Award winner … Peter Taylor and his Jack Loney Award. 53791 Picture: SARAH MATRAY
By Vanessa Chircop
NOT many people can say that they have ever discovered a shipwreck and even fewer people can say that they have discovered more than one.
Unlike Newport resident Peter Taylor, who discovered his first shipwreck at age 12 while skin-diving at Portarlington.
Peter then went on to discover more than a dozen shipwrecks off the coast of Victoria including the J-1 Submarine off Port Phillip Heads and the ‘Bell Wreck’ in Port Melbourne.
Last week Peter was presented with the Jack Loney Award for maritime heritage recognising his contributions to Victoria’s maritime history.
Peter fell in love with the ocean as a young child watching a 1960s American diving show.
‘I use to watch Sea Hunt when I was a kid and I got captivated by the water and thought this is something I want to do,’ Peter said.
‘My parents would take us to the aquarium in Geelong and my mum bought me a book about ship wrecks in Port Phillip Bay and I just got hooked.’
The award was named after the inaugural winner, Jack Loney, who was one of the most well recognised and popular authors of books on Australian maritime history.
Peter said he is a huge fan of Jack Loney’s books making the award even more exciting.
‘It was a big thrill (to win), I was pretty stoked because Jack Loney is such an icon, it was an honour to get his award,’ Peter said.
‘It’s a real team effort to find the sites and once a shipwreck is discovered we report the site to Heritage Victoria, the site is then left there for future maritime researchers to study.’
Planning Minister Justin Madden presented the award and said: ‘Peter Taylor has all the outstanding qualities commemorated by the award, mirroring many of Jack Loney’s achievements.
‘Dedicated individuals such as Peter Taylor are at the forefront of preserving Victoria’s fantastic heritage which includes what lies beneath the oceans.’
