Australia's Britannia: New Life with School Kids

By The Maritime Executive 2014-12-09 18:18:00

The MV Wyuna has sat neglected at a wharf in Tasmania, Australia, for a decade.

Once a pilot vessel in Australia’s Port Phillip Bay, then a training vessel for the Australian Maritime College, and then an accommodation vessel for Mineralogy, the vessel was bought up by mining magnate Clive Palmer.

Palmer sold it to Australian businesswoman Gillian Swaby for possible conversion to a luxury yacht. Instead, she donated it to the Western Port Oberon Association for the Victorian Maritime Centre where it will become a floating museum, party venue and school camp destination.

The $8 million centre is still under construction. The vision is to establish a world-class exhibit commemorating Australian service at sea in peace and war, featuring the ex-HMAS Otama submarine and situated on Victoria’s Western Port Bay.

Local volunteers are preparing Wyuna for sea including many who sailed on it at the maritime college between 1979 and 2004. The diesel-electric engines have now been started for the first time since 2004, and the association is hoping for a sponsor to buy the paint required to return Wyuna to its Port Phillip pilot service colors.

Wyuna was built in the UK in 1953 and operated as a pilot boat for 26 years. Known as Australia’s Britannia, the vessel is a similar design to the former royal yacht Britannia.

Picture Credit: Chris Laursen