Paddleducks
General => Introduce Yourself => Topic started by: Midge on December 13, 2012, 11:39:56 PM
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These Tugs were used to tow visiting Sailing Ships from arround the Cape of Good Hope (Cargo and Prisoner) up into the Kowie River near what is now Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
From research done in and arround that area I have been able to obtain information on their history (owners and builders, owners, operators etc) by visiting museums in Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and their universities,book shops and any people who might have information on ths subject.
All to the end of eventually buiding some working models of these wonderful old craft.
So far as a semi retired Design Mechanical Draughtsman I am modelling on a computer a para metric model of the Samuel Cawood (one of the old smokies).
I am having a hard time in some areas especially at the moment to get what the Paddle Wheels might have been like.
All of this is going to be driven either by a model steam engine or the drive and steering mechanism from a radio controlled model car.
By modelling it all up on a 3D para metric software I will produce exact dimensioned working detail and assembly drawings.... :evil
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Hi Midge,
A nice wee paddle boat.
Good to see that your trying to document some of the old boats from SA history.
I've ben trying to do just that for NZ boats of the same period from the rivers and harbours here in New Zealand for the past 6 years. Not an easy task you have undertaken if historical information is as rare as it is in SA as it is in NZ.
Look forward to see your drawings and model. Where they local built in SA or European built?
All the best in your undertaking
cheers
kiwi
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It seems from what records that I have come across they were built and designed in the UK. From Backwall on the Thames in London (as it was in those days) to Newcastle on Tyne and Dundee. Because these vessels were of a lower tonnage there does not seem that anything was required to be registered at Llyods Insurers. I have also spent time going into the National Maritime Musuem at Greenwich, London, all to no avail. It really would be a dream to obtain more information . Hay Ho.....A life on the ocean wave....
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Les Pivnic is very much the 'grand old man' of history of South African Railways & Harbours.
He authored the definitive book on SAR dining cars, and various monographs, including one or more on SAR&H steam tugs.
I passed the question to him, but the vessel predated his era of research.
However, he scanned the enclosed from sources in his collection.
From Les: The tug Samuel Cawood served long before the establishment of SAR&H. It arrived in the Kowie in 1878, and was wrecked there in 1880.
It was not registered at any South African port.
Re the pdf scan, I don't want to damage my copy of the book, which cannot be totally flattened.
The information supplied comes from the David Reynolds books on South African tugs. I believe that David has passed away, but appropriate acknowledgement would be required in his memory.
The photo came at 2 MB; I have had to crop and shrink to get it below 500 kB. If you want the full size, send me a pm with an email address, and I will send it.
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor
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Kowie River is not Port Elizabeth; it is Port Alfred.
I have been there.
It is a classic small inlet, and navigation upriver may never have been possible any further than where today's low road bridges block it.
Today the inlet has holiday homes, a marina and an upmarket pub.
I took only a limited selection when there in 2009, so I can't put up a photo which gives an impression of the port from its working era.
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor
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Here is a Google Earth view of Port Alfred.
The railway station is marked, in Main St. The track curved left, parallel to the river bank.
The bridge there could have been a ferry in steam tug days, but I suspect that seagoing ships couldn't get any further upstream anyhow.
I don't know how much reshaping was done to create the marina: originally a shallow bay? originally sand dunes?
That looks like a narrow and tricky entrance, no wonder a steam tug was needed to help sailing ships in.
Today, there are not only the luxury boats in the marina, but there are lots of jetties upstream of the bridge for private boats / fishing dinghies.
I don't know how far the cruise ferry plies, but it wouldn't be hard to fill an hour just in the water in the photo, without going to sea.
My group had only a couple of hours there, and I had to spend time having lunch, chasing up a computer shop, then following the railway as far as the turntable.
Post edit: Kowie River cruises
<www.sa-venues.com/things-to-do/easterncape/port-alfred-river-cruise> (small boat)
<www.wheretostay.co.za/activities/kowierivercruises> (larger boat)
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor
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Hi Roderick. Many thanks for the input, I would very much like to have a full size print of the picture you showed of the Samual Cawood. My email is mick.midgley@maxxess.co.za. I actually spent quite some time in or arround Port Alfred, it has a wondeful small museum there run by some local ladies who were fantasic in their assistance when I was trying to gather information. Here is a list that I obtained from that museum
1. ALBANY 1865
2. PRINCE ALFRED (no date)
3. KAFFRARIA 1847
4. SAMUEL CAWOOD 1880
5 BUFFALO 1847-1889
I tried to reduce the size of the Pdf all to no avail.. Hay Ho
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The full-size scan has been sent.
It is interesting that a tug lasted to 1889. The railway came in 1884. Instead of feeding export shipping, I guess that it killed coastal shipping: faster, and more reliable.
In a different thread, you will find a lot about the replica paddlesteamer Curlip. The original did the same job for sailing ships through the tricky Snowy River mouth at Marlo (Vic., Australia). The coming of the railway killed coastal shipping.
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor