If you are staying in one of the famous Port Macquerie resorts while you are on holiday, then you will be spoiled by the elegant surroundings and impeccable service they offer. When you need a dose of reality, a history lesson is a good way to come back to the Creal worldD. A visit to the Alma Doepel mixes reality and history in a most excellent way.
The vessel was constructed of wood by a shipwright hired by one Frederik Doepel. Frederick knew who had a lot of experience in building ships to use for trading in the local area, and wanted one of the best of them to craft the ship. It so happened that Frederick was the owner of a timber mill, and so all of the wood needed to build the Alma Doepal came from this mill. It was built quite close to the river. Around 100 yards away to the building site was the timber mill, so getting the wooden material to the site was no problem. It took over a year to finish the construction of the Alma Doepel.
Once the ship was finally done, Frederick decided to name it Alma, which was his youngest daughterBs name. The Alma Doepel went to sea for the first time in December, 1903. Her main cargo was timber, but other goods were transported by the ship when she was sold to a jam making company in 1916 located in Hobart. Called Henry Jones and Co, this company also purchased all of the timberyards in the area. They probably got a very good price for them as World War 1 had called away most of the vessels used to ship wood. Now, Henry Jones and Co. had both the timber and the jam markets. It wasnBt long before the company was TasmaniaBs biggest independent business.
Captain of the Alma Doepel was Harry Heather, also half-owner of the ship with the H. Jones company. Heather passed away after 21 years of manning the ship. Eric Driscoll took over as captain until the Army decided to requisition it in January of 1943. The Army sawed off two of the Alma DoepalBs masts and also her bowsprit. They also removed the small engine placed in the vessel in 1936, and in it place put three massive bus engines. By the time the Army was done with the ship, they had to replace the items that they had removed from it.
Eric Driscoll returned in January of 1947 to be the Alma DoepelBs captain once more. They made quite a few runs with premium timber. Then, at some point in time between the years 1959 and 1961, the poor ship was torn apart, in a sense. It was stripped all the way down to the hull, masts and all. A derrick was placed on the lower foremast. Inside the hold, wooden bins on rails were fitted. The Alma Doepal was used to take limestone to a factory in the years between 1959 and 1975. Then, in 1976, the vessel was sold for the price of the three engineBs value as scrap metal. Thankfully, those who purchased the ship did so with an eye toward the future. They were Michael Wood and David Boykett.
The Alma Doepel was beautifully restored in the time period between 1976 to 1987. The vessel led a parade in 1988 called the Parade of Sail. After the parade, she was taken to Melbourne to be used for sail training. In 1999, the operating licence for the ship expired. It was not removed because the Alma Doepel was in poor condition again and needed some repairs. Finally, in April of 2001, the vessel was taken to Port Macquarie. The board of Sail and Adventure stated that Alma Doepel was now a private vessel. The Board wants the ship to regain survey certification and most especially to be treated like the rarity it is.
The Alma Doepel is open to the public, and can be seen at Lady Nelson Wharf, which is in Port Macquarie. You and your travelling companions will want to spend extra time visiting this rarity while it is on exhibit.
