'WHAT would it take to drag Peter Somerville away from his beloved Maribyrnong River?
"Death," the affable man behind Blackbird River Cruises says with a grin. "I could never see myself leaving."
It was history that brought Mr Somerville to the river, and he has plied the waters of Melbourne's "other" river for 32 years, becoming a staunch advocate for protection and recognition of its environmental and historic heritage.
"We wanted to do something to recognise the first explorers on the river. The first was Charles Grimes [in 1803], but John Batman and John Fawkner seem to get all the credit."
Mr Somerville, 76, was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in this year's Australia Day honours for his services to commercial passenger boating and conservation.
BELOW: Peter Somerville OAM talks to the Weekly about the start of Maribyrnong River Cruises and his love of the river.
Elaine Brogan, secretary of the Western Metropolitan Group of Historical Societies and a committee member of the Living Museum of the West, nominated Mr Somerville for the honour.
In her nomination letter she wrote: "Peter's love of the river and its environment has given people the opportunity to visit this beautiful, historical part of the west ... He is a proud man from humble beginnings. He is a friend everyone would want to have; I'm proud he's mine".
Over the years, Mr Somerville's passion for the environment and history, particularly of the west, has inspired him to join the Friends of the Maribyrnong Valley, the Keilor Historical Society, the Colonial Day Re-enactment Society, and Friends of Sandy and the Australian Lighthorse.
He was a founding member of the Living Museum of the West and campaigned to save Pipemakers Park from development.
The hairs on the back of his neck stand up when he hears people disparaging the west. "People are pretty quick in putting down the west. My answer to them is that if it wasn't for the west there'd be no war effort in the Second World War," he says.
Mr Somerville says his work with Blackbird Cruises and community groups go hand in hand.
"Doing the river cruise with the boat I can keep my eye on what is going on along the tidal reach of the river from Canning Street [in Avondale Heights] down to the docks. It's like having a pair of eyes out there for conservation. It's been worth every effort," he says.
The once heavily polluted river that served as little more than a drain for the industries that once flourished along its banks has come back to life and is in fine health compared to when Mr Somerville's cruises began.
"You couldn't see anything under the water [back then]. We were fishing dead sheep out of the way." On his cruises, he explains the rich history of the west, from the former ordnance factories to the ship building industry that flourished on the banks of the Maribyrnong.
He wants to see what's left of it preserved.
"It'd be wonderful if we could save more buildings along the river [in the Defence site]. We could showcase that history and it'd be a real drawcard for walkers and cyclists, and schoolchildren could learn about the military history of the area."
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