New appointment: Board Secretary of Mafalda Incorporated.

The Not for Profit Corporation has been established to preserve Western Australia's maritime and cultural heritage through the restoration of SV Mafalda.

Mafalda was custom built in 1926 on the banks of the Swan River, Derbarl Yerrigan, as a fishing vessel for the Merendino family, Italian fishermen who migrated to Australia and settled in Fremantle.

She remained an operational fishing vessel until the 1970s working in Fremantle and the Midwest coast including Port Gregory and the Abrolhos Islands.

For the last 50 years, Mafalda has been used as a recreational sailing boat travelling frequently to Rottnest Island and local waterways.

Bill Leonard, Master Shipwright for the construction of the Endeavour and Duyfken replicas, produced line drawings of Mafalda for the WA Maritime Museum to ensure the importance and uniqueness of this vessel within WA's maritime history was captured in perpetuity.

Following the restoration, as custodian of the vessel, the Corporation aims to make Mafalda available for community use through a subscription model so that she is sailed regularly and sustainably maintained well beyond her centenary year in 2026.

I am pleased to be working with fellow Directors, Wendy Campbell, Peter French and John Williams.