APAM- The Directors Cut!

[Roderick Smith]

This photo was taken soon after PS Gem was placed at the site of what would be developed as Swan Hill Pioneer Village.
Notice that it is still at river level.  Since then, the entry was blocked and the level changed.  The grounds have been modified extensively, and many buildings have been trucked in from district sites.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[michael]

Okay we depart Swan Hill and go though a few smaller river towns and arrive at Robinvale & Euston where the Paddle Steamer Canally is undergoing restoration.
She was built in 1907 at Koondrook- between Echuca and Swan Hill, and has a wooden hull and frames. She measured 92ft long and 21ft wide. She was designed to be a tow boat and its is reported that her first engine/boiler came from a locomotive. It was often seen towing the T.F barge which was a replica of the Canally hull. They were used for transporting wool arounad the riverina area and then used for shipping crates of dried fruit around the South Australian area. Her first skipper would open the throttle and aim for a camp of people on the river bank, turn the boat at the last second and send a wave of water over them, the vicitims were sometimes spotted around the next bend with a shotgun aimed at the wheelhouse!
She later had a 2cyl 14hp portable fitted.
Canally was sold to Norm Collins in 1929 and he removed the steam plant and sold it in 1942. The Chislett sawmill bought the Canally hull and the PS Hero and used them for collecting timber for their Sawmill at Boundary Bend. PS Hero caught fore and sank in January 1957 and not long after the Canally barge sprung it seams and sunk upstream of PS Hero.
In 1998 Canally was refloated and towed in tandem behind PV Mosquito and barge A:11. She was then sank at Mildura untill restoration could comence. She was refloated in 2003 when restoration commenced on the hull. Her hull was finished by mid 2004 and was towed to Euston where  very slowly the rest of the vessel has been constructed, so far the decking has been done aswell as the sponson decks, next is the paddle boxes. A 12hp 2cyl Marshall portable has been obtained for her engine.

[Roderick Smith]

I enclose a photo of the hull after its restoration was completed.
At the time, it was on display at 2004 Wentworth Junction Rally (a combination of paddleboat, machinery and vehicle enthusiasts).  The rally is held every 3 years.  Later, the hull was towed to Euston / Robinvale for the restoration to cruising condition to be completed in time to celebrate the centenary.  This is what triggered the plan for this year's major rally: from Morgan (SA, where centenarian PS Ruby was built) to Koondrook / Barham (Vic. / NSW, where centenarian PS Canally was built).  The fleet would pause at Wentworth in mid journey to be at the 2007 Junction Rally.
The organiser tells me that Canally will be ready as a vessel for the rally, but fitted temporarily with diesel propulsion.
I have mentioned before the pessimism re water levels this year: four states are suffering from a major drought, and water storages are severely depleted.  Irrigation entitlements have been cut.
A decision on if (and how) to modify the rally plan will be made at the end of March: in other drought years, rain has fallen at that time and has improved river flows.

As I have mentioned before, of the planned 26 locks and weirs, only 1-11 plus 18 & 26 were built.  The river is navigable in all seasons to Colignan (above Mildura); above there is dependent on flow.
Echuca's fleet can run all year round, as the river level there is maintained by Torrumbarry Weir.
Euston / Robinvale is the location of weir 18, so there is always a stretch there available for cruising.

There is a tricky spot above lock 6, which NSW refuses to dredge (greenie influence).  In poor flows, large vessels (more than 90 cm draught) can't get through.

Because the river forms the boundary between Victoria and NSW, most towns come in pairs.
Mildura (Vic.) is opposite small suburbs Buronga, Gol Gol & Dareton.
Robinvale (Vic.) is opposite Euston (NSW)
Tooleybuc (NSW) no pair.
Swan Hill (Vic.) no pair
Koondrook (Vic.) is opposite larger Barham (NSW).  Koondrook had (and has) the major sawmill.
Echuca (Vic.) is opposite Moama (NSW)
Tocumwal (NSW) no pair
Cobram (Vic.) is opposite smaller Barooga (NSW)
Yarrawonga (Vic.) is opposite Mulwala (NSW)
Wahgunyah (Vic.) is opposite Corowa (NSW)
Wodonga (a major Vic. rural city) is opposite the even-larger Albury (NSW).
Above Lake Hume, settlements are smaller and on only one side of the river.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[thewharfonline]

Well I thought it was about time to write another article for APAM...as Roderick has always been trying to get me to write another one. As I haven't done one for such a long time I feel you all deserve something special. Michael covered Gem which I was going to cover...but now I'll need to think of something else! Well not entirely...the next article I shall write is not specific to one Port of call but instead talks about four vessels, and then their modern counterparts.

