Queenscliff landmark to be celebrated

QUEENSCLIFF’s Lifeboat Shed is being celebrated as part of the Australian Heritage Festival, with stories of 120 years of wrecks, heroic rescues and dramatic launches all to be shared.

This month, the Queenscliff Maritime Museum is offering short tours of the Lifeboat Shed, aiming to bring to life the history of the lifeboat, lifesheds and the fishing and steamer piers in the maritime precinct of town.

Restored in 2021 by Parks Victoria, the shed is perched on the end of Queenscliff’s South Pier and is a famous landmark as well as an important part of the town’s maritime history.

Queenscliff Maritime Musuem secretary Carolyn McKinnon said the tours would be a great opportunity for locals to learn more about their backyard.

“Volunteers from the town have been risking their own lives since 1858 to assist people in distress on the water.

“These tours are a chance to see inside, learn more about the dramatic launch of the lifeboat and then visit the museum to see the last lifeboat which was decommissioned in 1976, Queenscliffe.

“This is the second round of the tours, and we received a Borough of Queenscliffe event grant last year to help establish this new event for Queenscliff.”

The last of the 30-minute tours at the Lifeboat Shed will be held tomorrow (Saturday, April 29) at 11.15am, 12 noon, 1pm and 1:30pm.

The tour fee includes an entry voucher to Queenscliffe Maritime Museum nearby.

Queenscliff will also host a Memories Carved in Stone Cemetery Walking Tours, Queenscliff Heritage Walks and Heritage Steam Train Rides during the Australian Heritage Festival.

To book the Queenscliff Lifeboat Shed tours, email [email protected] or phone 525 83440.