Ship model in glass bottle mounted on timber with presentation plaque on front of timber. Ship is 3 masted sailing ship, no sails, towing small boat, flying red flag with blue and white cross. Background includes cliffs and two lighthouses. There is an inscription of the bottom of the model.Plaque on front of timber mount "To / FLAGSTAFF HILL MARITIME MUSEUM / WARRNAMBOOL AUSTRALIA …" Inscribed on Bottom "NORSK HÅKON skib No Filo Nilsen 230" flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked-coast, flagstaff-hill, flagstaff-hill-maritime-museum, maritime-museum, model ship, model ship in bottle, norwegian model ship, shipwreck-coast, flagstaff-hill-maritime-village

This is a model of the ship La Bella which was built in Norway in 1893. From 1902 the La Bella worked the timber trade between New Zealand and Australia under the command of Captain George Mylius. In 1905 the ship hit a submerged reef about 100 metres from the Warrnambool Breakwater and was grounded and wrecked. Seven men drowned in the wreck and five, including the captain, were saved. A local fisherman, William Ferrier, was hailed as a hero when he went in the stormy seas in a small dinghy with one oar to rescue two of the men. In 1982 the remains of the wreck were re-discovered and the ship now has maritime heritage protection. Harry McKenna, a Warrnambool resident, was a well-known maker of ship modelsThis model is of considerable interest because: 1. It is a representation of the local Warrnambool ship, the ‘La Bella’ (wrecked in Warrnambool Bay 1905) 2. It is an example of the art of making ship models in bottles 3. It was made by Mr Harry McKenna, a well-known Warrnambool 20th century resident. This is glass bottle with a white stopper. The bottle contains a model of a ship with three wooden masts and white sails and a wooden hull. The bottle is resting on a wooden structure with two side pieces with curved tops, a top section for carrying the item and a wooden base. ‘Model of La Bella’ ‘La Bella’ wreck of the ‘la bella’, harry mckenna,, model ship builder