APAM- The Directors Cut!

[PJ]

I have Capt. Bull's book on Gippsland ships "SAILING  SHIPS AND PADDLE WHEELS". He's rather quiet on paddlers and it  looks like only about three of them made their way up there.
 Â 
 I'd love to see your images of the Port  Phillip paddlers.  Weren't there a couple of rather great looking double  enders, Roderick? Where can we find plans for these?
 Â 
 Â 
 Sent: Friday, March 16, 2007 6:06 PM
 

  Subject: RE: APAM- The Directors    Cut!
   

   
I have found my Gippsland book: I will go through it    tomorrow.
[SNIP]
I have about 20 photos of Port Phillip Bay    paddlesteamers to scan from the Loney book. I will finish my current Murray    River series before starting this.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail    News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

From Peter Synan 'Highways of water; how shipping on the lakes changes Gippsland', Landmark Press, 1989, Isbn 0 949449 64 4 (hardback), 0 949449 72 5 (paperback).  It is more an economics account than a book on boats as such.
p8: Photo of two unidentified paddlesteamers at Bairnsdale wharf.
p15: Painting of a PS at the entrance (distorted)
p16: Enterprise, the first steamer built on the lakes, designed for the lakes, launched in 1858.  The author is vague, but it seems to be SS, not PS.
p19: PS Lady of the Lake chartered from 1864 (painting on p21).  It was used to haul schooners through the treacherous entrance.
next chapters: lots of steamers mentioned, operated by GSN, but probably all screw.
p36: PS Gippsland built on the Clyde (Scotland), but never worked on the lakes: it was sold in Melbourne after its delivery run.
p36: PS Avon built in Liverpool; shipped in sections to Melbourne in 1867 for assembly, then to the lakes.
p38: Photo of PS Avon at Bairnsdale c1870 (it could even be one of the two in the p8 photo).
p40: After lots of references to SS Murray, there is now a painting of it, showing that it is PS.  This is a very difficult book from which to extract information.  Within my time limit today, I am skimming just the photos.
* p61: Photo of PS Tanjil; its paddleboxes are different from the two vessels in the p8 photo.
* p77: Photo of a PS at Sale; from the length of the name, it may be Avon.
* p88: Photo of a PS at the works for the new entrance, in 1887.  The paddleboxes indicate that it is the leadig PS in the p8 photo.
* p92: Photo of a PS at the completed entrance; it seems to be the same as in the p77 photo.
* p115: A really good photo of PS Tanjil
* p130: A lot of text on the transfer of Ethel Jackson and Burrabogie from the Murray.  Presumably both PS, but the text is vague.  After sinking in 1891, Burrabogie was rebuilt as a screw steamer, and the photo on p135 shows it without paddles.

Summary: confirmed PS Lady of the Lake, PS Avon, PS Tanjil, PS Burrabogie, PS Ethel Jackson (confirmation from Parsons, not from Synan). Mystery: the second boat in the p8 photo.
PJ's post suggests that the mystery comes from some photos showing Tanjil (1), and others showing Tanjil (2).  Very few are either identified or dated, and those which are may be wrong.

Famous boats Tambo, Omeo and the second Gippsland were SS, not PS.

This post has been expanded at www.paddleducks.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=3456.0

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[PJ]

Roderick:
 
I just  went through Capt Bull's companion book, "SMALL SHIPS AND ADZE  CHIPS" which, in the opening pages, contains an interesting  synopsis entitled "Gippsland Lakes Shipping since 1880 (by Capt. James Bull) —  and What Happened To Them".  I've extracted the paddler references which  seem to start in 1877.<?xml:namespace  prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"  />
 
"In 1877  the first paddle steamer "Tanjil" was built  in Melbourne for the recently formed Lakes Navigation  Company.".  He says he  spent a month as mate aboard her in September 1879 and "the only  other steam boat that I saw on the Lakes, apart from the paddle  steamer "Murray" was the little steam launch  "Sarah". Later he says the first "Tanjil" was "an iron vessel which was  totally destroyed by fire at Bairnsdale 1883. One paddle wheel is on show at the museum  at Lakes Entrance."
"The  paddle steamer "Murray". 228 tons, was one of the largest paddle boats in 1882. She was bought by  Sydney owners and transferred to  that port."
 