So onwards to the latest APAM article:

The Four Queens Of The Murray an APAM Special Edition Article

The modern Murray River is a different river to what it was in the era of the Paddle Steamers but there is still something incredibly similar in regards to the type of work some of these boats performed. Tourism is the link that keeps the paddle boat era alive, and not truly dead. In the era of the Paddle Boats there were four queens of this industry, they were at the time the largest of the boats and were responsible for many passenger cruises for both the holiday maker and people needing to get from one town to the closest city.

The boats were the Gem, the Ruby, the Marion and the Ellen. Three of which survive today and are either in the process of being restored or are actively partaking in the role they played in their day. Each of these boats stood several stories high and were of a great length compared to many of the work boats of the river, and each of the boat has it's own interesting and unique stories.

Take the Gem for instance. The Gem when originally built was nowhere near the size she is today. Originally built in 1876 as a barge Gem was 93.4 feet in length, she was tranformed into a Paddle Steamer in 1877 and in 1882 was cut in half to be lengthened in Goolwa. A bullock team pulled the two halves of the boat apart and a new section was added to the vessel making the total length 133.6 feet long. Along with the new length came new deck structure, three decks of superstructure, which was slightly added to every so often as the boat progressed 'down the river of life'. The boat was now able to accomodate 100 passengers...and an elephant!

And elephant you say, how absurd! No, apart from Gem being mainly a passenger steamer she was still quite capable of carrying large amounts of cargo as well, including a circus elephant! A photo can be found in the Godson collection.

Of course the Gem, like all boats, was not unsinkable and in 1948 the Gem was involved in a serious accident 60 miles below Wentworth. The accident was a common one on the river, being snagged. Gem was quickly steered to shallow water, but this didn't stop her sinking. Luckily her height left her sticking out of the water some bit!

The Gem was one of the boats famous for her Christmas cruises but her 'last cruise' was to be one of her most interesting. For some time the Gem had been tied up by the side of the river and was even used as a child care centre and hostel near Mildura (1952). In 1962, seeing the grat importance this vessel played in the history of the river and needing a centrepiece for their Museum the Pioneer Settlement of Swan Hill bought the boat and set out to have it towed to their location by the Paddle Steamer Oscar W. The journey took a great deal of time as the river dropped during the journey. The trip began on the first of October 1962 and ended in July 1963!

The Gem now sits at the Pioneer Settlement in Swan Hill in a specially made lake, quite a distance from the river. She lists to one side (which she did all her life) and almosts looks depressed in her pond as various people work on her to get her back to her former glory. For some time she acted as the entrance to the Museum, but is now more of a centrepiece to attract people to the tourist park...I'm pretty sure you can see her from the McDonald's.

Another vessel that sat in a specially made lake for some time was the Paddle Steamer Ruby which is slowly getting closer and closer to completion. Originally built in 1907 Ruby was one of many vessels named this name of the river. She was 130.7 feet long and 18.7 feet widewith three decks and accomodation for thirty passengers. (It is here you begin to realise the true size of the Gem). She was originally powered by a 20hp Robey & Co Steam engine but this was replaced in 1911, and later in 1918. Once again the machinary was replaced in 1922.

Ruby operated mainly between Morgan and Mildura and it's journey's are not free from troubles. In 1921 Ruby was 'pushed' by some great winds near Swan Hill into the bank and it took some great thinking and quite a few boats to free her from the bank. In total six steamers were needed to haul Ruby from the bank she was stuck on. The problem was there was no trees to attach the long wires that would help pull the boat from the bank. Eventually they were tied around almost 100 saplings and then anchored with dead logs which were dug into trenches. The boats were then all joined together and the heaving power of the six boats was enough to pull Ruby free. Mind you the operation wasn't cheap costing about 2,000 pounds.

Today Ruby can be found in Wentworth and is about to be relaunched to perform her old task of passenger cruises. For some time Ruby was a houseboat in Mildura (Roderick has some photos) before being abandonned near Wentworth. In 1968 Ruby was purchased by the Rotary Club  and restoration was organised. But for a period of time Ruby sat in a park, as she waited for the details to be fully organised.

In 1996 the restoration was handed over to the Wentworth Shire Council and by 2001 the hull has been restored. In January of 2002 Ruby was refloated in her own little pond (similar to Gem) and in 2004 left the pond and travelled a very short distance to the Wentworth Wharf for a recommissioning. This year marks her 100th Birthday, plans have been made for a large flotilla to assemble (the 2007 River Run) but water levels will decide whether this goes ahead. When fully completed Ruby will operate eco-cruises with passengers able to sleep on board.

In Part 2 of "The Queens Of The Murray an APAM special"
The Marion, the overnight cruiser performing her old job of carting passengers on over night cruises, the story of her 'last cruise', her restoration and some adventures that she had.
The Ellen, the only Queen not to be restored or still afloat today. The amazing 'water collection' story and her rather large extension.
The modern Queens, the boats doing the overnight cruise jobs today.

