HMAS Adelaide scuttling documentary premieres at Avoca

HMAS Adelaide film premiere. Director Bryan Hall and producer Bob Fitzgerald at Avoca Theatre

Exactly 11 years ago the HMAS Adelaide was finally put to rest, one mile off Avoca Beach, to form an article reef unlike any other along Australia’s east coast.

A full feature documentary Zero-One Below premiered at Avoca on Wednesday night to mark the historic day.

A crowd of locals, diving enthusiasts and politicians attended the screening, along with members of the original organising committee CCARP (Central Coast Artifice Reef Project) and members of the No Ships community group on the 11th anniversary Wednesday, April 13, 2022, at Avoca Beach Picture Theatre.

The impressively detailed documentary filmed over a 10-year period was produced by local film-maker Bob Fitzgerald, directed by Bryan Hall and narrated and presented by Alan Gaskell.

The documentary reveals the local plans to sink the Australian Navy’s US-made frigate was almost as challenging as the missions it had over its 30 years on the high seas.

From left: Bob Fitzgerald, John Asquith, Sue Dengate, David Harris, Robyn Fitzgerald & Bob Diaz

David Abrahams