Ex-Navy minesweeper to become floating backpacker hostel

HMAS Curlew, an ex-Australian navy minesweeper, which cleared World War II-era mines and helped Darwin in the aftermath of Cyclone Tracey in 1974, has been given a new fate as a floating hostel.

And we couldn’t think of a better way to commemorate the awesome work of Curlew.

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For the past two decades, the ship has sat largely forgotten in Tasmania, serving as the home of its private owners, with its sister ship HMAS Teal working as a fishing boat nearby.

However, as per the ABC, Curlew’s new owner Kris Mitchell has new plans for the ship.

Mitchell fell in love with the ship two decades ago when he first saw it but was unable to pay the $1 million for it, however in April this year he snapped it up for a mere $1.

“Why would you buy a warship? Because I’m insane,” Mitchell told the ABC.

“Why would you buy any ship? At the end of the day, it’s not the fact she’s a ship, it’s what she actually is and what she represents.

“You stand on her and she’s just unique, she brings so many people together all over the world. I would call her a national treasure, quite literally.”

Since being decommissioned in 1990, Curlew is rumoured to have been used as an illegal casino, a brothel, and a fishing boat, and also made appearances in the movies Paradise Road and The Thin Red Line, along with well-known Aussie series The Sullivans.

“She needs to be out there for everybody to see and enjoy, she’s too important,” Mitchell added.

And in an effort to do just that, Mitchell has spent more than $100,000 on Curlew in preparation to venture off to Queensland in a few weeks.

With numerous people, including some of Curlew’s former crew, already volunteering their time to help restore the ship, Curlew is inching closer to a new fate.

The new crew will consist of young backpackers looking for a unique hostel stay, which will help cover the annual $150,000 cost associated with maintenance of the ship.

“You can quite easily put 20 backpackers on this for around 300 days of the year, ” Mitchell said.

“She’s literally living history and it’s very, very important to the ex-servicemen, many of them I’ve met.

“They like to be involved with her, they like to be able to visit, they like to be able to contribute — it brings the memories back.

“She’s going to become part of a memorial for some of the sailors, with honour boards and things like that.”

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backpacker hostel floating hostel HMAS Curlew Navy minesweeper