Port Fairy residents reminiscence origins of 1950s pioneering fishing boat, Tacoma

When the grand old wooden fishing boat Tacoma returned home to Port Fairy, its skipper Ross Haldane was transported back 72 years.

The families of the three Haldane brothers including seven children aboard the Tacoma as it left Port Fairy on January 6, 1952."It was quite a bad day, like a big roll on," Roger said. To welcome the 25.6-metre boat home, the mouth of the Moyne River was dredged and 14 tonnes of ballast was trimmed to lighten the vessel, reducing its draught to make the journey upstream.

"You'd see the boat growing and all the framework going up, all the ribs and everything, and it was an amazing job to think what they did, the three brothers," Jack said.The Tacoma helped pioneer the Australian bluefin tuna industry in the 1950s and the Spencer Gulf prawn fishery out of Port Lincoln, South Australia.

Ross Haldane said when the family departed, the town had about the same size fishing fleet as Port Lincoln."Port Lincoln is the seafood capital of Australia, and we catch something like 70,000 tonnes, which is about 20 per cent of all fish in Australia," Ross said.Retired Warrnambool butcher Trevor Dowie saw the Tacoma leave Port Fairy in 1952 and was there to welcome it home in March.

Purse Seining Southern Bluefin Tuna Haldanes Tacoma Jack Bellamy Sa Fishing History Otway Ranges Tacoma Preservation Society

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