Ship may be lost but history will stay if museum gets nod

“There is nothing we can do to prevent the Aurora Australis being sold” – The very disappointed Aurora Australis Foundation has ditched its bid to buy the icebreaker.

• Aurora Australis granted permit to leave Australia, dooming campaign to have her stay
• Campaigners say their fight to keep the icebreaker is not sunk

A FOUNDATION formed to keep the Aurora Australis in Hobart has decided to abandon its bid to buy the icebreaker and lobby for an Antarctic museum to be established in the city instead.

Last week Minister Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts signed an export permit for P & O Maritime to take the vessel out of Australian waters thus removing its status as an Australian Protected Object under Commonwealth heritage law.

The export permit follows reports the Aurora Australis had been sold to the Argentina Government for $2 million.

The Board of the Aurora Australis Foundation said it “vehemently disagreed” with the decision to let the ship leave Hobart but it had little or no right of appeal and almost no chance of overturning the Minister’s decision.

“Without government support or substantial private funding – neither of which are forthcoming, despite months of work to seek same – we are unable to make an offer

to P & O Maritime to purchase and preserve the Aurora Australis ourselves,” AAF secretary

Dr Melanie Van Twest said.

P&O Maritime Logistics’ Aurora Australis.

“The AAF Board sadly and regretfully accepts that there is nothing we can do to prevent the Aurora Australis being sold to a foreign owner and/or to be broken up for scrap. We believe the ship will leave Australia in the near future and is unlikely ever to return.”

But Dr Van Twest said the foundation would still work to save the ship being lost to history.

“Although we cannot retain the physical fabric of the ship, we will work hard to ensure

that the spirit of the Aurora Australis – the stories, experiences and memories of those who sailed on board to or from the adventure of their lives – can be preserved for the future and shared with other Australians,” she said.

“This special ship has a substantial legacy and we will ensure this is not forgotten.”

The AAF will now turn its attention to collecting artefacts, histories, photos and film, and other mementos of the Aurora Australis, which we hope we can share with the Australian public through physical displays and a virtual museum through audio and video

It will also lobby for an Australian Antarctic Museum in be established in Hobart.

“A fundraising drive to assist with this work will be launched soon and we will make

announcements about our plans through our website and social media,” Dr Van Twest said.