Old boat model from NSW Central Coast holds the secret to making ships in the days before blueprints

Peter Rea is the custodian of a historic boat model which shows how ships were built in the 1800s. (ABC Central Coast: Keira Proust)

As Peter Rea holds a battered wooden ship model in his hands, he marvels at the secrets it holds.

The model was used to build a 60-foot-long ship, called Mystery, in Erina Creek on the New South Wales Central Coast in 1877.