Bulletin - Vol 9 No. 2 March/April 2006

MV Cape Don

by Derek Emerson-Elliott, Saving the MV Cape Don Society. 
All photos by Warwick Riddle unless otherwise specified

The MV Cape Don is the last of Australia's fleet of lighthouse tender vessels that once serviced lighthouses and navigation aids around the Australian coast. She was headed for the breaker's yard a couple of years ago when a group of enthusiasts saved her by forming a trust called the Sea Heritage Foundation, which bought the ship and donated it back to themselves. 

The Cape Don in 2003 Photo: Chris Nicholls

The Cape Don is berthed at Waverton in Sydney Harbour, and is being faithfully restored to working condition by about 100 volunteer members, some 30 from Canberra, who contribute their time and labour on board every second weekend. The group, now expanding to Australia-wide membership, includes ex-crew, maritime and trade professionals, and people from all walks of life whose one common trait is a passion for ships and the preservation of Australia's maritime history.

The Cape Don in 2004  Photo: Ian Clifford

The Cape Don was built in 1963 at the dockyards in Newcastle NSW and served with two sister ships, the MV Cape Pillar and MV Cape Moreton. She carried a compliment of 39 crew and up to 12 passengers in comfortable cabins. The de-manning and automation of our lighthouses caused the ship to be decommissioned in the 1980s.

Visit the Saving the MV Cape Don Society website http://www.mvcapedonsociety.org.au to read about this wonderful example of a working ship, and the dedication of her saviours. Join now and help preserve our valuable maritime heritage.

Here is a report of a recent working bee:

[SMVCDS] Working Weekend Report 24 - 26 March 2006

Shipmates,

Close to midnight, high in the arched ceiling of a sandstone tunnel beneath the Balls Head Coal Loader, a shore party from MV Cape Don cruised along an above-ground railway line on a hand-powered trolley, inspecting the rails by torchlight. Behind them, other Cape Don volunteers swarmed over the suspended coal-hauling engine itself, brushing away decades of dust, soot and cobwebs to check and assess this fine old example of old-style technology. 

Mooring at Coal Wharf. Compare size of Cape Don with Sydney ferry moored at stern

Saloon

Bridge

A fanciful jaunt? Another example of Cape Don volunteers on the spree? Not a bit of it, Shipmates - the late-night activities were part of a carefully-planned, OHS-approved exercise that may well pay long-term dividends to our cause - and to the cause of heritage restoration in Australia.

But I'll tell you about all that later!

We had a huge turn out of volunteers last weekend, so many in fact that dinner on Saturday night spread out from our saloon to tables set up on a floodlit poop-deck. All day for two and half days chipping hammers rang, grinders growled, welding irons sparkled, engines roared, and the Cape Don recommenced once again her long struggle to throw off the rusty chrysalis she has worn for the past half a decade. In the engine room, Tim, Peter King, Ben, Neil, Bob and others worked steadily on recommissioning the recently reinstalled ballast pump (trimming) motors. On the boat deck, Brad and his team of experts continued their welding repairs to the ship's superstructure - adding new 'eyebrows' to the doorways, replacing weakened plates, and cutting away and replacing rusted fittings. On the boat deck, John, James, Daniel and I worked in the starboard air-conditioning flat, de-rusting and applying Ranex to the walls, roof, and machinery. On the poop-deck, Vickie continued her magnificent 'lone hand' restoration of the ceiling, while on the well-deck Alan had taken time off from restoring the radio room to apply his shipwright skills to finishing off the restoration of our tender. The tender now looks a beauty, with timber-reinforced topsides and stern, timber ribs fitted, and a timber bow piece in place. Alan also started and ran her outboard motor. His anticipated relaunching date? Alan believes his lovely new craft will be ready in time for next Working Weekend.

Starboard deck

Passenger cabin

Yellow funnel

Inside the vessel, Verity began the skilled task of sanding and shellacking all the timberwork in our public rooms, commencing with the Demon's Bar. As well as this task, Verity (a qualified producer of films and videos) commenced the filming of a promotional feature on MV Cape Don that will be used by our newly-established Fundraising Sub-Committee. 

And what of Warwick? Taking a well-earned rest on the boat-deck ? Not at all. Our trusty curator and electrical expert installed floodlights above the main engine, installed a 3 phase outlet on the Genset for Shore Power Rectifier testing, and did some more work on the ships PA system. After catching his breath, Sparks then installed the repaired Ballast pump starter motor, wired it up and tested it (low insulation resistance, unfortunately), and then completed the installation of the metal conduit in starboard fan void. Not an idle weekend for Sparks.

In the catering department, a host of helpers made sure that the large workforce remained content and well fed all weekend. James (our ever-thoughtful Duty Officer) carried the organisational burden, but he was helped immensely by Anne and David Willenborge, Debbie Collins, Vickie Smiles, Alistair and the entire crew of the Svenen, and of course Mademoiselle Stokes, our elegant celebrity Chef - who is contemplating using our kitchens for her projected filmed cooking class. 

Bridge

Cockatoo Island

VIP cabin

On Sunday morning, the tolling of our newly-donated ship's bell summonsed Committee Members to a meeting of the Society's governing body. Held in the main saloon, the meeting was a huge success (I think the constant supply of fresh-brewed coffee and home baked biscuits helped). Look out for news of significant developments over the next few weeks. These developments will be promulgated on the Yahoogroup line, as well as in the next edition of the Beacon. 

Last Saturday's meeting on board will be the first of many to be held on the ship - we have decided that regular committee meetings will be held on board, with other venues used only if circumstances require. 

I said at the beginning of this report that there was a good reason why a group of Cape Don volunteers were adventuring in the darkness of the sandstone tunnel beneath the Balls Head Coal Loader late last Friday night. Let me explain. As many members will know, Genia McCaffery, the Mayor of North Sydney, and her innovative Landscape Architect David Hanbury, are developing a ground-breaking 'concept park' for Balls Head. The park will commemorate older technology, and will be partly administered and run by community organisation employing self-sustainability principles. The MV Cape Don Society has been invited to participate in the project. In return for providing a 'maritime museum at the bottom of the park' and helping to restore and maintain the old technology in the park (the machinery of the Coal Loader itself) we will be given accommodation in the lovely heritage building at the top of the park. The ship will not have to stay at Balls Head as a fixture - we will be able to undertake voyagers and missions - but the arrangement will provide us with a truly superb 'home port'.

That is why we were in the tunnels close to midnight. Assessing the unique challenge ahead of us. The verdict - after further assessment the following day - was that at the very least we could restore this important heritage machinery to demonstration standard!

Central clock

Saloon

Engine No. 2

Before I close, a brief word about last Saturday's Gala dinner. It was one of the best ever. As I have said, there were so many volunteers and guests aboard that the gathering spilt out to the poop-deck, which had been spotlessly cleaned by Neil and Verity (our newest volunteer shipkeepers, who have spent the last year cruising the world in Neil's lovely 55 foot yacht). BBQ equipment and extra tables had been set up to cater for the throng. The food was delicious - salmon as an entree, curry as a main dish, and a magnificent trifle to finish off with. Fine wine flowed, and the beer - the finest local and imported beers - was free, supplied in unlimited quantities courtesy of Neil. After dinner, the cheerful gang kept the ship humming until the small hours, with japes galore. The highlight? Perhaps the dive from the Boat Deck into the inky waters of Sydney Harbour by a brave Norwegian lad. Asked how he felt after his plunge, the lad smiled through chattering teeth. "Cold. But the squealing of the girls has warmed me up!". 

The song we played all night - our adopted theme song for the autumn of 2006 - was "Forever Young" by the Australian band Youth Group (my son Cameron is its lead guitarist). The song seems to capture perfectly the vibrant, youthful spirit exemplified by us all, from real to youngsters to the Old Stagers like myself.

Cheers,

Derek Emerson-Elliott

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