The  second p.s. "Tanjil"  (1885) ran a regular service from Bairnsdale  to Mossiface. near Bruthen. on the Tambo river, until 1936. She was laid up and the engine and  boiler sold to Palmer and Dahlsen  for a saw mill in Bairnsdale. She was sold to the Ports and Harbours and used as a barge for a  few years. She was then broken  up."
 
"PS  "Paynesville", a new  boat that was built for a Bairnsdale Company but was a failure, both the boat  and the company.  She was 80 ft long and only 13ft beam. 7 ft draught, was  slow and could not carry much cargo.  On the way to Melbourne she sprang a  leak and was put ashore on the beach near Ocean Grange."
"Paynesville"  had a very short career — one year. She  was put ashore a couple of miles west of Ocean Grange and soon broke up in the surf there.  The boiler was visible for many  years."
"In 1885  McCulloch and Company sent their paddle steamers "Ethel  Jackson" and  "Burrabogie" and made  a determined effort to capture the trade."
 
In  his book "SAILING SHIPS AND PADDLE WHEELS" (Self published in  1974), Capt. Bull states that James McCulloch and Co. were not successful  and "after running for a year or two, the Ethel Jackson was taken back to  the Murray River and Burrabogie was laid up in the Lakes."  On pages  148-151 in Part Two of his book he talks exclusively about the paddle  steamers of the Gippsland Lakes and I've taken the liberty of  reproducing this in full as it seems to be a fairly complete record and  contains some fascinating anecdotes.  
 
