Future of Docklands’ heritage fleet under threat
Many of you would have followed the progress of the ALMA DOEPEL through these pages. It’s three and a half years since she went back in the water, and we covered that momentous day
Well now she faces more hurdles, as the Docklands News (Voice of postcode 3008!) reports.
Future of Docklands’ heritage fleet still under threat despite six-month extension. By Sean Car
Development Victoria (DV) has backflipped from its original decision to terminate the leases of Docklands’ heritage fleet operators in June by granting them a six-month extension to remain at North Wharf until the end of the year.
DV’s decision to extend the leases of the fleet, which includes the Alma Doepel, Enterprize and steam tug Wattle, was announced on March 13 – around 10 days after they were given four months’ notice to vacate the wharf to make way for Lendlease’s ongoing Collins Wharf development.
DV’s original actions infuriated the operators of the Alma Doepel, which has been restoring the ship in Docklands for the past 16 years, providing much-needed activation and celebrating the area’s rich maritime heritage.
The not-for-profit restoration project is in its critical final stages as it plans for a return to water as a sail training and educational vessel for youth development in 2026, with its current Shed 2 site providing essential workshop and storage facilities.
DV had informed representatives from Alma Doepel during a meeting on March 3 that it had been unable to find a solution to keep the ship in Docklands but had explored a potential move to Seaworks in Williamstown on its behalf.
Docklands News understands that Seaworks doesn’t have any berths available for two years.
The only other solution understood to have been discussed was a move to the Bolte West site at Yarra’s Edge, however the area isn’t viable due to the height of the Bolte Bridge in this location being lower than the Alma’s masts.
The Alma Doepel and Enterprize on display during the Melbourne Boat Show at Harbour Esplanade. Photo: Hanna Komissarova.
Following the meeting, Matt McDonald, chair of Waypoint Foundation which owns the Alma Doepel, told Docklands News: “DV is yet to provide a suitable alternative facility. They have been aware of our operations and requirements for many years and have made numerous commitments to a long-term home for Alma Doepel in Docklands.”
“It is disappointing to now be told to leave Docklands with no viable alternative,” Mr McDonald said, adding that it had received a previous commitment from DV “for a future home for the Alma Doepel in Docklands for more than a decade. After all of the work, meetings, plans and advocacy to now end up with ship getting kicked out of Docklands is extremely disappointing.”
After receiving the news, the Alma Doepel team launched a community campaign titled “Restoration, Not Relocation” which had raised more than $9000 and attracted more than 1300 signatures to a petition at the time of publishing.
DV told Docklands News in February that any extension of licence agreements at North Wharf wasn’t possible. However, on March 13 it informed operators that its tenures had been extended by six months up to the end of 2025.
DV’s acting group head precincts Imogen Lewis told Docklands News that it had provided “substantial financial support to the heritage fleet, maintaining workshop and berthing facilities for the vessels at no charge over the last 16 years at North Wharf.”
“We will continue to work with heritage fleet until their licence expires and help them consider alternative locations as we make way for 900 more homes to be built in Docklands,” Ms Lewis said.
"Development Victoria and Lendlease have worked to provide additional time for the heritage fleet to remain at North Wharf. As a result, Development Victoria can offer an extension of six months at Shed 2 and the associated berthing, until the end of 2025."
"We recognise the importance of providing time to determine a suitable alternative location for the Fleet's workshop and vessels, and we will continue to work with them to explore viable relocation options."
Mr McDonald welcomed the news as a “small reprieve” and said it would be continuing its campaign to establish a long-term home.
The Alma’s restoration director Dr Peter Harris said after all the “blood, sweat and tears” given by volunteers, supporters and shipwrights over the years, the risk of losing its home in Docklands was “heartbreaking”.
Peter Harris aboard the Alma Doepel
“The history of the Alma Doepel and Docklands are inextricably linked. She is the last of the ships that operated commercially from the port prior to redevelopment, she is cherished by the Docklands community and belongs in Docklands,” Dr Harris said.
The Alma Doepel was first seen in Victoria Harbour as a trading cargo ship in 1916 and visited the harbour regularly throughout its commercial life. The ship returned to Docklands in 1978 and has called the area home for the majority of the past 50 years.
The height of the Bolte Bridge was built to enable the Alma’s masts to pass underneath.
Despite having publicly supported the heritage fleet’s long-term presence in Docklands and even previously committed to helping establish a permanent home, DV says Lendlease was now “advancing the staged development of Collins Wharf”.
DV said the heritage fleet’s current home at Shed 2 had always been presented as an interim solution and noted that it would need to relocate when development was ready to occur.
It added that it had provided significant support to the fleet, including around $800,000 in costs over a 16-year period to maintain workshop and berthing facilities as well as payment of utilities and all outgoings.
While the extension provides all stakeholders with a last-ditch opportunity to establish a permanent home in Docklands for the fleet, which is considered critical for the area’s long-term activation, a viable solution remains unclear.
Docklands News reported last year that DV was planning to relinquish its authority over Docklands by 2030, and long-term activation of the precinct will largely fall under the auspice of the City of Melbourne.
The council, which currently manages much of the waterway operations in Victoria Harbour and Yarra’s Edge, said it currently had no suitable alternative locations in Docklands that offered both an onshore workshop and berthing facilities for the fleet’s restoration needs.
"Docklands has a rich maritime history – and we continue to support the fleet in identifying potential sites for relocating and restoring heritage vessels," a City of Melbourne spokesperson said.
Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network (MMHN) chair and former City of Melbourne councillor Dr Jackie Watts said it was “seriously dismayed at recent actions by DV to, in effect, oust the heritage fleet from Victoria Harbour".
“DV continues to ignore strong Docklands precinct community support for the presence of the heritage fleet in Victoria Harbour. Instead, DV continues to pander to the accelerating demands of commercial property developer, Lendlease, on North Wharf,” Dr Watts said.
MMHN has convened a forum on the “dire situation” of the heritage fleet to be held at the Library at the Dock on March 25 at 6pm. For register your interest email info@mmhn.org.au