Donor seeks help to get items to museum

A FORMER Victorian now living in Queensland is hoping for support so he can donate items relating not only to his family but also local history to the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum.

The great-great-grandfather of 81-year-old Fred Williams sailed from Liverpool in the United Kingdom to Australia with his wife and two children on the clipper ship Red Jacket – reputedly one of the fastest vessels of its type – in 1858.

Coastal pilots based in Queenscliff towed clipper ships from a point beyond Point Lonsdale through the heads and The Rip into Port Phillip Bay for docking.

Mr Williams has a scale model of the Red Jacket, a poster from the time the ship was in service advertising the White Star Line vessel’s achievement of “Liverpool-Melbourne in [a] record 69 days” and other items, and reached out to the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum’s acquisitions committee last month to see if there was interest in receiving them.

In correspondence with Mr Williams, museum administration officer John Sisley wrote the acquisitions committee had collectively “and with a heavy heart” decided not to accept Mr Williams’ offer.

“Although the model met with most of the requirements, not having a dedicated display case was the main drawback.”

Mr Sisley said the museum was also short on space and “may not be able to display the model effectively”.

“The donation was within our guidelines and in normal circumstances the committee may have accepted it, however the museum has a problem with display space and is going through works to improve the situation.

“We do not at this stage have the facility to store artifacts and other material safely.”

Mr Williams, who lived in Victoria for 29 years, said his items were “irreplaceable” with an estimated worth of between $1,500 and $2,000, and that he was prepared to cover the costs of fuel and accommodation to transport the items to Queenscliff if the museum was willing to accept them.

“However, I would be eternally grateful for any sponsors’ generosity in order to meet the donated undertaking.

“The age factor is my worry; at my age the donor [may not] survive long enough due to this unwanted delay.

“I make this appeal that as a community we can find a better outcome so that the heritage of Queenscliff residents in particular can benefit historically.

“This is a great opportunity to showcase the clipper era to visitors… just imagine tourists along with visiting schoolchildren learning about our rich maritime past, understanding how free settlers emigrate to Australia by valuing the role of the Red Jacket clipper ship in transporting gold bullion on the return leg as well as the Royal Mail.”