National Maritime Museum grant
to repair HMAS Whyalla‘s lifeboat
It was involved in the hunt for Japanese midget submarines in Sydney Harbour in 1942 and
charted remote coastlines of Papua New Guinea later in WWII, but the real enemies of HMAS
Whyalla’s lifeboat have turned out to be dust storms and pollution from steelworks near Whyalla
Maritime Museum.
The iron content of the dust has stained the paint and caused the wood to soften.
With the help of $7100 funding from Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney, Whyalla
Maritime Museum will lift the 27-foot wooden lifeboat from former RAN corvette, restore it and
reposition it to weather the winter of 2010.
“We are really happy to have this grant… It will be a significant operation,” said Paul Mazourek,
Curator and Manager at the Whyalla Maritime Museum.
The lifeboat will be sandblasted, repainted and fitted with a plastic cover to guard against future
deterioration. The museum will hire a 30-tonne crane to remove and reinstall the lifeboat on
Whyalla.
HMAS Whyalla, a 650-tonne anti-submarine and minesweeping vessel, was in Sydney on 31st May
1942 and joined the hunt for the Japanese midget submarines after their attack on the harbour
that evening.
Soon afterwards Whyalla was sent to Papua New Guinea to undertake important surveying
operations, including that of Milne Bay which became a major allied base in 1943.
It was the first time the area had been surveyed since the 19th century. “The lifeboat was used to
get out to the shallow areas of the shore to take measurements and also to take landing parties in
and out,” said Mr Mazourek.
Near Cape Nelson Peninsula HMAS Whyalla came under attack by 18 Japanese diver bombers and
six fighter aircraft, injuring two men but avoiding damage to the ship.
The ship was retired after 110,000 nautical miles of service, becoming the property of the Whyalla
Maritime Museum at its opening in 1988.
“HMAS Whyalla is already on the National Maritime Museum’s Register of Historic Vessels in
recognition of its significance to Australia’s maritime heritage,” said the museum’s director, Mary
Louise Williams. “We are pleased to be able to support the restoration of its lifeboat through the
Maritime Museums of Australia Project Support Scheme (MMAPPS).”
The MMAPPS scheme, which the museum funds with Australian Government’s Distributed
National Collection Program, helps regional museums, community groups and volunteers to
promote and protect Australian maritime heritage. For more information, phone (02) 9298 3777 or
21 December 2009
Australian National Maritime Museum - Bill Richards (02) 9298 3645; 0418 403 472
Images and interviews are available upon request from brichards@anmm.gov.au
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