Williamstown’s Best Kept Secret: Until Now

Woodfired pizza, drinks and city views. Welcome onboard the MV Steve Irwin.

Last week, before Melbourne’s lockdown second lockdown, my housemates and I decided that it was time to take a drive out of the city. Reluctant to venture too far, we settled on Williamstown, one of Melbournes most picturesque beachside suburbs and coincidently one of the oldest settlements in the city.

Although it is only a short half-hour drive away from the CBD, Williamstown still has that holiday feel to it. The town is beautiful and peaceful and the views over the bay back to the city are second to none. It’s a convenient place to escape the city chaos on a normal day and during difficult times like these, the distance means its a great place to get some perspective.

In the summer, I like to go to Williamstown for a beach day however as it’s winter, the plan was mainly a coastal walk and grabbing food from one of the restaurants.

When we arrived, my housemate mentioned that there was an old Sea Shepherd boat that you could go and explore. Without any real plans, we walked by and decided to take a look onboard. Wandering around an old boat wasn’t something that seemed particularly thrilling to me; until we got on to the deck.

Unbeknown to most, this old Sea Shepherd boat had recently doubled up as a bar and woodfired pizza restaurant. It now serves unbeatable vegan pizzas by 3 Grains, with views from the deck right back to the city.

On Board the MV Steve Irwin, Williamstown

The Ship4good concept came about in January 2019, when previous Seaworks volunteer in Williamstown, Kerrie Goodal heard that the MV Steve Irwin ship was going to be sold for scrap in Hong Kong. This flagship Sea Shephard Ship had been defending, protecting and conserving our oceans for years. Determined that it not be forgotten, the non for profit Ship4Good Inc was formed in order to keep the ship open for the public.

The recent collaboration with 3 Grains pizza has to be one of the best-kept secrets of Western Melbourne.

The concept is so quirky and such a fantastic way to bring people and additional funding to an attraction that doesn’t necessarily appeal to everyone.

Our experience on the ship was second to none. After we placed our food order with the lovely owner, we set off to explore the ship, drinks in hand. We were told that we had free reign to wander anywhere we wanted on the ship, as long as it wasn’t roped it. We wandered into the main cabin, where the room was equipped with piles of books, a record player and a selection of vinyl to play on it. We worked our way through the likes of Whitestripes and The Police. It’s not something that you can do on every tourist attraction.

Most of the ship was open to the public. We got lost around narrow corridors, flights of steps, open doors that led onto different balconies and we eventually found the control room where you could sit in the captain’s chair and peruse all the old photos of the ship back in action.

Worried that someone would be wandering around the ship with our pizzas, trying to locate us, and overwhelmingly hungry, we went back to the deck where the woodfired pizza oven was.

There were a handful of tables and probably one of Williamstown’s best views over to the city. Plus, with pizza’s at $12 a pop, arguably one of the most affordable views too.

With COVID, everything is a little up in the air at the moment. However, on normal weekends, the ship hosts events such as live music gigs.

Check out the opening times each week on the Ship4good Facebook, where you can also keep up to date on any news. The Steve Irwin is free to enter and 3 Grains currently have three fully vegan pizzas on the menu including a Margarita, Mushroom and an Artichoke one. There is a small selection of wines, beers and soft drinks available for purchase too.

Don’t hestitate to get in touch with me if you have any more questions. You can browse through the rest of my adventures in Australia here.