Current Echuca News !

[michael]

The Cargo shed was shifted to the 'new' section of the echuac wharf so the original section can be pulled apart and rebuilding can comence, the front section hasn't been built due to increasing river levels flooding the coffer dams!!!

[michael]

Most of the private paddlers went out for a cruise yesterday. great day. PS Perricoota, Britannia, Tooraloora, Ivy May, Ranger, Billy Tea, Struggler

[Roderick Smith]

Wed.18.1.12 Melbourne Age (one of two major daily newspapers for the city) had an article on Port of Echuca, and on shipwright/captain/engineer Kevin Hutchinson.

The other boat from Mildura was Canberra, not Adelaide.
The Age isn't quite comparing like with like with the Echuca vs Mildura fleets.  I get nine which moor in town, a few more at Baldwins, and then all the Karadoc and Wentworth ones.
There are two photos in the online version.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

www.theage.com.au/victoria/up-the-creek-with-its-paddle-and-then-along-came-kev-20120117-1q4lo.html

Up the creek with its paddle and then along came Kev The paddle steamer Pevensey operates from Echuca thanks to weekend captain Kevin Hutchinson.
In retrospect, Mildura would probably admit it was a bad move.
In the early 1970s the paddle steamer Pevensey was tied up in the Murray River city, its engines still working, but its redgum hull patched with cement and wire. It was unwanted and close to going the way of most of the hundreds of boats that used to ply Australia's longest waterway.
Kevin Hutchinson, then a young Mildura carpenter, remembers examining the hull and thinking there were more cement patches than there was wood. It didn't stop him from signing up as a deckhand for a 2000-kilometre, 16-day trip that saved the old boat from likely sunken oblivion, to restoration, tourist admiration and eventually movie stardom upstream at Echuca.
The Mildura luminaries of the time were unaware of what they were letting go but the burghers of Echuca were quite aware of what they were getting. The age of the paddle steamer as a transport medium might have ended decades earlier, but as a tourism medium its age was only just beginning.
Now there are about 15 paddle boats at Echuca - six of them operating as tour boats - and only three tour boats at Mildura, but admittedly the Mildura boats are bigger.
This detail doesn't stop Echuca claiming to be Australia's paddle steamer capital, a boast that was aided by another prize ripped from its western rival - Mr Hutchinson, shipwright, weekend Pevensey captain and the town's celebrated old man of the river. He is still in Echuca, aged 70.
He has been involved in rebuilding five of the paddle wheelers, some of them from little more than rotting hulks.
That was just part of it. In 1983 the television industry came calling when it made the successful mini-series All the Rivers Run, starring Sigrid Thornton, John Waters and the Pevensey.
Driving a paddle steamer is a fairly specialised skill, one not left to actors. Mr Hutchinson was at that stage the boat's engineer. During the filming, while an actor was playing the role of driving the engine, he was just out of shot making sure the thing ran.
He said he ended up in Echuca after his initial trip. ''The shire council advertised for a shipwright to repair the Pevensey, which was built across the river at Moama in 1911. I applied and got it. I was quite surprised.''
The boat was intended to be the centrepiece of the council's plan to draw tourists, using the town's river heritage as a theme.
Since he got the job, he has not only restored the Pevensey, but he has done the same with Adelaide, also sourced from Mildura, Alexander Arbuthnot, built in 1923, and two other privately owned craft.
If there is a river queen the title probably goes to Pevensey but the queen mother would be Adelaide. Smaller than Pevensey, it was built in 1866. It is not only the oldest working wooden-hulled paddle steamer in the world but, Mr Hutchinson claims, the fastest on the Murray.
A paddle steamer ride is a serene experience, especially compared with the screaming speedboats and jet skis with which it shares the river. The engine sits in the middle of the boat, the engineer stoking the fire box with long planks of redgum. The pistons move so slowly they could be practising tai chi and the smell from the chimney is fragrant wood smoke. Most of the engine is exposed and can be watched in action.
Mr Hutchinson says about 20 people in Echuca are qualified as paddle steam skippers or engineers, but there is a growing number of private owners. His most recent restoration was Hero - once a hulk, now a luxurious pleasure craft for a wealthy local manufacturer. Another, Britannia, was built from scratch as a pleasure craft in 2000.
Several smaller paddle steamers are owned by enthusiasts.
Apart from his restoration achievements Mr Hutchinson makes one other boast. ''When I'm skipper on the weekends, I tell them I was the stunt double in the love scenes with Sigrid Thornton.'' The Age chose not to verify this claim.

[PeeWee]

a very nice read

[James.McD]

Well, for a little bit of current Echuca news!

Was a hot (41 degree) day out on the Murray, but that didn't stop PS Canberra, PS Emmylou, Pride of the Murray and PS Pevensey from operating today - all boats were reasonably full for their trips despite the heat.

Dredging has commenced in-between the wharf and the wet dock/onion patch area and should resume after the Xmas/NYE holidays and hopefully make the area accessible by boats once again!

I believe PV Billy Tea is meant to be going up on the slip way soon, but once again that may be delayed due to the expected temperature of 45C tomorrow

Plans are well underway for the celebration of PS Canberra's 100th Birthday this August, will fill you all in on more details when I know for sure what we are doing

Cheers,
James

[Roderick Smith]

Echuca runs a few per year: an evening sailpast, then fireworks.
Hitherto, they have been restricted to paddleboats, which raft off each other at the wharf to view the fireworks.
This year, the sailpast is open to all boats, particularly wooden and steam launches.  I have an invitation, and will be there with Jessie II.  It will be on the Sunday of Easter.
Sun.31.3.13, starting at 19.30 from the town boat ramp (near the caravan park, downstream of the wharf and commercial moorings).

