Historic couta boat wins conservation grant

A HISTORIC Queenscliff couta boat will undergo conservation works after the Queenscliffe Maritime Museum secured national funding to help preserve the vessel.

The museum is one of 27 organisations to receive funding through the 2026 Maritime Museums of Australia Project Support Scheme, administered by the Australian National Maritime Museum and funded by the Australian government.

The grant will fund works to stabilise the historic vessel Maud, one of the last surviving original Queenscliff couta boats, to support its long-term preservation and future restoration.

Queenscliffe Maritime Museum president Kerri Erler said the funding would help protect an important part of the town’s maritime history.

“The couta boat isn’t just a historic artefact, it is a living part of Queenscliff’s identity,” she said.

“Families in this town still carry the stories of building, fishing from and racing these boats. The Maud connects us to that tradition in a direct and tangible way, and this grant means we can begin the careful work of making sure she lasts.

“We’re grateful to the Australian National Maritime Museum and the Australian government for recognising the national significance of what we hold here. This is Queenscliff’s heritage, but it’s also part of the broader story of how this country lived and worked by the sea.”

Built by local boatbuilders, couta boats were once the backbone of the commercial barracouta fishery on Port Phillip Bay.

Their distinctive double-ended design made them well-suited to the challenging conditions around Port Phillip Heads.

Conservation works on Maud are expected to begin in the coming months and will help inform a longer-term restoration program for the vessel.