Currents

Vale Rob Bowring OAM

9 April 1947–27 February 2021

THE AUSTRALIAN MARITIME MUSEUMS COUNCIL (AMMC) and the museum are saddened to farewell long-serving AMMC Board member and occasional treasurer, Rob Bowring OAM, who died on Saturday 27 February 2021 after a long battle with cancer. Rob was much admired and greatly respected, not least for the energy, humour and good company he brought to the AMMC Board, and as an attendee and significant contributor at AMMC meetings, conferences, workshops and associated activities over a period of more than 10 years. Despite his illness, he continued to make a significant contribution of his time and energy to preserving maritime and river heritage as the Chair of the Mannum Dock Museum of River History and a member of both the AMMC Board and the Council of the Australian Register of Historic Vessels (ARHV). Twenty-two boats gathered at Goolwa, South Australia, for a sail-past on Sunday 28 February to pay tribute to Rob, indicating the esteem in which he was held by his fellow river men and women. At the conclusion of Rob’s funeral, on Friday 5 March at Mannum, there was another sail-past held in his honour.

As Chairman of the Mannum Dock Museum’s Board and a hands-on volunteer, he was the leader and an integral part of the workforce which transformed that museum. It now has more than 25,000 visitors per year and is nationally recognised as the museum that best tells the story of the maritime history of the Murray and Darling rivers and of the paddle steamers that traded and travelled the lengths of both river systems. Rob was also the driving force in restoring the paddle steamer Marion to a fully operational condition, and then ensuring that this historic vessel remained in survey and operating for the benefit of visitors to Mannum and, ultimately, for the nation.

Rob Bowring on board PS Marion. Image Australian Maritime Museums Council

When speaking with Rob it was clear that his passion and enthusiasm for the river, its people and boats came from a deep understanding of the river as the fundamental heart and soul of the communities along it, giving the river people a unique identity. The AMMC Board and the ARHV Council are very proud and grateful to have had Rob’s involvement and support for so many years. We celebrate the great deal of pride that Rob took in the community for which he worked so hard and tirelessly. His work and inspiration will endure long into the future. As Deb Alexander, Executive Officer of the Mannum Dock Museum, said: His endless and tireless devotion and passion to maritime history did not waver until his last days. Our nation has lost a great river man who worked for the past 30 years to preserve and promote inland water heritage vessels across Australia. Our sincere condolences and thoughts are for Rob’s family and all those who knew him.

Vale Harvey Halvorsen

20 July 1939–26 March 2021

Photographed at a sail-past commemorating Harold Halvorsen’s 90th birthday in 2000, three generations of the family were captured together. Left to right: Harold, Mark and Harvey Halvorsen. Image Brendan Read

WITH THE RECENT DEATH OF Harvey Halvorsen, Australia has arguably lost the last of this country’s great designers of beautiful wooden boats.

Born in 1939, Harvey was the second child of Harold, who in turn was the eldest child of immigrants Lars and Bergithe Halvorsen. As a toddler during World War II, Harvey would visit his father at the firm’s state-ofthe-art boatbuilding yard at Ryde in Sydney, where more than 250 boats were built for the war effort.

At the age of 14, Harvey began working at the firm’s hire-boat base at Bobbin Head. He commenced as a mechanic and then, moving to the Ryde yard, worked in fitting and machining and chrome plating. Harvey studied technical drawing, as well as completing an apprenticeship as a fitter and turner. He began his designing career in 1960, drawing plans for Lars Halvorsen Sons. With a sleek design and timeless and elegant lines, Harvey’s favourite was the last motor cruiser built at the Ryde yard. The 90-foot Emma, launched in 1976, was a fitting bookend to the Halvorsen wooden boat legacy in Sydney. Emma epitomised the classic boats for which Harvey and his father and grandfather were well known. However, unlike the more sedate builds of his forebears, Emma had twin 1,350 horsepower V12 engines and could make 26 knots!

When boatbuilding in Sydney became uneconomical, Harvey took his dream to China, where, by 2002, more than 650 boats were built. Harvey’s designs for those boats had the distinctive Halvorsen lines, but also incorporated new technologies that his grandfather, Lars, could only have dreamed of. Boats, and the sea, were in Harvey Halvorsen’s blood. With this background, it was no surprise that Harvey had a strong affinity with the sea, like his ship-captain and boatbuilder forebears. He was also an accomplished yachtsman. Harvey Halvorsen succumbed to Parkinson’s Disease on 26 March 2021. He leaves his wife, Nancy, and children, Brett, Mark, Danielle and Amy, and five grandchildren. Harvey will be remembered by friends and family not only for his prodigious talent and work ethic, but also for his mischievous – and sometimes wicked – sense of humour.