Search
Close this search box.

The Julie Burgess

The last fishing ketches

1
Courtesy of Brent Cox, Australian Wooden Boat Festival 2019

The Julie Burgess is the last of the beautiful Burgess Family fishing ketches that plied the waters of Bass Strait and its islands.   The ketch was purpose built to harvest the rich crayfish fields of Bass Strait and Tasmania.  The central well in the ketch made it possible to hold enormous amounts of live crays that were taken to the railway station at Stony Point in Westernport Bay for transportation to the Melbourne markets – still fresh!

Volunteers lovingly restored the ketch, so that you can relive the classic days of sailing in Bass Strait.

The Julie Burgess can be viewed at her mooring at Reg Hope Park, East Devonport.