Fundraiser to shine a light on pilot boats

QUEENSCLIFF Maritime Museum is hoping a coming fundraiser will give attendees a deeper understanding of the role pilot boats play on the water.

The sold-out event — to be held on October 4 — will feature maritime pilot David Burns in conversation with ABC journalist Michael Cathcart. This discussion will cover Burns’ experience piloting ships in and out of The Rip, a treacherous stretch of water between Point Lonsdale and Point Nepean.

Queenscliff Maritime Museum president Kerri Erler said the museum is expecting to hear some “rollicking good stories”.

“[Burns] has got a long history and he probably should have retired by now from pilots, but I think he loves it so much that he keeps doing it.

“He’s got quite a seafaring background; his ancestors were all seafarers and one of them even was on the Titanic.”

For people who missed out on tickets , the talk will be recorded and made available to museum visitors.

All money raised from the event will go towards keeping the museum operational and the running of its programs, which teach people about the region’s maritime history.

“It should be a really entertaining evening for everybody, but the main purpose for us is we’ll also be having a silent auction,” Ms Erler said.

“We don’t get any ongoing financial support from government, state, local or federal — we get an occasional grant, but we raise money by fundraising and also by the admissions that come in the door, so it’s important that we raise money like this on occasion.”

Ms Erler is also hoping people will walk away from the evening with a good sense of what the museum does and their efforts in sharing maritime history.

For more information or to make a donation to the museum, head to maritimequeenscliffe.org.au