[anth]

roderick,
             did you find out any information on roy's power plant
             eg hp,boiler size ect

[Roderick Smith]

No Anth, as I was unable to gain access.
I have just edited my post on PS Roy (p2 of this thread) to include a photo taken through the mesh.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Excelsior]

Hey all... I know this post is probably a bit late, but if you're interested in seeing pics of the boats in their working days, the State Library of South Australia has a huge online collection.  The following link is to their search engine.  Just put in the name of the boat you're looking for & you should find at least something.  Even on a lot of the more obscure vessels.

http://www.catalog.slsa.sa.gov.au:1084/search/d

By the way, I've noticed Roderick_Smith that you've been posting a few pics of boats taken in the 50's & 60's which I've never seen before.  Are these ones you've taken yourself?  If so, do you happen to have any of the EXCELSIOR taken during this period?

And just to fit in (again a bit late), I thought I'd add a pic of the HERO I took when I saw her on slip in October.

Mac

[Roderick Smith]

The photos from the 1950s and 1960s are from my collection, taken by father or by me.
Generally I am putting up only one of each boat, in the APAM list of survivors thread, and saving the oldest views for when Sean reaches that vessel in the APAM director's cut thread (next entry predicted for 13.11.07, the day after the last year 12 exam).
I seem to have missed Excelsior.
According to Parsons, its last voyage was Mannum to Mildura in 1947.  Its wheels went into the construction of PV Coonawarra ~1950.  I have a photo of barge Reliance at Wentworth, but not of the houseboat Excelsior at Mildura, or of the hull.

I don't have any photos of PS Roy which reveal the plank sizes any better than the existing ones; and Derek has put up some figures of the common sizes.  On my day on PS Oscar W from Wentworth to Mildura it was carrying a plank-steaming tube: either returning it to Mildura from a loan to Goolwa, or lending it to a Mildura yard for forthcoming work on a vessel there.  The size of the tube would limit the size of plank timbers, hinting that there was a common standard.  The tube doesn't show in any of the photos which I took that day.

Please introduce yourself and your paddle interests.  There is a forum set up for this purpose.  See you at Goolwa?

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Excelsior]

The EX was converted to a houseboat in 1948, being owned by the Stone family & then the Hill family before sinking one saturday in March 1961.  The boat sat by the bank in front of the Mildura rowing club for a bit with only part of the upper deck showing, before Paddy Hogg came along with a tractor & chain & ripped the superstructure off.  Apparently parts of this were used to rebuild parts of the OSCAR W, which Hogg owned.  Max Anderson was then contracted to remove the hull.  The plan was to wrap a chain around the bow of the boat, attach it to a bulldozer on the other side of the river & drag the hull across the riverbed, pull it up on the bank & scrap it.  But... about halfway across the river the chain pulled part of the bow loose & the attempt was abandoned.  The hull currently sits there, full of silt (maybe even covered by it).

There have been a couple of dives on the boat in the past couple of decades & it has been found to be in reasonable condition (aside from about 10 foot of the bow).  Because the timber has been immersed in the water & mostly covered by silt, it has been pretty well preserved.  One guy I spoke to even seems to think that the sponsons may still be intact.  Which would be amazing, since they rarely survive on any of the Murray wrecks.

Just a quick bit of background on the boat.  She was built in 1873 at Goolwa and only had one major rebuild in her 75 year working life.  This was at Mildura in 1908 (there are photos of this).  At this time she had a completely new superstructure built, a new boiler installed & most probably the engines and wheels of the PS FLORENCE ANNIE (I) installed.  Meaning that the wheels currently in the COONAWARRA have now served 3 seperate vessels for over 125 years!  Almost continuously.  The EXCELSIOR was just over 117 foot long (as most Murray boats were measured from the inside of the stem post to the inside of the stern post, she was probably approaching 122 ft without the rudder), 17 ft wide & is the only vessel I've ever seen where the counter stern meets the deck behind the stern post.

Since 1996 I've been owner of the wreck.  Hence my interest in any photos in private collections.  Oh, & if anyone wants to loan me a couple of million to salvage & restore the boat, my account # is...

Pics... I'm only posting links as these are copyright
Excelsior in the 20s
http://www.catalog.slsa.sa.gov.au:1084/search/dexcelsior/dexcelsior/1,4,18,B/l856~b1111175&FF=dexcelsior+paddle+steamer&6,,13,1,0

A very early pic...
http://www.catalog.slsa.sa.gov.au:1084/search/dexcelsior/dexcelsior/1,4,18,B/l856~b1111169&FF=dexcelsior+paddle+steamer&13,,13,1,0

And of her sunk in 1961
http://www.catalog.slsa.sa.gov.au:1084/search/dexcelsior/dexcelsior/1,4,18,B/l856~b1119109&FF=dexcelsior+paddle+steamer&1,,13,1,0

[Roderick Smith]

Those Mortlock Library photos are better than the one in Parsons.
Even so, the quoted passenger capacity of 51 just had to have been for day voyaging; there could not have been 51 bunks.

