Goya Dmytryshchak
The Steve Irwin ship at Williamstown has temporarily closed due to COVID-19 but people are being invited to be part its history.
During its closure, the ship’s onboard museum will be expanded to highlight Sea Shepherd’s direct action campaigns.
Members of the public are being invited to sign their name to a campaign poster for printing and framing in the ship’s new campaign room, to be unveiled when the vessel reopens.
People can have their own name featured or may dedicate a poster in someone else’s name, such as a loved one.
Sea Shepherd’s decommissioned flagship vessel was involved in 17 campaigns, most recently helping stop the last attempt to drill in the Great Australian Bight.
Williamstown’s Kerrie Goodall, founder of the Ship 4 Good philanthropic organisation that now owns and manages the ship, spearheaded a campaign to “Save the Steve”. It had been destined to be scrapped in Hong Kong.
Ms Goodall said a new addition would be curated tours of the campaign room and the much-requested engine room.
“What I’m doing is using all the downtime we have – we haven’t been able to open the ship and the bills are still coming in – to open up more spaces on the ship so we can curate a new ship tour,“ she said.
“It starts in what we’re going to call the campaign room. Each tour will only have a maximum of 10 people so you get a really good experience.
“We hope to welcome old and new supporters aboard as soon as possible.”
To find out more about ordering posters, visit the Ship4Good MV Steve Irwin page on Facebook.
