|
PORT PHILLIP SEA PILOTS
One of Victoria’s oldest organizations, the Port Phillip Sea
Pilots (PPSP) was established twelve years before the state itself. George
Tobin was granted the first licence by Governor Gipps of N.S.W. on 17 June 1839,
followed by Thomas Sutton on 21st November 1839.
In 1852 Tobin’s “very gallant conduct” in
rescuing survivors from the wreck Isabella Watson earned him the
presentation of a “handsome chronometer watch” as a token of appreciation.
When the gold rush started about the same time
Victoria was granted independence from New South Wales, eleven Pilots were
operating privately on a cooperative basis, camping on the beach at Shortland’s
Bluff, Queenscliff and using whaleboats to board ships. Because the whaleboats
could not venture far enough off shore away from the dangers of the Rip,
Lieutenant Governor La Trobe and his new government provided a cruising Pilot
Ship. The Pilots became government employees and the Brigantine Boomerang
commenced operation on 29th January 1853.
More and more ships arrived and more Pilots
were employed and pilotage fees began to soar.
In 1854 the Pilots, with government backing,
formed a cooperative once again. With only a few minor changes, this service
continued on a cooperative basis until 1989 when it became a limited company;
the shares being owned by serving Pilots only.
Forty five Pilots contributed £85 each
($170.00) to purchase three cruising vessels then operating – the cutter
Corsair, schooner Anonyma
and schooner
Proserpine.
At the time Anonyma was wrecked on
the Lonsdale shore in 1859, a slightly larger schooner, the Rip was being
built for the Pilots. Rip maintained the cruising station with
Corsair from 1860 until disaster struck in 1873. Rip was dismasted
off the heads and four lives were lost. The following year Corsair was
wrecked in similar circumstances but without loss of life on Point Nepean.
The schooner Mavis was purchased to
replace Corsair and operated until 1887 when a third schooner Hawk
was purchased in New Zealand.
Steam inevitably replaced sail. 1901 saw the
purchase of the steamship Victoria and she was joined two years later by
the steam yacht Alvina.
Hawk was then
paid off.
Komet
a captured German steam yacht yacht (commissioned as HMAS Una in 1914)
was then purchased by the Pilots and renamed Akuna. This vessel served
between 1925 – 1953 when the diesel-electric cutter Wyuna was purchased. The
system of cruising Pilot cutters ceased with the sale of Wyuna in 1979.
A workboat from the Wyuna is on display in the Museum with a model of a
pilot scaling the side of a ship. There is a photo at left. Also at left
is a photo of a Pilotage exemption certificate issued in 1890.
Today the Pilots are again stationed at
Shortland’s Bluff Queenscliff, in a modern operation centre and accommodation
building. The Port Phillip Sea Pilots use high speed motor launches to board
vessels. These vessels Alvina II, Hawk III and Wyuna II
are moored in the harbour at Queenscliff with a crew station and workshop close
by. Our photo shows the Alvina II and Wyuna II.
Thirty four former ships masters still operate
the PPSP on a cooperative basis under licence granted by the Marine Board of
Victoria, ensuring the Pilots ability to continue to provide their traditional,
efficient, independent service.
Although not reliant on weather conditions to
the same extent as the sailing ships of old, modern shipping still operates
24/7. The Port Phillip Sea Pilots, with the assistance of their launch crews
continue to provide the efficient reliable service which has been in place for
over 150 years.
| 
