MV Cape Don is a museum and training ship and former research vessel and lighthouse tender in Waverton, New South Wales, Australia. She is the only remaining Australian lighthouse supply ship and is listed on the Australian Register of Historic Vessels.
 MV Cape Don in 2014
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Australia | |
| Name | Cape Don |
| Namesake | Cape Don Light |
| Owner | Sea Heritage Foundation Pty Limited[1] |
| Route | Australian coast |
| Builder | NSW State Dockyard, Newcastle, New South Wales |
| Laid down | 1962 |
| Launched | 28th May 1962 |
| Completed | 1963 |
| Maiden voyage | 29th March 1963 |
| In service | 1963 |
| Homeport | Fremantle |
| Identification |
|
| Status | Preserved as a museum ship in Waverton, New South Wales |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Lighthouse tender |
| Tonnage | 2,103 GRT |
| Length | 74.3 metres (244 ft) |
| Beam | 12.8 metres (42 ft) |
| Draught | 4.37 metres (14.3 ft) |
| Installed power | 2,000 brake horsepower (1,500 kW) |
| Propulsion | Polar M65T engine, 4-blade 2.6-metre (8 ft 6 in) variable-pitch propeller |
| Speed | 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h) |
| Complement | 39 |
Built and launched by the State Dockyard at Newcastle, New South Wales in 1962 for the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service, she serviced the lighthouses, lightships and buoys of the Australian coast from 1963 to 1990. She was also used as a research vessel, and was involved in numerous high-profile scientific expeditions including the salvage of two of HMS Investigator's anchors.
Cape Don is being restored by the MV Cape Don Society, which is overseen by the Sea Heritage Foundation. She is berthed at the former coal loading wharf in Balls Head Bay, Waverton, New South Wales.
Design and construction
editThe Cape Don was built in Newcastle by the NSW State Dockyard in 1962. She, along with her two identical sister ships Cape Moreton and Cape Pillar, was designed by the Australian Shipping Board for the Commonwealth Lighthouse Service as a lighthouse tender.[2] She was equipped with 3 lifeboats and a LARC-V on her port side.
Cape Don displaces 2,140 tonnes, measuring 76.25 m (250.2 ft) long and 12.8 m (42 ft) abeam.[2] She is fitted with a 5-cylinder 2-stroke Polar M65T diesel engine, which drives a single 4-blade variable-pitch propeller.[3]
Service history
editCape Don was launched on 28 May 1962.
In 1979, a scientific team organised by the Victorian Institute of Marine Sciences used the Cape Don to set up a marine monitoring station in the Bass Strait, making the first scientific study of the Strait.[4]
In 1985, she transported the tower of the first Neptune Islands lighthouse to Port Adelaide for inclusion in the collection of the South Australian Maritime Museum.[5]
Starting October 2022, TAFE NSW has been collaborating with Sea Heritage Foundation to run maritime industry and hospitality courses aboard Cape Don.[6]
Recovery of Investigator's anchors
editIn 1973, the Cape Don was used in an expedition to find and recover two of HMS Investigator's anchors in the Recherche Archipelago, Western Australia. The anchors were jettisoned by Matthew Flinders during rough weather whilst the ship was moored on Middle Island. The expedition to retrieve the anchors began in December 1972 and was run by members of the Underwater Explorers Club of South Australia. On 14 January 1973, the best bower anchor (starboard bow anchor) was located in Goose Island Bay, followed by a stream anchor (smaller anchor, typically used as a spare). The two anchors were retrieved on 19 January, with the best bower anchor sent to the South Australian Maritime Museum in Adelaide and the stream anchor sent to the National Museum of Australia in Canberra.[7][8]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Sea Heritage Foundation". The MV Cape Don Society Inc. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
- ^ a b "MV Cape Don". Australian National Maritime Museum. Archived from the original on 12 November 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ "MV Cape Don on the Australian Register of Historic Vessels". emuseum.anmm.gov.au. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
- ^ "Scientific Study of Bass Strait". The Canberra Times. 12 January 1979. p. 7. Archived from the original on 14 November 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ Harry, Bruce (1987). "Conservation of the former Neptune Islands Lighthouse at Port Adelaide" (PDF). ICCM Bulletin. 13 (1 & 2). Australian Institute for the Conservation of Cultural Material: 83. Archived from the original on 4 March 2011. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Ship, Sea Heritage Trust Maritime Training. "Sea Heritage Trust Maritime Training Ship". Sea Heritage Trust Maritime Training Ship. Archived from the original on 30 June 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
- ^ "Explorer's Anchors found". The Canberra Times. 16 January 1973. p. 1. Archived from the original on 13 November 2023. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ Reynolds, Steve (29 October 2019). "The Loss and Recovery of the Anchors from Matthew Flinders' Ship HMS Investigator". Marine Life Society of South Australia Inc. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.