Heritage Victoria approves Bayside Council plan to pump HMVS Cerberus with concrete

A LANDMARK tourist attraction will be cemented in Melbourne’s history after a controversial rescue plan was given the green light by Heritage Victoria.

A CONTROVERSIAL plan to pump the landmark Melbourne tourist attraction HMVS Cerberus full of concrete has been ticked off after a year-long battle.

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.

Heritage Victoria gave Bayside Council’s proposal to fill the shipwreck with concrete the green light last month, despite strong opposition from community advocates.

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.

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

After a long process and several submissions, Heritage Victoria ticked off the council’s plan to pump 4000 tonnes of concrete into the hull of the submerged wreck.

Friends of Cerberus president John Rogers labelled the plan as “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 would 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.

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