The Mission to Seafarers Victoria (MtSV) is part of an international organisation dedicated to the welfare of the seafaring community. 

Completed in 1917, the heritage-listed Mission to Seafarers building at Melbourne’s Docklands continues today as a “home away from home” for visiting crew providing services and facilities responding the unique circumstances of those who live and work at sea.  

The building is a fine example of Arts and Crafts & Spanish Mission Revival architecture and includes the St Peter the Mariner Chapel, the clubroom, administration area, chaplain’s house and the iconic Norla Dome. The building is available for functions and is open for arts and cultural events through the year. 

The Mission has been continuously working in Melbourne since 1857 and has retained a substantial amount of records that document its charitable work, maritime and seafaring history dating back to this time, which are currently housed within the building complex. The curatorial team is in the process of digitising and cataloguing the collection that consists of approximately 10,000 objects and items collectively assessed as being of State and National significance. Many of the photographs within the collection are over 80 years old, and several of the scrapbooks document historically significant events, providing also a snapshot of Melbourne’s social history.  In digitising the collection, the public will be able to access the entire Mission to Seafarers Victoria’s collection online – there are already several hundred records and images available for viewing on the online catalogue. Although this is the first time in the 159 year history of the Mission that an archive has been created, it is our hope that we are laying the ground work that will preserve this material and future items for centuries to come. The archive will continue to be added to with photographs, documents and objects from today and tomorrow, which will in turn be catalogued and preserved for future generations. 

To access the current collection catalogue, please visit: 

http://victoriancollections.net.au/organisations/mission-to-seafarers-victoria

We will be used the funds raised to professionally photograph and preserve several items in the collection to museum quality. 

We will also be using the funds to preserve and store for future display the rest of the photographic collection.

Did you know the sleeves to house documents - one piece of paper cost roughly $2 each?

Our building is old - nearly 100 years. The documents are not stored ideally yet as they are subject to fluctuations in temperature and in exposure to the wrong lighting.   

Help us to keep these items safe for future generations by contributing to their safe keeping.