Polly Woodside

Polly Woodside is a restored three-masted iron barque built in Belfast in 1885, now preserved as a museum ship on the Yarra River at South Wharf in Melbourne, Victoria. Operated by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria), it is one of the few remaining 19th-century tall ships in Australia. The vessel offers insight into maritime trade history, with restored hull, decks, and interactive exhibits illustrating life aboard a cargo sailing ship.

Visitors can explore a fully restored 1885 iron barque moored on the Yarra River at South Wharf. Expect to board the ship via gangway, walk the main deck, view crew quarters, cargo holds and rigging, and see interpretive displays about sailing-ship trade and life at sea. The site includes a wharf-side visitor area with picnic lawn, historic wharf buildings and museum displays. Guided tours by volunteers explain the ship's operation and history. The setting is an urban waterfront surrounded by the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre and South Wharf promenade.

Built in 1885 by Workman, Clark & Co. in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Polly Woodside is a three-masted iron barque that operated as a deep-water cargo vessel carrying coal, nitrate and wheat between Britain, South America and Australia. After a long commercial career and later service as a coal hulk in New Zealand, it was purchased and restored in Melbourne in the 1960s-1970s and opened as a maritime museum in 1978. It is heritage-listed and one of the last of its type preserved in Australia.

Operated by the National Trust of Australia (Victoria), the ship is a significant example of 19th-century merchant sailing ship heritage and maritime education in Victoria. It serves as a community museum illustrating Australia's seafaring and trade history and hosts educational programs, volunteer-led interpretation and family events.