Variable Pitch Propeller Controls at MV Cape Don, engine RPM on the left, propellor pitch on the right.

01 MV Cape DonBalls Head2016

ISO 10013sf/8.014mm

Series · 18 prints

MV Cape Don

Photographed 2016
Frames 18
Camera NIKON D7000 · ILCA-77M2
Location New South Wales, Australia
Status Museum and training ship; under conservation by Sea Heritage Foundation
Years 1963 to 1990
Heritage ARHV HV000208
Architect Australian Shipping Board
Specs Cape Class lighthouse supply tender · 76.25 m long · 2,140 tonnes displacement
01 ABOUT THIS SERIES

Series story

Map · Mapbox · OpenStreetMap

MV *Cape Don* is a former Commonwealth Lighthouse Service tender, designed by the Australian Shipping Board and built at the State Dockyard in Newcastle. She was launched on 28 May 1962, commissioned in 1964, and worked the Australian coast until 1990, servicing lighthouses, lightships, and buoys across more than a quarter of a century. Her sister ships were *Cape Moreton* and *Cape Pillar*. Her log includes the 1973 recovery of two of HMS *Investigator*'s anchors from the Recherche Archipelago and the 1979 establishment of the first marine monitoring station in Bass Strait. Decommissioned in 1990, she is now moored at Berry's Bay, Waverton, where the Sea Heritage Foundation is restoring her as a museum and training ship.

03 PRINTS

Prints in this series

Hand-signed limited editions, printed from the original RAW file. Editions run from 100 down to 25 and are not reissued once they sell through.

Variable Pitch Propeller Controls at MV Cape Don, engine RPM on the left, propellor pitch on the right.
Variable Pitch Propeller Controls
Don Starboard Side Corridor at MV Cape Don, a narrow corridor runs deep into the ship's starboard side.
Don Starboard Side Corridor
Machine Shop at MV Cape Don, a horizontal bandsaw sits centre-floor, its blade guard and drive wheel coated in pale grime.
Machine Shop
Steering Gear at MV Cape Don, heavy steel machinery fills a tight compartment below deck.
Steering Gear
Soundings Board at MV Cape Don, a large black soundings board fills the left wall, its white-painted grid listing ballast.
Soundings Board
Pumps at MV Cape Don, rows of cast-iron gate valves crowd the pump room floor, their handwheels black with grime.
Pumps
Mv Cape Don at MV Cape Don, rust bleeds from anchor hawses and along the waterline.
Mv Cape Don
Propeller Shaft at MV Cape Don, ships propeller shaft looking aft (rearwards).
Propeller Shaft
Anchor Windlass at MV Cape Don, this machine hoisted and lowered the ship's anchor.
Anchor Windlass
Forecastle and Crane Cabin at MV Cape Don, shot from the well-deck, looking towards the forecastle.
Forecastle and Crane Cabin
Passenger Lounge at MV Cape Don, used mainly for the families travelling to and from their assigned lighthouses.
Passenger Lounge
Wharf at MV Cape Don, a rickety old wharf that was a test of nerves just to get to this point.
Wharf
Radio Direction Finder Receiver at MV Cape Don, this device is used for tracing radio beacon signals.
Radio Direction Finder Receiver
Officers Smoke Room at MV Cape Don, where off duty deck and engineering officers relaxed.
Officers Smoke Room
Engine Order Telegraph at MV Cape Don, the internal circuits of the engine order telegraph.
Engine Order Telegraph
Galley at MV Cape Don, the ship's kitchen (which also served as a bakery).
Galley
Main Engine at MV Cape Don, on the right side of the frame is an Australian built two stroke diesel polar engine.
Main Engine
Waterworks at MV Cape Don, the vertical vessel cut in half by the left side of the frame is the domestic water pressure.
Waterworks
04 ABOUT THE PRINTS

How they’re made

Made to order by Brett in Sydney, from the original RAW file. Each print is hand-signed and numbered before it ships.

Paper

Ilford Galerie cotton rag, 310 gsm. Acrylic on metallic gloss, 260 gsm.

Editions

Open in XS and S. Limited in M (100), L (50), XL (25). From $100.

Print tiers →

Lead time

Unframed: 5 to 10 business days. Framed and acrylic: 10 to 20.

05 FIELD NOTE

From the field

Read all field notes
Press feature · March 2016

MV Cape Don in News Local

The MV Cape Don recently had an article in News Local featuring some of the pictures from the Lost Collective gallery. Check it out here.

Read the note
06 PRESS

In the press

Leaving a secure job to work as an artist, trying to manage inconsistent income and tempering the self-doubt and self-criticism that came with it has been one of the most difficult things I've done.

The Guardian

Brett Patman·2019

theguardian.com

On the LC archive.

Holding a solo exhibition in one of the spaces I've photographed would also be a dream, particularly at a site with a strong community connection - so the images can be enjoyed by the people who made it matter.

The Guardian

Brett Patman·2019

theguardian.com

On the LC archive.

I'm not trying to make out like I'm some kind of mysterious urbex badass. Lost Collective isn't about me. It's about the places I shoot and even more about the connection that the people have to the sites.

Broadsheet

Brett Patman·2016

lostcollective.com

On the LC archive.

See press coverage →
08 BY POST · NO SPAM

Read the full story

Articles when they're published. The history behind a place. The day of a shoot. The work between prints. No marketing, no schedule.

You're subscribed.