Dredger No.21, Morwell

Why is it important?

No.21 Dredger was built by Lubecker Maschinebau Gesellschaft (LMG), of Lubeck, West Germany.  It is mounted on crawlers and fitted with a slewable superstructure and has a service weight of 725 tons.  It was used for excavating overburden and brown coal from the Morwell open cut mine until August 1992 when it was retired.  It was placed on display at the Powerworks Visitor Centre from 1995. 

Why is it at risk?

Powerworks, the owner of the dredger, has entered into negotiations regarding alternative future ownership of the dredger.  Promising negotiations with the City of Latrobe City Council and the local Friends of the Dredger regarding transfer of the dredger and land to Council were jeopardised by a Council report recommending that Council not receive the proposed gift of the land and dredger.  The reasons were essentially the cost of maintenance of the site and other minor liabilities.  On the day of the Council meeting the Trust wrote to all Councillors, appealing them to reject the recommendation.  The Council did determine not to accept the recommendation, but rather to conduct further research into the issue. 

What needs to be done?

Friends of 21 Dredger recently took ownership of 21 Dredger and the land that it is situated on as a gift from Powerworks, along with $30,000 to assist with the maintenance costs.  This is only a temporary arrangement, as talks continue with the State Government about taking on ownership of the land and public liability cost.