 
PART  TWO
Captain  James Bull leaves the sea for the Gippsland Lakes  â€” a son takes up the story.
INTRODUCTION
In  regards to Paddle Steamers (P.S.) the more research you do, the more vessels of  various types you find to have visited the Gippsland Lakes, some, for just a few  trips, but in this respect I will try and list the main Paddle Steamers in their  right order, as part of the object of this book.
The  tug boat P.S. "Tommy Norton'; must have been the first of her  type and a friend in need  to many sailing craft visiting the lakes in those  early years, when she came from Williams-town  where she was built. She came in 1864 and continued  to act as pilot boat at the Entrance, being  wrecked there in 1877.
Also  one of the first was a fairly large P.S. "Charles  Edward".  This was long before the new entrance  was built at Lakes Entrance, and the old entrance was east, nearly as far as the  Bluff, near Bunga Arm. She was 129 ft. long but paddle  steamers did not draw much water, and were  well adapted to bar work, if they did get to get  stuck on the bar they would keep the engines going and the paddle wheels  turning, and so shift enough sand to cut a channel through.
The  P.S. "Lady of the Lake" was built in 1864 and  appeared early on the scene, acting as a tug bringing  schooners and ketches in and towing them  over the bar, using her paddles when necessary,  as above to clear the bar.
With  a screw steamer the action is quite different, if the propeller is kept turning  the thrust  drives the sand in a circle and this builds up  on one side of the vessel, and so aggravates the  trouble.
The  "Trio" 138 tons, an auxiliary schooner with paddle wheels was  running to Lakes in 1866 but did not stay long and after a few trips  to  Clydebank, up the Avon near Stratford, she went  to Sydney.
The  first "Tanjil" was built on the Yarra about 1877.  She was fast and had passenger accom­modation  and gave a good service from Sale to Bairnsdale,  calling at Paynesville. There were three  steamers belonging to the Lakes Naviga­tion  Company, at that time the other two were S.S.  "Sarah" and S.S. "Bairnsdale" renamed "Bogong".
In  1870 two large Paddle Steamers started to trade  from Melbourne to Gippsland Lakes.
The  P.S. "Murray" was 228 tons and was the largest  of the steamers running a regular service from  Melbourne.
The  P.S. "Avon" built in 1867, was over 100 ft. long  and continued in the service for some years and  was frequently ashore on the bar at Port Albert, where she called in for cargo,  and at Lakes  Entrance, but with her paddle wheels got over in all cases.
The  P.S. "Paynesville" 1880 was built in Mel­bourne  and for the Gippsland Lakes, but she was not a success, being too slow and had a  very  short life. When she was being sent back to Melbourne  shortly after, she started to leak and was  put ashore off Ocean Grange, and became a total  loss almost opposite the town she was named after.
P.S.  "Nell" 1883 was over 80ft. long. She was brought  from Sydney to act as tug at Marlo and also  to bring maize to Lakes Entrance for transhipment to Melbourne, she did both  jobs efficiently  for many years.
P.S.  "Emu" I know she was at Lakes Entrance for some years from  1885, I can find out little about her except that she was a tug boat at  Lakes  Entrance and at times towed vessels over the  bar and towed the stone barge with stone for  the new entrance.
About  the time the first P.S. "Tanjil" was burnt  at the Bairnsdale wharf in 1885, the lakes shipping  was going through a very busy period. McCulloch's,  owners of many famous Murray river  steamers,  saw an  opportunity  to   get established  in the Gippsland Lakes area.
They  engaged crews to bring two of their largest  paddle vessels from the Murray River.
My  father, James Bull, was one of those ap­pointed, as he had a Master's  Certificate for deep sea work, and knew the local waters, was put  in charge of P.S. "Burrabogie". He did not stay  with her, but handed over to her own skipper  on arrival, as he was at the time opera­ting  a small tug, the S.S. "Ariel" at Lakes En­trance.
The  P.S. "Ethel Jackson" one of McCulloch's finest  passenger vessels came from the Murray at  the same time.
With  these two vessels, McCulloch's tried to break in on the local shipping people,  but were not  successful and started a freight war which went  on for about one year.
"Ethel  Jackson" was then sold to a firm in Western  Australia.
A  few years later Burrabogie had her paddles removed  at Johnsonville and was fitted with a small steam engine and given a propeller,  and so  became S.S. Burrabogie.
She  had a long and useful service and is now in rotten row at the Paynesville  Shipyard.
 
P.S.  "TANJIL" NO. 2.
It  is fitting that this brief line up of local Paddle  vessels should finish up with this sturdy old  side wheeler.
She  was the only one which kept her paddles and  stayed to the finish of that interesting era, of  about 40 years, from 1885 to 1925. She was then dismantled and sold to the Ports  and Harbours  dept. for a store barge. My friend and neighbour  Eric Gooch told me that his mother as  a girl launched the Tanjil No. 2. The girl was Lucy  Alice Brough Abbott, daughter of Tommy Abbott,  and she broke the bottle of champagne when  Tanjil was launched at the junction of the Sale canal and the Thomson river in  1885.
As  children, the Bull family saw little of their father,  Capt James Bull, unless they went trips on  the "Tanjil" which they did at every oppor­tunity.
She  became to them not only a provider but  also a second home. We found that hot meals were served for passengers and crew  at all times, and that it was no trouble to make up a bunk on the plush cushions  of the saloon. Our mother had died when we were young, and we had a stepmother  at home, and this we did not like  that much, moreover the saloon was next to the engine room and was always warm  at night.
We  young Bulls all learned to steer the ship, and you really had to steer all the  time, as paddle  vessels draw little water and sheer about the  whole time.
While  still a lad I also steered the S.S. J.C.D. It  was possible to set a course at the Mitchell River  light for the Tambo Bluff Beacon and go walkabout, she would keep a straight  course.
I  think I have mentioned the regulars but there  were a few other Paddle wheel vessels, one I  recall was P.S. Kangaroo, she stayed a few trips  then hopped off to Sydney.
There  was the P.S. Curlip built by Richard-sons  for the Snowy. She was small and was con­fined  to the Snowy river and Marlo.
 
