victoria’s 100th anniversary celebrations.  The photo at left was taken on that occasion and is held by the State Library of Victoria. Shandon returned to Melbourne sometime in 1961 and was broken up at Coode Island in that year.

In need of some restoration, the Shandon will eventually be open as a public display.

 
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