Polly Woodside

This restored museum maritimr relic, originally built in 1885 in Belfast, Ireland has occupied this prime city location for ages, sandwiched between Melb Convention Exhibition Centre (MCEC) & major thoroughfare - along the riverfront dining & lively hub of Southbank Promenade. As such, on a busy prime location, it should be open on all weekends, not just first Sun & a Pirate themed day for kids on 3rd Sun of the month. Tickets can be purchased on the day or book ahead. Check website for open days to be sure. The kids who were there today looked pretty engaged & entertained. If it had more immersive experiences on offer - definitely attract more patronage. Below the deck cargohold is fascinating but overall not enough labelling to explain what items are. Visit the museum style area upon entry first to be informed before exploring the ship - i did it in reverse. Good mobility is required to get around obviously. A short video presentation on the workings inside the ship, actual navigation & the painstaking restoration would be good given the attention span these days for reading info boards! Spent almost 2 hours but that's my interest in Melb's past & history. One hour shld do. Opens at 10.00 am. There's a guided tour for kids & families at 11.30 am.Toilets onsite & some souvenirs for sale.

We were so fortunate to figure out Pirate Day was falling the next day. The entertainers, especially Pirate Jellyfish was so engaging and great with the kids. Our daughter was enamoured from the moment she stepped on deck. If you haven't visited but often walked passed do you and your family a favour and book.

You could easily miss this historic vessel as it’s sandwiched between buildings but it’s pretty special moored right in the city.

Took our 5 and 7 year olds to Pirate Day (3rd Sunday of the month). My son is right into ships at the moment so he loved the opportunity to go on a real one. There was a great balance of activities to fill a couple of hours alongside plenty of opportunities to explore the ship either in a group or at the end when some people started leaving. The pirates were great and kept the children nicely entertained. It was a really fun day out (there was an ice cream stand and ferris wheel nearby while we waited). Activities likely too young for an older child (8/9+).