*****************
So  there it is and along with your post, gains a good insight into the  paddlers of the Gippsland Lakes; a somewhat diversified fleet but  nonetheless fascinating and well worthy of modeling.  While there is not a  lot of information on paddlers, I do recommend Captain Bull's two self published  books  "SAILING  SHIPS AND PADDLE WHEELS"  (1974) and "SMALL  SHIPS AND ADZE CHIPS" (1978)  as they make very pleasant and informative reading.  Here is one of my  favourite photos from the second book and clearly shows a model of PS  "Tanjil" (not sure if this is 1 or 2).  Notice the lovely hybrid  profile of a Coaster and Murray River paddler. 
 Â 
 
 Â 
 
 
 

 

  ----- Original Message -----
   From:    Roderick Smith (research@paddleducks.co.uk)
   To: research@paddleducks.co.uk (research@paddleducks.co.uk)
   Sent: Saturday, March 17, 2007 4:56    PM
   Subject: RE: APAM- The Directors    Cut!
   

   
PJ, please post the three PS mentioned in the Bull    book. I suspect that I own a copy (bought in Mar.2001), but buried.
What I    found, on which to base today's post, is:
Peter Synan 'Highways of water;    how shipping on the lakes changes Gippsland', Landmark Press, 1989, Isbn 0    949449 64 4 (hardback), 0 949449 72 5 (paperback). It is more an economic    account than a book on boats as such.
p8: Photo of two unidentified    paddlesteamers at Bairnsdale wharf.
p15: Painting of a PS at the entrance    (distorted)
p16: Enterprise, the first steamer built on the lakes, designed    for the lakes, launched in 1858. The author is vague, but it seems to be SS,    not PS.
p19: PS Lady of the Lake chartered from 1864 (painting on p21). It    was used to haul schooners through the treacherous entrance.
next chapters:    lots of steamers mentioned, operated by GSN, but probably all screw.
p36:    PS Gippsland built on the Clyde (Scotland), but never worked on the lakes: it    was sold in Melbourne after its delivery run.
p36: PS Avon built in    Liverpool; shipped in sections to Melbourne in 1867 for assembly, then to the    lakes.
p38: Photo of PS Avon at Bairnsdale c1870 (it could even be one of    the two in the p8 photo).
p40: After lots of references to SS Murray,    there is now a painting of it, showing that it is PS. This is a very difficult    book from which to extract information. Within my time limit today, I am    skimming just the photos.
* p61: Photo of PS Tanjil; its paddleboxes are    different from the two vessels in the p8 photo.
* p77: Photo of a PS at    Sale; from the length of the name, it may be Avon.
* p88: Photo of a PS at    the works for the new entrance, in 1887. The paddleboxes indicate that it is    the leadig PS in the p8 photo.
* p92: Photo of a PS at the completed    entrance; it seems to be the same as in the p77 photo.
* p115: A really    good photo of PS Tanjil
* p130: A lot of text on the transfer of Ethel    Jackson and Burrabogie from the Murray. Presumably both PS, but the text is    vague. After sinking in 1891, Burrabogie was rebuilt as a screw steamer, and    the photo on p135 shows it without paddles.

Summary: confirmed PS Lady    of the Lake, PS Avon, PS Tanjil, PS Burrabogie, PS Ethel Jackson (confirmation    from Parsons, not from Synan). Mystery: the second boat in the p8    photo.

Famous boats Tambo, Omeo and the second Gippsland were SS, not    PS.

This compilation took 45 min.

Regards,
Roderick B    Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor



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[Roderick Smith]

Thanks PJ for the extensive compilation.

I enclose a poor map (from Symons).  My better maps don't fit on the scanner.