Paddleduckers can simply join the crowd on the wharf, or find a mutual friend for a ride.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

It is a March Easter this year.
I expect that Echuca will be full of tourists, and many will be on the commercial boats, or lining the wharf, for the Sun.31.3 dusk sailpast.  Boats then raft of the historic wharf, and everyone watches the fireworks display in the onion patch.
I have just received my sailing orders, for a 19.30 departure from town boat ramp (downstream of the wharf), adjacent to the caravan park.
Order of Boats
1.   PS Canberra- Celebrating 100 Years
2.   PS Alexander Arbuthnot- Celebrating 90 years
3.   PS Pevensey
4.   PS Emmylou
5.   PV Pride of the Murray
6.   MV Mary Ann
7.   PS Ranger
8.   PV Tooraloora
9.   PV Amelia Jane
10.   PV Billy T
11.   PV Struggler
12.   MV Jessie II
13.   SL St Elmo
If you can be in Echuca, I will make space for a guest.  If you can't be in Echuca, the Port's webcam should give you something to view.
The boats are assembling at the ramp way in advance, for a group dinner.  The first six are commercial, and Mary Ann is a floating restaurant.
Michael is an engineer on one of the steamers.  I am informed via the grapevine that James is a master 4; he could well be skippering something.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[thewharfonline]

Family was just up at Echuca, spreading my grandfather's ashes, sad I couldn't be there, but they all had a lovely time.

A question did arrise as to what the large water bladders are embedded between the onion patch and wet dock?

Something to do with dredging?

[Roderick Smith]

I have an answer from Michael.  They are collection bags for the dredged silt.  The water drains out through the material (hessian?), then the silt can be trucked away later.

Michael will be skippering his own PV Struggler on Sunday.  PS Adelaide (on which he would have been engineer) is still waiting for new firebars to arrive, and is unavailable for the parade.  I will be tucked in behind.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[James.McD]

Hi There!
Roderick your grapevine is correct, currently hold a Master 4, and as you saw was skippering PS Canberra for the sailpast last night! After a day of avoiding canoeists in style
All in all, the event last night was enjoyed by all, and we had a great turnout of commercial craft, private craft and spectators, on boats and shore alike!
Next time you're up and around Echuca we should catch up, I'm usually on PS Canberra or PS Emmylou (and on the off chance I'll be on Pride of the Murray).

It'd be nice to see all the dredging finished and the equipment finally packed up - it can leave that, rather busy, area of the river fairly crowded at times!!

James.

[Roderick Smith]

I launched at the town ramp, downstream of the wharf & houseboat area, and chatted with the canoe-hire man.  I decided not to try the Campaspe.
I headed upstream to the assembling private boats, for lunch, and to attach my upper Murray flag, and some led butterfly decorations.  I had overtaken one kayaker at close range to fit between moored and moving boats.  Later he came by, and swerved to avoid a downstream paddlesteamer, ignoring an upstream one behind him.  PS Canberra halted very promptly, and reversed the paddles while the kayaker changed his mind about swerving left or right (or lacked the ability).  Then the smaller boats did head to the Campaspe, but ran out of time to go as far as the water would have allowed.  Some local teenagers in a tinnie passed us, and later claimed to have got past all the pubs and reached McDonalds.  We returned to the Campaspe junction, and the big PV Tooraloora had poked into it.  We rafted up for dinner, then advanced at around 18.30 to the assembly point for the parade.  Bit by bit the commercial vessels arrived.  At 19.30 we were mobile, and passing large crowds on the banks and the wharves.  Michael had supplied flares to let off.  The commercials rafted at the wharf; the privates rafted near Hero, and we had an excellent view of the fireworks.  Thereafter: party time.

Have the first six today, as the excitement is building.  Campaspe capers tomorrow.
The gathering of the boats: Henry Charles was occupied, but I don't think that it came out.  Hero didn't come out.  Tucked behind was a cute 7 m Lake Eildon houseboat (which is trailable): not a box on pontoons, but a box as a monohull, with the lower deck in the hull.  That makes it more stable.
Easter and term one school holidays coincide this year.  Echuca is always busy for both, with lots of family-fun activity.
Setting out to the Campaspe, we passed Emmylou, and Barmah (which didn't enter the sailpast).

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

Heading up the Campaspe was slow, and we ran out of time to tiptoe around more snags.  Jessie II can fit through narrow gaps, but Struggler would have struggled.
Back at the junction, PV Tooraloora had arrived, and poked a couple of lengths into the Campaspe.  We rafted off, and soon PS Ranger joined to make five boats for dinner (barbecues running on Ranger's foredeck; serving and eating on the capacious Tooraloora).

I'll cover the parade tomorrow.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria

[Roderick Smith]

Here are the three of the illuminated boats, then the other paddleboats which I passed as I headed to Tocumwal.  Julie Fay had checked Barmah choke by tinnie, and found one or three places where the gap between snags was too narrow for it to get through.

I hope that the glorious Australian sun and red-gum scenery are helping Sean feel that he is still at home.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[clarkrulz]

Hey everyone. I'm in echuca at the moment and I am wondering what is happening with PS Etona. It seems it's leaning to one side and it looks like it's falling apart. It's such a shame to see a beautiful paddlesteamer like that in such a sad state.

[Roderick Smith]

This will have to fall to Michael or James to answer.
My memory is that it was on the slip in 2012, so the hull is ok.
The necessary boiler tubes were inserted.
The owner has retired from his business: that may mean less money, but more time.
He was aboard the fireworks boats, but we didn't talk about Etona over dinner.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor