Although we tend to forget that the first major settlement of Melbourne began where the ships anchored offshore at Williamstown, the early wharves have been repeatedly renovated, operated as the centre for Victorian shipbuilding and, until more recently, acted as the mooring site for the iconic ocean protection ship, Sea Shepherd.
When our group took the train journey to visit the Maritime Museum, a short walk from the railway station, few expected to meet in such a huge open building – big enough to build ocean-going ships inside, surprise?
Perhaps less surprisingly in retrospect, as the launching point into the gold rush, the area was the site for the first Melbourne morgue, recently expensively restored and open for sight-seeing.
Equally fascinating were the numerous ship parts, from compasses and windlasses to winches and even a model of the time-ball tower for setting ship’s chronometers
Members were struck by the cramped conditions of the full-size models of the prison cells aboard the prison hulks that were anchored off Point Gellibrand before Pentridge was built. They certainly suggested that men were a lot shorter in the 1800s.
The Museum as an historical site provided an engrossing experience which was highlighted by our incredibly knowledgeable and articulate guide, Michael who left us all hungry for a very tasty lunch over the road at the Customs House Hotel.