Charles Treleaven

Eight Bells: Yarns of the Watch Charles Treleaven

SAVING THE "POLLY WOODSIDE"

Charles Treleaven was a leading figure in the fight to save Melbourne's heritage sailing ship "Polly Woodside" for future generations. For many years, he not only used his sea-going expertise to motivate the crew and hundreds of volunteers by keeping alive the dream of a traditional Cape Horn sailing ship on display in Melbourne, but used his powers of persuasion to make sure that the tools, materials, and professional support for the restoration were at all times on hand, even when no funds were available. It was his obvious enthusiasm and sincerity at that lunch in London with the Trustees of the World Ship Trust that won for "Polly Woodside" the fifth medal ever awarded to a ship for the preservation of maritime history anywhere in the world.

Eight Bells also tells of Charles' other achievements while at the Museum - the Presentation itself, the ship's Centennial Voyage, and his initiating the building of the replica of Fawkner's Enterprise. There are many of his ideas that are still part of "Polly Woodside's" popular attraction.

Eight Bells, is the full story that spans Charles' life, told in a pleasant style and against a panorama of important world events. His childhood during the Depression in Britain, his boyhood memories of wartime Britain, during the Blitz and the Doodle Bugs, the trauma of the post-war years, and then his worldwide career at sea in British, NZ, and Australian ships, with all of its adventures, humour, and sadness. Charles tells of his love of the South Pacific, of Fiji, and Fijian music and its people, and the pioneering study of Oceanography with a New Zealand scientific ship.

Charles shares later his experiences ashore in the packaging industry, his time as a U. N. consultant in Jordan, his life at the "Polly Woodside", introducing Mirror Projection to planetariums, around the world, and finally his own personal fulfilment by exciting young school students about the wonders of Astronomy and Space with his knowledge gained over the years as a seagoing navigator.

Charles finally retired from an incredible and interesting life in 2016 at age 86.