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PORT FAIRY sailing off its home port after restoration in 1996, with a new lug rig.
Port Fairy Lifeboat
PORT FAIRY sailing off its home port after restoration in 1996, with a new lug rig.
PORT FAIRY sailing off its home port after restoration in 1996, with a new lug rig.
Reproduced courtesy of the Port Fairy Lifeboat Association

Port Fairy Lifeboat

Vessel numberHV000045
Date1857
DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 9.22 m x 2.36 m x 0.46 m, 3.94 tonnes (30.25 ft x 7.75 ft x 1.5 ft, 4 tons)
DescriptionPORT FAIRY is a 9.2 metre long open boat that was manned by ten oarsmen, steered by rudder and tiller and also controlled with two sweep oars. There was a dipping-lug rig for sailing. It was built in Williamstown and uses the double diagonal planked method common to English lifeboat construction. This keeps the hull watertight despite it being out of the water for long periods.

The design came from the builder, William White who built the craft with improvements over the standard design it was based on. These plans were prepared by James Peake, and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. The improvements such as more sheer, a slight rocker to the keel profile and more robust construction made PORT FAIRY a better hull to survive in the Southern Ocean and Bass Strait waters off the Victorian coastline. The craft was self righting and self draining.

PORT FAIRY remained in service for a long period, from 1857 until 1941. From 1956 until 1975 it served as a dredge for the Moyne River in Port Fairy. It was restored to operating condition in 1996, and in 2006 it remains housed in its original shed and slipway. These structures are heritage listed in Victoria.
SignificancePORT FAIRY is a wooden lifeboat built in 1857 in Victoria . PORT FAIRY is an example of one of the very early land based lifeboats that operated on the rough coastline of South West Victoria. They were a vital part of local communities around the coast and a focal point of community service as the local fishermen also manned the craft as volunteers. It is an Australian adaptation of an English design.
The lifeboat on display at the Portland Maritime Discovery Centre in 2008
Victorian Government Ports and Harbours Division.
1858
Bow View
Samuel White and Co. UK
1904
VICTORIA II on display
Forrest and Sons UK
1897
Fletcher Jones on left
Bill Clymer
1973
HEBE on the Murray River, South Australia in 2007
James Pashley
1888
MELE BILO showing the flare in the bow
James Hall
1922
THISTLE under sail in 2005.
J R Jones
c 1903
TACOMA  off Port Lincoln in 2010.
Jim Petrich
1951
FAIRY QUEEN at Goolwa Wooden Boat Festival in 2011.
1910-1920
PV RICHMOND crossing the bar at Ballina
W Holmes Boat Builder
1932
LILY GUY, drifting on Port Phillip waiting for the wind to come in for its race.
C Blunt
1895