Called “Zero-One Below – The Final Voyage”, the film brilliantly captures the creation of the of the reef at North Avoca .
Ms Fitzgerald devoted more than a decade to the production and said he was privileged to present it to the people of the Coast.
“Back in 2008 I started privately shooting a doco story about the quest of a local group of scuba divers to create an artificial reef on the Central Coast,” he said.
“At the time the Navy was decommissioning some of it' ships and the Federal Government was ceding the ships to various State Governments for use as artificial reef tourist attractions.
“When one of the ships, the ex-HMAS Adelaide, was gifted to NSW for a dive wreck I gained the access rights from the NSW Government to film its' preparation and scuttling off Terrigal/Avoca.
“Little did I know at the time that the prospect of this ship's scuttling would turn into a major local controversy about sinking a ship off the Central Coast.”
Mr Fitzgerald’s feature length doco follows the many elements and people involved in the 10 year saga.
These include the local dive group's vision, the politics, community protests, court cases, the engineering works undertaken on the ship, scientists, environmentalists and the media itself. The independently produced film was directed
by Bryan Hall, a seasoned and factual media professional.
The film is screening on April 13, 7:30pm, at the Avoca Theatre.
Mr Fitzgerald said this date was the 11th anniversary of the scuttling, which was watched by thousands of locals lining the beaches and cliffs from Wamberal to Avoca and millions more on TV.
“The film was finished last year but COVID prevented any screening event for the 10th anniversary of the ship's sinking,” he said.
Also screening with the feature length film is a short film, The Wonders of the Wreck. That film shows how the sea has claimed the vessel in the years since its sinking.
The below links are the trailers, film website and the Avoca Theatre's screening link.
ZERO-ONE BELOW trailer https://vimeo.com/679017584
Wonders of the Wreck trailer https://vimeo.com/679017584
Avoca Theatre screening link https://www.avocabeachtheatre.com.au/films-and-events/zero-one-below-screening/
Film website: www.zero-onebelow.com
Facebook event https://www.facebook.com/events/284595193800650
