On this Day.

3rd January 1980
The Lady Denman was towed by harbour tugs out through Sydney Heads into the open sea where HMAS Snipe was to take her into tow to Huskisson.  However, a southerly buster came in and HMAS Snipe fearing the Lady Denman would sink turned around (tow and all) and made it back to Garden Island. In increasingly worsening conditions off Sydney, HMAS Snipe can be seen here alongside the Lady during the aborted first attempt at towing her home. 

The final rescue attempt.

The words of John Hatton South Coast MP and Huskisson local.

"The Maritime Services Board wants us out but won't give us a clearance, and if this bloody thing ends up on Bondi Beach I'll be behind bars and you'll be down a ferry and an MP."

We tend to take a lot of things for granted in life, I remember visiting the museum many years ago and leaving not thinking too much about what it took to get the Lady where it is today.

After a hectic life  working on Sydney Harbour, the Lady Denman finally sits at rest, a beautiful piece of local maritime history safe and sound in a fantastic museum, but to get the Lady here, was an epic tale of determination, commitment, and risk.

Were these risks worth it, I think the Museum speaks for itself?

Read More about this fascinating rescue., I think I can see a good story line for a movie here!!!

The Trawler Julianne towing the Lady across Jervis Bay.