The lead line or hand lead is a simple navigational instrument used as a depth finder to measure the depth of water under the ship’s keel and to take samples of the sea bed. The long line may be marked at regular intervals with tags of different coloured and textured fabric, such as rope, leather and cloth. Each tag was a code to represent a certain depth. The leadsman’s eyes and hands could distinguish the depth easily as he drew in the lead line, day or night and in poor weather conditions. A standard set of codes for the tags was used so that the depth of the sea could be easily and quickly read. The measurement used was a Fathom, which equals 1.83 metres. The codes were: - 2 fathoms = 2 strips of leather 3 fathoms = 3 strips of leather 5 fathoms = white duck fabric 7 fathoms = red bunting fabric 10 fathoms = leather with a hole 13 fathoms = blue serge fabric 15 fathoms = white duck fabric 17 fathoms = red bunting 20 fathoms = 2 knots The lead weight could be between 7 -14 pounds (3.5 – 6.5kg) and the rope would be approximately 25 fathoms (45m). The hollowed-out end of the weight would hold a stick substance such as tallow or wax, which would pick up samples from the sea bed which would show whether the vessel was close to, or far away from, the shore. The leadsman would stand at the front of the vessel and cast the lead line into the sea. When it hit bottom he would note the tag marker nearest the surface of the water and call out his finding. Then he would haul it up again and examine the kind of matter that adhered to the end of the weight, whether it be sand, mud, gravel, or the colour of it. This information would be given to the ship’s helmsman or navigator and would help indicate the proximity to the land.This handheld lead is an example of early marine navigational equipment used by sailors to travel the seas to measure the depth of the water and sample the nature of the seabed. It helps to understand the history and progress made from the very basic to the sophisticated technology of today.Lead line, sounding line or depth finder. The long length of rope has a heavy lead weight attached to the end. Coloured fabric tags are tied onto the rope at regular intervals, representing different depths. The concave base of weight holds sticky substances such as tallow or beeswax, providing an adhesive surface to collect samples of sea bed like sand, shells or pebbles. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, lead line, depth finder, hand lead, sounding lin, leadsmane, navigation instrument, leadline, hand lead line

Synopsis: “In WW1 Melbourne a pioneering network of women at the Mission to Seafarers called the Ladies Harbour Lights Guild supported sailors who risked their lives at sea. The documentary “Harbour Lights” tells the remarkable story of the Ladies Harbour Lights Guild and the lives of seafarers in early 20th century Melbourne. It focuses on Melbourne’s iconic Mission to Seafarers building, its connection to the Great War and to a unique community of ships crew and volunteers. Featuring Melbourne historians, commentators, archivists and architects and rare footage and images of sailing and social life in and around the ports of Melbourne, this film will inform and connect audiences young and old.” Commissioned by Victorian Government The movie was produced in collaboration with the Mission to Seafarers Victoria. It was directed by Jary Nemo and written and produced by Lucinda Horrocks and Jary Nemo with executive producers Sue Dight and Gordon MacMillan. The film features: Jill Garner Kate Darian-Smith Chris McConville Janet Miller (curator) Gordon MacMillan (former seafarer and board committee member) Narrated by Sharon Turley. Music by Richard Chew (professor of the Arts Academy in Ballarat) The film was presented at several festival in Australia and abroad in 2020-2021. Credits: Narrator Sharon Turley Featuring (in order of appearance) Dr Chris McConville, Gordon MacMillan, Janet Miller, Professor Kate Darian-Smith and Jill Garner With Raul S Gantalao Jr, Escoto Lemuel, Ben Schroeder, Cinda Manins And Ian Fletcher, Yuan Jia, Uma Kothari, Gordon Lansley, William Reed and Cheka Samaranayake Directed by Jary Nemo Written and Produced by Lucinda Horrocks and Jary Nemo Music by Richard Chew Executive Producers Sue Dight and Gordon MacMillan Research advisors Geraldine Brault, Maria Culka, Professor Kate Darian-Smith, Ros Fletcher, Professor Uma Kothari, Dr Barbara Lemon, Catherine McLay, Dr Chris McConville, Janet Miller, Rick Mitchell, Duncan ‘John’ Perryman, Dr Annette Sheill and Peter Taylor Archival photographs, music and footage courtesy of Australian Red Cross Society, Central Highlands Libraries, Internet Archive, National Film and Sound Archive, National Library of Australia, Mackarness Family Personal Archives, Mission to Seafarers Victoria, Public Record Office Victoria, State Library of Victoria and US National Archives Music Harbour Lights. Music by Richard Chew. Westering. Music by Richard Chew. Twilight (Crépuscule) by Jules Massenet. Performed by Amelita Galli-Curci. I Love You So, Waltz from The Merry Widow by Franz Lehár. Performed by Elise Stephenson and Harry Macdonough with Orchestra. Harbour Lights 2. Music by Richard Chew. If I Could Fly by Walking Hearts featuring Jennifer Holm. Courtesy of Epidemic Sound. With thanks to Peter Barrow, Sarah Bartak, Lin Bender AM, Patty Braumueller, Csilla Csongvay, Emer Diviney, Moira Drew, Ian Fletcher, Ajith Jayasuriya, Ben Jones, Patience Jones, Cinda Manins, Madeleine Martiniello, Georgia Melville, Elisabeth Moglia, Tara Oldfield, Lyn Pasquier, Nigel Porteous, Rev’d Onofre (Inni) Punay, Dr Rosalie Triolo, Ben Schroeder, David Simpson, Cheka Samaranayake, Daria Wray, the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust and KPMG. A special thanks to The women of the Ladies Harbour Lights Guild 1906 to 1961 Produced in collaboration with The Mission to Seafarers Victoria Created with the support of The Victorian Government Licensing This film has been released under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license Acknowledgement of country Project production and development took place on the lands of the Kulin nation. We acknowledge Traditional Owners and pay our respects to Elders past, present and future. Production company A Wind & Sky Production Copyright with © Wind & Sky Productions MMXIX The film was launched on Wednesday 26th February 2020 at the Mission. Speech by Veterans Affairs. Amongst the guests were current and former volunteers (Maria Culka, Gordon MacMillan, Elisabeth Moglia), curators (Georgia Melville, Jay Miller, Geraldine Brault)18mn documentary mixed of photographs from teh collection and interviews about the Ladies Harbour Lights Guild work during WWIladies harbour lights guild, documentary, jay miller, janet miller, geraldine brault, lucinda horrocks, gordon macmillan, jary nemo, kate darian-smith, jill garner, chris mcconville, sharon turley, richard chew, footage, archive