Docklands dreaming

Docklands dreaming

Eight-year-old Billy Diplaros from Bentleigh West Primary School thought Docklands was very cool when he visited with his classmates last month.

The students participated in an education session about the history of Melbourne and then it was out to sea for an hour with the captain and crew of Docklands’ replica schooner Enterprize.

With HMB Endeavour berthed across the other side of Victoria Harbour, the students could be forgiven for imagining they had been transported back in time.

Billy said later: “It was just like being on a ship from Pirates of the Caribbean.”

Had he been on board a few days earlier when Enterprize met the Endeavour as she came up Port Phillip Bay, he would have experienced the two ships firing cannon at each other.

The Enterprize schooner is a full-scale replica, built in Melbourne, of the Enterprize coastal trader sailing ship, which brought the first permanent settlers to Melbourne from Tasmania in August 1835.

The not-for-profit Enterprize Trust operates the Enterprize, with its home base at Shed 2 on North Wharf Rd.

Docklands has become a major focus for Melbourne Day celebrations which will be conducted this year at NewQuay on August 30.

The Enterprize runs a varied, full-year program of on-water trips ranging from one-hour sails up to eight-day voyages.

The boat is available for trips by school groups and charters by individuals and organisations.

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