Black Rock Yacht Club Inc.
How BRYC brought the Cerebus to Half Moon Bay
HMVS CERBERUS – A JOURNEY FROM BATTLESHIP TO BREAKWATER
The late 1800s was a time of massive change in the design and construction of naval battleships. An era when traditional wooden sailing ships were starting to be replaced by “iron clad” ships with steam powered engines and rotating gun turrets.
Cerberus was an early example of this new technology when construction commenced in September 1867 and completed three years later in 1870. But, some traditional sail powered ships were still being built as “Polly Woodside” was launched some seventeen years after Cerberus.
Cerberus was a revolutionary experiment, using steam power instead of sail, heavy iron armor- construction and rotating above deck gun turrets.
Cerberus was in Naval service for 53 years from 1871, most of which was spent in Port Phillip Bay, as she was not designed for ocean going duty. Those limitations caused many issues on the delivery voyage from Britian.
Her steam powered engines consumed a considerable amount of coal, so additional coal had to be stored on deck. The ship’s designers had calculated that any roll greater than 39 deg would result in her not returning to an upright position so with the extra cargo stored on the deck this situation was made potentially worse, which made it very difficult to find and or keep sufficient crew. After all, this vessel was not designed for the open ocean so the trip to Australia was a significant risk.
In 1908 boat owners at Half Moon Bay had become frustrated with damage to their moored boats by strong winds that came in from the west, so they built a small timber breakwater. But soon realized something more substantial would be needed to give better protection to their moored boats.
The Navy had decommissioned Cerberus (re-named “Platypus”) and in 1924 it was sold as scrap for 409 pounds to Melbourne Salvage Company. The engines, boilers plus much of the equipment and fittings were removed and sold, but the hull was made of “Lowmoor” iron plates which was very difficult to cut and hence had little value as scrap.(I do recall in the mid 60s, club members Ron Allatt and Stan Le Nepveu, (founders of “Ronstan), attempting to cut some of the superstructure with an oxy-acetylene torch with little success).
Consequently, the plan was to tow the hull into Bass Strait and sink it. By 1926 the then Black Rock Y.C. Commodore Frank Campkin and Club Secretary Clarrie Loughead had got wind of Sandringham Yacht Club’s interest in acquiring the vessel as a breakwater, so they hastily called a committee meeting to announce that they had paid 10 pound deposit to secure the Cerberus for Black Rock. They had negotiated with Melbourne Salvage Company and paid the deposit only ten minutes before Mr A. D. McKenzie from Sandringham Yacht Club arrived to do the same. Sandringham YC were very disappointed as they also needed a breakwater, a problem they later solved with the purchase of the WW1 J class submarine.
Black Rock Y.C. hastily organized a meeting of the committee and senior members and raised the balance of the 150 pounds, but Ports & Harbours would not undertake moving the ship until Sandringham Council had granted approval for Cerberus to be placed at Half Moon Bay.
Black Rock Yacht Club member George Knott had contributed to the purchase of Cerberus plus was a member of Sandringham Council and a former Mayor. George suggested selling Cerberus to the Council, but Sandringham Yacht Club approached Council to place Cerberus at Sandringham, This was passed by Council, a decision which prompted Black Rock Y.C. to tell the Council that they would prefer to retain ownership and have Cerberus towed out to sea and sunk. This resulted in a rethink at Council, as they wanted such a historic vessel to remain in their municipality. Council agreed that rather than lose the opportunity, Cerberus would be sunk at Half Moon Bay.
Sandringham Council and Ports & Harbours then took responsibility for the moving of Cerberus from Williamstown to Half Moon Bay on September 2nd 1926. The Tugs Agnes & Minah which had helped deliver Cerberus, were then deployed to position her in 15 Ft of water at the entrance to Half Moon Bay.
As the Council had agreed to pay the Yacht Club the 150 pounds purchase price of Cerberus, all members who contributed initially to secure the purchase, were refunded. Each of those members donated the sum of 1 pound towards a Black Rock Yacht “Smoke Night” on October 4th 1926 to commemorate the “final berthing” of Cerberus.
Some years later a group of SYC members consoled themselves on missing out on Cerberus by removing the only remaining anchor with a barge equipped with a small crane. That anchor has been on display out the front of SYC ever since.
Noel Sutcliffe
