APAM - Thomson Belle

[AlistairD]

WE were discussitn this steamer a week or two ago. A contact in Austraoia
was at Longreahc yesterday and sends this report and photos

Alistair

'Thomson Belle' was built in 1987 as 'Ginger Belle' for Maroochy River
(Queensland, near the popular resort area of Noosa Heads); it was launched
in 1988.
It is powered by a 90 hp [70 kW] four-cylinder Ford Lees marine diesel.
It has never been steam powered. The vertical boiler and cylinder were put
in for show; the mechanism is run by the diesel engine.
Length 13 m
Hull depth 1.35 m; draft 50 cm
Beam over hull 3.85m; over sponsons 6 m.

I am not sure which reach of Maroochy River was cruised, but I doubt that it
would get under the combined road & sugar railway concrete bridge.

Billabong Boat Cruises commenced pre Stockmen's Hall of Fame, in 1988.
During his 9 years with the company, the current skipper has never had to
cancel a cruise because of low water.  The owner claims that this navigable
reach (@ 14 km between a weir and a bridge) has never been dry during the
150 years or so of white settlement.   Thomson River flows south-west into
Coopers Creek, and then into Lake Eyre. The depth at the dock was 4-6 m.
Billabong also has two small monohull boats for standby/charter.
There is a rival boat (twin hull) which goes the whole way to the weir.

Longreach Outback Travel Centre and Billabong Boat Cruises Box 46 LONGREACH
QLD 4730 Ph 07 4658 1776  Fax 07 4658 1794; www.lotc.com.au;
info@lotc.com.au

[rayman]

I posted a note on that vessel last year and no interest was shown. She operated from lower Yandina to Dunethin Rocks in the upper Maroochy river, about a two hour return cruise. She ran for about three years then was lifted out and stored at the ginger factory where she was built when the owner/builder lost interest. He then constructed a fake steam train which runs tours around the grounds of the ginger factory.
 regards Rayman

[rayman]

Here she is as built. Note the lovely big acetylene headlamps (powered by 240v though)  The land snap shows owner-builder Robbie Robertson.

[Roderick Smith]

Thanks Ray for this insight into Thomson Belle's earlier life as Ginger Belle.  I don't have a good map of this waterway to show where it cruised.  I have been up the river in a modern catamaran cruise ferry.
GB's designer/builder did a really good job in interpreting the traditional vernacular into a modern (and small) vessel.
I had always been aware of Australian paddlesteamers on the Murray Darling system, and had some awareness of the Gippsland lakes paddlesteamers.  The two surprises last year were discovering that Snowy River was also in the league (the PS Curlip project), and that Thomson River was navigable and navigated.
Longreach has become quite a tourist centre, with Stockmen's Hall of Fame, and a developing Qantas museum.  QR converted its Rockhampton - Winton Midlander train into a Brisbane - Longreach 'Spirit of the Outback', pitched at the tourist market.  Landing a 747 at Longreach airport was a significant achievement (it could never take off again), making docking a paddlesteamer in wind seem easy.  It had to be light; the outer engines had to be cut on the short final (they would overhang the runway, and could ingest gravel).  A 747 has good landing performance: the problem is runway strength, not length.  There is now a DC3 there, and a growing momentum to preserve one of every Qantas type (the dry outback climate is good for airframe preservation).  A foundation has purchased the original Qantas 707 (in UK); it has been restored by volunteer engineers, with significant help in kind from Qantas.  In the original livery, it has flown to Australia (via Florida, USA, where it met with John Travolta's ex-Qantas 707, also in an early livery).  It has been in Sydney, and is likely to appear at the major Avalon (Vic.) airshow in March, then make its final flight to permanent display in Longreach (early April).  If I do get there for the ceremony (AUD1500 on charter flights from Brisbane), I will try to get a better coverage of Thomson Belle (also of the other operator, for the magazine Ferries Australia).

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[rayman]

Hi Rod, GB was designed by Fred Borlais N.A. of Buderim. She had to be kept short to come inside Qld. Trans survey requirements and run on a coxwains ticket, also licensed for 42pax + 2 crew. Robbies office was at the Buderim Ginger works at Yandina, he carried the passengers down to the landing in an old vintage Brisbane bus-hence the pax no's. He was approached by southern parties to purchase her, as soon as they said"we can cut her in half , splice another 20' in, carry another 75 pass." he sent them packing. Thats why she went out to L,reach.

[rayman]

I knew the Maid when she was worked by Ray Kleinsmidt as a gravel barge on the brisbane river 1970 to the late 80's. She lifted about 60 yds. and was towed by the vintage launch tug "S'PORT" ( southport) Ray had a gravel yard just under the William Jolley bridge, south Brisbane.