Seaworks Foundation has announced a new interpretive signage project that will transform the visitor experience across its Williamstown maritime heritage precinct. The project will install signage at five significant external heritage assets, providing visitors with historical context, stories, and archival imagery for the first time.
Key sites to be interpreted include the Workshops Pier, the Wright Slip, one of Victoria’s oldest slipways, and the Main Sheds, which date to the early 20th century and once housed naval workshops central to Australia’s maritime defence.
A defining feature of the project is its sustainable approach to materials. Heritage timber piles salvaged from the Workshops Pier, which has just undergone a $6 million refurbishment, have been repurposed as the signage mounts. This choice creates a direct material link between the signs and the very infrastructure they interpret, connecting past and present across Melbourne’s working waterfront.
“Seaworks is home to some of Victoria’s most significant maritime heritage, yet much of that history remains invisible to visitors walking through the precinct. This project changes that and it’s just the beginning.” — Glenn Jones, Executive Officer, Seaworks Foundation.
Seaworks Foundation intends this project as the first stage of a broader interpretive program. Subject to ongoing funding and support, the signage network is planned to expand to additional historic assets across the site, building towards a comprehensive self-guided heritage trail for visitors.
The project is expected to be completed by May 2026, to coincide with the completion of works on Workshops Pier. It forms part of Seaworks’ broader commitment to heritage interpretation, education, and community engagement across its precinct of over 150,000 annual visitors.
