The ‘Don Duncan’ ready to return to the water

By VINNIE RODI

AFTER a more than two-year labour of love, Dareton’s Men in a Shed are finally ready to launch the restored ‘Don Duncan’ boat.

The launch of the more than 50-year-old vessel will take place on Saturday, March 2, at 11am at the Dareton boat ramp, with a crowd of 120 people expected to attend.

Among the guests will be the boat’s namesake, Don Duncan’s granddaughter, Wentworth Shire Council Mayor Melisa Hederics, and potentially Member for Murray Austin Evans.

The Men’s Shed team – led by Colin Cooke and Terry Stanbrook – has been working hard to restore the boat for more than two years, with the Don Duncan boasting strong ties to the Wentworth Shire’s river history.

Don is a former Wentworth man who passed away a few years ago, and was a valued volunteer for Wentworth’s historic PS Ruby restoration project. 

A master craftsman in woodwork, Don constructed a number of boats, one of which was donated to the PS Ruby as a maintenance and restoration project when Don moved away from Wentworth a few years prior to his death.

The boat remained in the ‘Ruby pond’ for some years, but unfortunately was vandalised on a number of occasions and deteriorated to an unusable state.

After Don’s passing, the PS Ruby committee engaged the Dareton Men in a Shed team to complete the boat’s restoration as a tribute to Don, with the group only too happy to take on the challenge.

Works have included constructing and installing a new bottom for the boat, and intensive re-build of its engine – an old grey Holden engine.

Work on the engine has been led by Men’s Shed member Artie Baldock, who has spent more than 300 hours on the rebuild, with G & P engine reconditioners in Mildura doing the bulk of the more recent work.

In total the restoration project has cost an estimated $10,000, with the Coomealla Memorial Sporting Club funding the project.

Dareton Men in a Shed publicity officer, Neil Plumridge, said the launch had been a long time coming, and encouraged people to make the trip to Dareton for the special occasion.

“We’ve catered for 120 people, so we’re expecting a big crowd,” he said. “We’re hosting a sausage sizzle, and it’s our hope that Don’s granddaughter will be on hand to help us launch the boat.”

Neil said that the group would retain ownership of the vessel following the launch, and planned to transform it into a static display.

“The history of the boat is incredible, and we feel that school groups will get value out of coming down and learning more about that history,” he said.

“There’s also discussions of showcasing it at the Coomie Club, which has been instrumental in funding the restoration.”

The March 2 launch will actually feature two restored boats, with a New Zealand-designed canoe also set to be put back on the water.

“The canoe belonged to a former Men in a Shed member Glen Burnell, who had partly built it before he sadly passed away,” Neil said. “A few of our members took it upon themselves to finish the project, and we plan to launch it alongside the Don Duncan.”

The canoe has taken six months to finish, with works including the installation of a motor.

“We’re hoping to have Glen’s ex-wife and one of his children on hand for the launch,” he said.

Neil said the group would now move on to its next set of projects, with no less than four boats currently awaiting restoration!

“There’s always something going on,” Neil chuckled.