For the first season of Boating Downunder we are going to run feature stories about Australian working boats.   During the early part of European settlement, boats were an essential part of life, providing transport where no roads existed and food by way of fishing fleets around the coastal and inland waters.   Unique boats found only in Australia such as the Broome and Northern Australian pearl luggers and the Victorian Couta boats with their distinctive droopy bowsprits.   We also look at today’s high tech pilot boats and tug boats and of course you can’t ignore the paddlesteamers of the mighty Murray River or the workhorses of the Sydney Harbour, those iconic Sydney Harbour ferries.

Here’s a taste of our Port Phillip Sea Pilots story. Much, much more to come…!