Proud old ship takes last tour

Five levels down in the belly of the retired HMAS Canberra frigate we are in pitch black and a musty smell of old paint and dank water fills our lungs.

I shine my torch along the ground so Geelong Advertiser photographer Reg Ryan can get his footing as he walks down the aisle following our guide, decommissioning project co-ordinator Cameron Gibb.

The ship will sit in port in Geelong for 10 months as technicians go about the intricate job of stripping the vessel of all environmentally-harmful materials.