Kerrie Goodall's accidental voyage to Newcastle began two years ago, when her historic 59-metre vessel MV Steve Irwin that was bound for Brisbane took a detour to Newcastle because storms had decimated berths in Brisbane.
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But her Newcastle odyssey that began with hope and optimism that she had found a new home for the non-profit "museum ship," which has become a beacon for environmental education and public awareness, appears to be nearly at its end.
The ship has been moored on a private pier on the Carrington side of of the Port of Newcastle since its arrival.
Ms Goodall has hosted a variety of public and private events and open days on the vessel - from a book launches to seaweed tasting, to a Music People concert night, to a Fondalicious dance fund-raiser on the deck for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Foundation.
She's seen four state-of-the-art fantasy "escape rooms" installed by Escape Reality with environmental themes built on the ship.
She's given the ship a repaint and rebrand - getting rid of Sea Shepherd references while creating the Ship4Good messaging.
It is officially called the MV Steve Irwin, in honour of perhaps Australia's greatest voice for the environment, who died in September 2006.
But now, with the Port of Newcastle enforcing a no-public-event policy on the ship at its current mooring, Ms Goodall has nearly run out of options for finding a home for the ship in Newcastle.
The no-events notice has stung Ms Goodall's intentions, particularly since Ship4Good received a $315,000 Newcastle Port Community Contributions Fund grant from NSW in 2023 to activate an "innovation, arts and maritime precinct" on a patch of Port of Newcastle land.
Her request to move the ship to a Port of Newcastle plot for the precinct was never engaged.
"The loss for us is the outgoings we've spent, and the loss of revenue from not opening the ship," Ms Goodall said.
"We've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars."
Ms Goodall is attempting to team up with hotelier and developer Jerry Schwartz by exploring a plan to get the City of Newcastle to lease a 50-metre waterfront site adjacent to the former Newcastle Maritime Museum building on Lee Wharf in Newcastle where MV Steve Irwin could be moored (and open to the public), but the logistics and bureaucratic hurdles they will have to overcome are huge.
Ms Goodall said she could present a spectacular large format projection show onto the vessel every night at sunset, with visitors accessing the show through Bluetooth headphones so there was no public noise.
Additionally, the vessel is set up for exhibitions, mainly focused on environmental education and the history of the vessel.
"It's probably the best documented ship in the world in terms of what it has done," she said.
"It's been featured in documentaries, like the Animal Planet series Whale Wars, it goes on and on."
Captained by Sea Shepherd's original founder Paul Watson, the vessel, originally a Scottish fisheries inspection ship, was famously involved in clashes to stop whaling in the Southern Ocean, clashing with the Japanese whaling fleet over a decade.
Ms Goodall's mooring permit at her current site is due to expire at the end of June.
She has always considered moving the vessel to Brisbane as an option, but became enamored with making Newcastle its home.
Right now, it looks like Ms Goodall's ship is dead in the water.
Jim Kellar
Jim Kellar writes about culture, art, food, drinks and music. He's been a journalist at the Newcastle Herald since 1997. jkellar@newcastleherald.com.au
Jim Kellar writes about culture, art, food, drinks and music. He's been a journalist at the Newcastle Herald since 1997. jkellar@newcastleherald.com.au