The 1948-61 houseboat life at Mildura slipped through my collection.
I have some late 1930s photos from a friend: before Excelsior was there.
My own first visit (and my father's first visit) was in Sept.63.  I photographed Pyap still at the site (the photo has been put up somewhere in an APAM thread), but nothing shows of Excelsior.
The interesting boat in the third Mortlock photo is MV Riverina, rafted off Pyap.  I have a photo of that boat in 1963, but have no history, and no knowledge of where it went next.

How will you fare with the shipwreck act?  Does ownership give the right to raise the wreck?  Other wrecks are now covered by the same law which covers sunken ships: no interference is allowed.  There is a wreck in front of the wharf at Goolwa.  At the last wooden boat festival, somebody lost an anchor when it tangled in the wreck.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Excelsior]

I've looked into the shipwreck act a little... And, it's pretty murky.  There are several people I've spoken to who say that ownership is absolute, but the answer at NSW Heritage is somewhat different.  Probably the most telling thing is that they went after Gary Byford when he salvaged the HERO, but ended up dropping the whole case.  Besides, the act has several clauses where a wrecksite might be declassified & the EX fits a lot of these.  It's really open to interpretation. But, since it's unlikely that I'll ever have the means to salvage the boat, the whole thing is really only academic.

Although, you've got to wonder what value the vessel has as a wreck considering it's in the middle of the river, under 30 foot of water.  And, it's not as if the sinking was significant in itself, like the BUNYIP or RODNEY.

Anyway...

[anth]

In reference to PS "roy"


The paddle steamer Roy was built in 1908 by a boat builder by the name of R Brown.
The entire boat was built from surplus redgum and apparently this was sourced from Risbbey's sawmill in Mildura.
The boats dimensions are 36 feet in length with a 8 foot beam.
Head room was said to be around 6'6''  hull 3 feet deep carvel planked with a draft just under half a meter.
The total mass of this little fishing boat is around the 8 tonne mark.
Roy was fitted with a little steam engine not much is known about it's original machinery except that it was around 1.5-2 hp

Mr brown lost his son in a machinery accident on the boat hence it's name "roy" after his son death.
Roy was sold off and it's history becomes scattered up until the 1930 were it was reported to have been stripped and abandoned up until 1936.
Two brothers by the name of Bill and Norm Collins rebuilt the vessel in 1936 and it was rumoured they used timber from other paddlers languishing in the murry at that time.
Roy was sold off yet again and converted into a small house boat by the new owner Frank Beveridge who later  ran Roy aground near Berri.
In 1960 Roy was bought by the Berri War Memorial Community Centre, they made an effort to raise funds to restore Roy and this was completed in the late 70's, again roy changed ownership and was offered to the national trust where the boat was placed in a fauna reserve and remained there for nearly 20 yrs
2003 saw Roy obtained by the Cobdolga Irrigation and Steam Museum under the agreement that the museum would restore the vessel.
2007 As can be seen by the pictures supplied by Roderick on page 2  not much progress has been made with Roy.
The engine that is in Roy is not the original and is one fitted by the collins brothers built in 1880 and will hopefully have another fire warming her belly once again.

I have been researching Roy for a little while as it is my favorite little paddler  hope this information forms some interest in another aspect of murry paddlers"The little fishing vessels"

cheers Anthony

[michael]

With the shipwreck act anyboats are able to be refloated within 50yrs of when they sank, thats why Hero and Canally got away. The only boat i think that is still able to be refloated is PS Kookaburra, but theres bugger all of her left. There are a couple of barges in a lagoon just above Lock4 i think there still in tact but doon't no about when they were put there. Then you would wonder about Tarella!!

[Excelsior]

That gives the EXCELSIOR another 4 years.  But, there are wrecks less than 50 years of age which have been protected because they fit other criteria.

As for the TARELLA, I don't think she's been classified as a wreck because she's been in constant use & is still relatively intact.  Plus the shipwreck acts are state legislation, not federal.  Which means that what is correct in NSW may not affect vessels in SA.

[Eddy Matthews]

Unless I've missed something (quite probable!) I haven't seen anything in the Aussie threads about passenger carrying paddlers, or paddle ferries for cars/trains or whatever...

I mean boats that were originally built for that purpose, not vessels that were later converted to carry passengers etc....

Did such things exist? Surely they must have?