Last wooden boat builder
The boat shed overlooks the fish pond at the Museum, built by Alf Settree, Huskissons last traditionally trained wood framed boat builder. Port Hole, one of the Settree built trawlers can be seen in the forground.
The Settree family built 45 ships in various locations around the coast.
One such ship was the ill fated SS Douglas Mawson - 'A Launching and a Shipwreck.' This article by Dr Michael MacLellan Tracey, makes compelling reading and give’s you an insight into the difficult work involved in wooden framed ship building.
Alf’s involvement with the Lady Denman Ferry.
In his retirement, Alf had been able to devote considerable time and effort to the Lady Denman project. He had been a key person in the challenging operations that had allowed the vessel to travel from Sydney to Huskisson by sea and from Currambene Creek to its penultimate resting place.
Care of. Graham Hinton, Curator of the Lady Denman.
Below are some examples of boats built by the Settree Family.
 |  |  |  |
| Ulladulla Star. | Port Hole. On display at the Museum Built 1952 | TSS Douglas Mawson Built 1914 | Trawler. Built 1966. |
Boat Building Display
The Museum has a unique collection of tools and photographs about the Settree family.
Be sure to take the time to drop in and have a look at the display.
It was a pleasure to visit, and being a Settree, I knew of the history but had no pictures so I have now and so glad wonderful people did such a great job in making all this happen. Good on you!
ReplyDeleteIm so glad you have found some of the missing pieces of your families history. Many people in the past risked their lives and their reputations too get the Museum to where it is today...many fantastic dedicated volunteers put many, many hours of their time into research and collecting artifacts for the museum collection. These people should not be forgotten, The Settree family are not only an important part of Huskisson's ship building heritage, but their unconditional dedication helped develope the museum as we see it today.
ReplyDeleteThanks again for your comments.
Regards Rob