Williamstown’s Seaworks maritime precinct has received $3 million state government funding to upgrade the building and facilities.
And it has been given a further $170,000 for a dredging study to allow the tallest of the tall ships to enter.
Seaworks is Hobsons Bay’s second-biggest visitor attraction after Scienceworks, drawing more than 100,000 people a year to its events and to the Sea Shepherd fleet moored at Ann Street pier.
It is home to the Seaworks Foundation, several yacht clubs, two commercial marinas, a boatbuilder, commercial ferry operators and Water Police.
Foundation chairman Trevor Huggard said the $3 million would kickstart redevelopment of the former Melbourne Harbour Trust workshop – known as the big shed – as part of a bigger precinct plan.
“What’s exciting about it now is that we’ve actually got our master plan, which has been approved by and the state government and after lots of consultation with the community,” Mr Huggard said.
“At present, the site is almost one of Williamstown’s best kept secrets because it just appears to be a lot of old sheds.
“But we’ll have an exciting facade to Nelson Place; we’ll have a brand new toilet block, which is terribly important for large events such as the tall ships festival, where we had 15,000 people in one day.
“It makes the site so much more commercially viable and exciting for people to run events here.
“The big sheds will undergo a transformation, where they will be so much more liveable and open to a bigger range of events than we’ve ever been able to hold before, and will generate income to do the next stage and the stage after that.”
Williamstown MP Wade Noonan said anyone who visited Seaworks realised its enormous potential to draw visitors and help grow the local economy.
“This $3 million is an unprecedented initial investment in the site,” he said. “I know the Seaworks Foundation has been doing a lot of work around business cases to look at how they can realise other investments to come into the site to develop it … in a way that maintains what makes it special, the heritage and uniqueness of its waterfront location.”
Ports Minister Luke Donnellan said a technical dredging study would be completed within nine months to determine the best way to remove sediment to ensure vessels could use the precinct safely and easily.
“We’re doing the work to guarantee the future of local yacht clubs, the commercial marinas, the Seaworks Foundation and a boatbuilder within the Williamstown maritime precinct,” he said.
