NEWS DESK Five arrested over abalone haul FISHERIES officers have arrested five men and seized their car for allegedly taking 399 blacklip abalone from waters around Cape Schanck. Victorian Fisheries Authority director Ian Parks said 12 Fisheries officers backed up by police caught the “highly organised illegal fishing syndicate” from Pakenham, Cranbourne East and Botanic Ridge, Wednesday 18 March. “This type of alleged illegal fishing has the potential to do serious damage to the sustainability of Victoria’s abalone population, which is highly valued by commercial and recreational fishers,” Mr Parks said. Officers said they saw four men walk from the car park down to the rocks leaving one as a lookout. Three men were allegedly in the water for several hours diving for abalone while the fourth kept lookout. Officers swooped when the men returned and allegedly stowed a large bag of abalone in their car boot. Mr Parks said the offenders ran away “not making it far with others hiding in dense scrub nearby until being arrested”. Officers allege 315 abalone were found in the boot with two more bags of 84 abalone found in the water. Of these 263 were said to be undersize. After the arrests the abalone were returned to the water alive and the men taken to Rosebud police station. They were charged under the Fisheries Act with taking and possessing a commercial quantity of a priority species, trafficking a commercial quantity of a priority species, and obstructing and hindering authorised officers.
Measured approach: Diving archaeology students on site as Heritage Victoria research vessel Trim and Flinders University’s Tom Thumb stand by. Students measuring the ship’s sternpost. Pictures: Kevin Edwards (left) and Maddy McAllister (above)
Rye wreck reveals shipbuilder’s secrets Stephen Taylor steve@mpnews.com.au A STUDY of the wreck of a small Australian-built ship off Rye has helped Flinders University maritime archaeology students reveal more of the history of early timber vessels in Victoria. The students from South Australia partnered with Heritage Victoria and the community-based Maritime Archaeology Association of Victoria to investigate the wreck of the Barbara sunk near the pier in 1853. The ship was built along the Tamar
River in Tasmania by Joseph Hind in 1841 and operated as a lime trader in Port Phillip. The making of lime and its shipment to Melbourne for brickmaking was one of the southern peninsula’s early industries. The maritime archaeology field school’s 15 undergraduate students worked alongside maritime archaeological professionals from around Australia as well as the US, Thailand, Singapore, Japan and the Netherlands. Flinders University associate professor in marine archaeology Wendy Van Duivenvoorde says measured drawings, photographs and underwater photogrammetry were used to
record the wreck while a survey team mapped the surrounding land and seascapes. “We also excavated small sections of the wreck that allowed us to document the construction methods and wood species used,” she said. Heritage Victoria’s boat Trim was used to carry personnel and equipment to the wreck site, and act as a dive and safety platform for divers working on the site. Wood, metal and fibre samples collected from the wreck have already shown that the Barbara was built from timbers found in Victoria, NSW, northern Australia, Western Australia
as well as Tasmanian blue gum. “This is possibly the first time such a wide variety of timbers have been found in an Australian built vessel,” Ms Van Duivenvoorde said. “It indicates that early shipbuilders had developed a detailed knowledge of the properties of indigenous timbers appropriate for shipbuilding. “We are still waiting for the results from the metal and fibre analysis.” Data collected will be included in Heritage Victoria’s records and added to the story of Australia’s history. A report will be compiled later this year.
For Sale
Expressions of Interest closing April 17th at 3pm 86 Baxter-Tooradin Road, Baxter
Sky’s the Limit in Baxter
Speak to your agent about listing on realestateview.com.au.
*approx.
Building area: 90sqm*
Land area: 172sqm* Commercial 1 Zoning Metres from Woolworths Baxter Central Shopping Centre & Baxter Train Station Potential annual rental of $32,000 (net) plus GST
Be seen everywhere.
5925 6005 nicholscrowder.com.au
PAGE 14
Southern Peninsula News
25 March 2020
Two street frontages
Jamie Stuart 0412 565 562 Tanya Scagliarini 0438 289 859 4/230 Main Street, Mornington, 3931