Big shoes to fill David Payne, Curator of Historic Vessels, retires
David Payne has contributed to some of the museum’s most significant projects over more than 30 years. Dr Nigel Erskine profiles the career of this modest quiet achiever whose skills and dedication have made an indelible contribution to the nation’s maritime heritage.
DAVID PAYNE IS RETIRING from the museum after 16 years as Curator of Historic Vessels – and leaving some very big shoes to fill. In fact, David’s association stretches back much further, to 1988 and the frenetic years prior to the museum’s opening, when he was contracted to produce detailed technical drawings of the small-boat fleet and the Cape Bowling Green lighthouse. It was a task for which he was admirably qualified, having cut his teeth in earlier years working in his uncle Alan Payne’s naval architecture studio. Alan Payne is possibly best remembered for his America’s Cup 12 Metres Gretel I and Gretel II, but the studio was also highly regarded in cruising circles for sturdy yachts such as the Koonya class and the beautiful Tasman Seabird designs, and Sydney’s beloved First Fleet class of catamaran ferries. But even more importantly, David brought a passion for boats – a result of his experience racing Lasers and 12-foot skiffs and making several bluewater passages on cruising yachts. The plans provided a record of each boat as it existed when acquired by the museum and were also important for understanding what modifications might have been made during its lifetime. They became the basis for making decisions on their conservation or potential restoration. A particularly good example of David’s work in this regard is the 2018 restoration of MV Krait to its configuration in 1943, when it famously carried commandos on two separate raids on Japanese shipping in Singapore Harbour. ‘Only Mostyn [Moss] Berryman remained of the team that took part in Jaywick,’ David recalls: His personal story made us all the more aware of how important this project was, and how lucky we were to be working on this restoration. Moss did recall a number of details that we were unsure of, and helped us figure out some other things as best we could. 28 Signals 132 Spring 2020
Bringing together information from Moss Berryman, studying old photos and closely examining the boat for evidence of where changes had been made, David and the museum’s shipwrights were able to faithfully restore Krait to its wartime state. Completed on the 75th anniversary of the Operation Jaywick raid, the restoration was praised as a tangible legacy of one of the most audacious operations of the War in the Pacific. David recalls: I know the Australian War Memorial and the various associations who are connected to Krait were really pleased to see how much detail we had gone to, and felt we had achieved a very credible restoration in the face of many unknowns in terms of the exact detail. Moss was also very appreciative whenever we spoke on the phone. David’s work in documenting the museum’s fleet and small-boat collection established an important management tool for the museum, but what about vessels around Australia, many of which had historic significance, but were in private hands? As the national maritime museum, the museum recognised it had a responsibility to encourage private boat owners and organisations to research, document and preserve their vessels, and it was in this context that it established the Australian Register of Historic Vessels (ARHV) in association with the Sydney Heritage Fleet. David was the successful applicant for a new curatorial position established in 2004 to set up and manage the ARHV, and since that time the register has grown to include more than 700 vessels from every state and territory in Australia, with a dedicated and searchable website recording the significant details of each vessel and its history. Indeed, acceptance onto the register has become a badge of honour for owners of historic boats, and the ARHV website, boat shows and other events provide opportunities for proud boat owners to get together and display their boats.
