7 August 2018

Paul Shapiro

Cerberus rescue plan doubt

Heritage Victoria ticks off plan to pump wreck with concrete.

4000 tonnes of concrete will be pumped into the hull of HMVS Cerberus.

Landmark Melbourne tourist attraction HMVS Cerberus could be lost forever if a Bayside Council rescue plan is allowed to go ahead, a community group has said.

The wreck, scuttled in Black Rock’s Half Moon Bay in 1926, is badly in need of stabilisation work to its hull to prevent collapse.

Community group Friends of Cerberus had worked closely with the council on the best way to implement the stabilisation but that all changed in April 2017 when discussions reached an impasse.

The group wanted the hull reinforced with structural polyurethane but the council opted to use concrete instead.

Last month, after a long process and several submissions, Heritage Victoria gave the green light to the council’s plan to pump 4000 tonnes of concrete into the hull of the submerged wreck.

Friends of Cerberus president John Rogers called the plan “ludicrous” and “heritage vandalism”.

“Heritage Victoria has thrown away the rule book by approving this irreversible action and one wonders why our submission was ignored,” he said.

Mr Rogers also feared concrete will speed up the ship’s decay.

Bayside Mayor Laurence Evans said expert advice led to the decision to use concrete.

“These investigations have concluded that stabilisation of the wreck with concrete in-fill would be the most suitable long-term method of conservation,” he said.

Work on the $700,000-plus project is expected to begin within 12 months.