INSIDE THE BUGLE
18 May - 31 May
AUTHOR DELL BRAND p9
VOLUNTEER WEEK p14
kiama fire station p17
Pink Bun Campaignp27
HISTORIC SIGNA RETURNS TO KIAMA
Nobody died and the boat didn’t sink. But nonetheless, the return of the Signa to Kiama Harbour managed to create quite a stir, with locals braving drizzling weather to occupy vantage points along the foreshore. Many people have memories of the Signa, and a significant number of them showed up in Kiama to commemorate its return after two years in dry dock at Albion Park. After an estimated 12,000 hours of volunteer labour, the boat, originally launched in 1970, has been lovingly restored to its former glory. Signa was one of the first dedicated game fishing boats ever seen in Australia. Those showing up to mark its rebirth included former charter operators and fishermen, even the children of the original builder of the boat, Bob Riddell. Bob Riddell’s daughter, Jane Dove of Woy Woy, said: “Just to see the boat is fantastic, my father built
it and 50 years later, it is still going. We never got a trip on it. Our father would have loved to be here.” The Riddell children might never have gone out to sea in the boat, but plenty of other people did, including, famously, actor Lee Marvin, along with Bob and Dolly Dyer of Pick-A-Box, a television program familiar to older Australians. For a time, the boat was owned by the famous Sydney restaurant Doyles. A clearly delighted John Hansen, who funded the project, wants above all to pay tribute to the many people who helped restore the boat, including wife Sandra, who has been an enthusiastic supporter, Rex Jones, Richard Roman aka Don, Peter Rook, Lawrie Lovegrove, Graham Williams, Rob Hoffmeister and Geoffrey Farrer. “It was ten times bigger than we thought,” he says. “We were all retirees, they all played golf together. And once they started on
the boat it was a labour of love.” The boat was rotting in the harbour and officially declared unseaworthy when Hansen took on the project. “We realised when the boat was ours how complicated the project was,” he
recalls. “We have rebuilt the entire boat.” As Sandra recalls: “It was a good boat, it just needed attention. The deck and the roof and parts of the floor inside were just rotted. We took out nearly two tonnes of rubbish.”
Signa is expected to stay at mooring in Kiama Harbour for several weeks as the timber boat adjusts to being back in the water and the new engines settle in. Signa is a boat full of memories, as many of those in attendance were quick to recall. Kevin Adams, who as a child went out on the boat with his father, said: “It is amazing what they have done with the refurbishment. They have done a great job.” Wayne Hollingsworth, who used to hire out the boat for fishing trips, says: “Seeing it brings back a lot of memories. I used to see it in the harbour in recent years, it was just rotting away.” One of the most obvious things about the freshly restored Signa is how
good the original teak wood now looks. Retired carpenter Lawrie Lovegrove, when asked why he was prepared to spend so many hundreds of hours on the project, including countless hours sanding wood, just shrugs: “Silly old bastard.” Well, thanks to a lot of silly old duffers, Kiama now has a beautifully restored and intriguing part of Australia’s maritime history moored in pride of place. John Stapleton
Sandra & John Hansen.
Photos by Brian Scott.
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