Next event date: Monday, 02 March 2026 | 07:00 PM to 08:00 PM
Ashley Ultsch RBA Architects +Conservation Consultants
Along Victoria’s rugged Bass Strait coastline, a chain of ports known as the ‘couta coast’ once powered a booming barracouta fishing industry.
Faced with dangerous waters and the challenges of The Rip, Queenscliff fishermen and local boatbuilders developed the iconic couta boat, a vessel that transformed the industry and supplied millions of pounds of fish to Victorian tables. This talk explores how the industry rose, flourished, and ultimately collapsed in the mid-1970s, and how the legacy of the couta boat endures today as a symbol of maritime ingenuity and coastal culture.
7.00 – 8.00 pm
Gil Allbutt Boat Shed – Queenscliffe Maritime Museum
Cost $20 / Museum Members $15 Book Online
Bar open — drinks at bar prices
Queenscliffe Maritime Museum, 2 Wharf Street, Queenscliff, 3225, View map
2 Wharf Street , Queenscliff 3225