Many thanks the info Badger.

Ive done a little more digging and found that they removed Melbourne’s entire flight deck for use as a training aid and that her basic hull was rumoured to still be extant in 2002.

Another myth in circulation for years. Her deck was scrapped with the rest of the ship. Flight deck equipment such as the catapult and arrestor gear were removed for study but the deck itself was just steel, and only of benefit if still attached to a moving ship. The rumours came about because a replica of Melbourne’s flight deck was painted onto the concrete of a Chinese airbase for trials, something all carrier operating nations do. The French have a full sized replica of CdG’s flight deck painted onto the concrete of the main base for her air group. At RNAS Culdrose their is a full sized replica of an Invincible class CVS flight deck. Even the Russians have a dummy deck for training, though unfortunately it is now in the Ukraine and they have to rent it periodically when required. Most USN air bases have dummy decks painted onto the runway with projector sights alongside so that aviators can practice their approaches before they join their carrier. It is very useful for training ground crew as well as flight crew as it gets them used to working in cramped conditions as opposed to the wide expanses of an airbase. Melbourne alas is long gone.