In particular, it is wrong at Lakes Entrance (the former Cunninghame).
Lakes Entrance is not open to the sea.
The lakes narrow, and continue east past the town to a dead end where the original natural channel was located.
The artificial channel is just west of the town.
The long thin lake, separated from the sea by a sand spit, is Lake Reeve.  It is usually to shallow and too reedy for powered boating.
The main lake, heading to Bairnsdale, is Lake King.
At the point south of Bairnsdale is the lake town Paynesville; the lake there transitions to become Lake Victoria.  Further west, it is linked to Lake Wellington by the narrow Maclellan Strait (like a canal).
The final lake is Lake Wellington, with a reputation for sudden roughness (large reach for wind, on a shallow waterway).
The various rivers are flowing south from Great Dividing Range headwaters.
The early navigation of the lakes was to serve gold mining on the ridge of the range, and timber cutting from the southern flanks.

The land journey from Melbourne to Sale was muddy/boggy & slow.  When the railway reached Sale (1870s) it was far more direct than coastal shipping.  Partly, lakes shipping survived by connecting with trains, to serve pastoral properties around the lakes.
The railway continued to Bairnsdale in the 1880s.  Again, shipping connected at Bairnsdale wharf to serve lakeside properties.
The railway was extended through Mossiface to Orbost (off the map to the east) in the 1910s, finally killing all lake shipping, and also the role for PS Curlip (covered in a different thread, with a link to the website which has a good map).

On this map, the twin-arm lake east of Cunninghame is Lake Tyers, which is usually blocked from the sea by a sandbar.

In a fit of extravagance, the port of Sale was expanded in the 1880s, with Thomson River converted to a straighter canal, and a swing-span bridge built at the site of La Trobe wharf.  I have cruised in Jessie II on almost all of the waterways on this map: La Trobe River as far as the map shows; Thomson River about 4 km above Sale; Mitchell River about 4 km above Bairnsdale (where a rock dam blocks navigation); Nicholson River (between Mitchell and Tambo); Tambo River not quite to Mossiface (blocked by a sandbar, over which I could have walked the boat, but I was out of time), Lake Victoria, Lake King and Lake Tyers.
I have yet to venture onto Lake Wellington, and to Perry River (not shown) or Avon River.  In general, I was in 6 m on the main lakes; and 2 m in the rivers to the former ports.

Some of the paddlesteamer names were derived area names:
Tanjil River is a La Trobe tributary.
Omeo is an old gold town high on the ridge of the divide.

Today, the Gippsland lakes and rivers form Australia's largest area of inland recreational waterways.  Lakes Entrance is a major fishing port, and also a major retirement centre.  The lake-shipping era is remembered in a major display in Lakes Entrance visitors centre, on interpretive panels at Sale port, and in photographs in various lake-town hotels and restaurants.

The Bull family established a boatyard at Metung, and popularised the concept of hiring 4-8 berth houseboats for marine holidays (1950s, possibly much earlier), well before this became common on the Murray.  The business was later relocated to Paynesville.  The Bull houseboats had traditional lines, and could cope with the waves likely to be found on the lakes.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

This major river skirts the plain holding Sydney from three sides, with tributaries from the south, the west and the north.  It was sufficiently wide near the mouth that bridging it took until the late 1880s to achieve.
In the mean time, river communities were linked with ferries.  The southern shore (ie outer northern Sydney suburbs) became a major national park, for weekend recreation.  The inlets on the northern shore were developed for oyster cultivation.  There were (and are) cable punts in the middle reaches, and self-propelled car ferries near Brooklyn (replaced by a bridge from 1945).

I referred to SWPS General Gordon in my post on Australia's few rail and tram ferries (p8 of this thread).  After its 2 years of use connecting the railheads, it continued on the Hawkesbury for many years as an excursion vessel, probably connecting with trains from Sydney at Brooklyn (now called Hawkesbury River, and still an interchange for route and cruise ferries).

My only other Hawkesbury reference is:
Trevor Brown 'Working on the Hawkesbury; a memoir', Deerubbin Press, 1997, Isbn 0 646 32292 3.
It is an autobiography of a man who grew up at Brooklyn, where his father ran a slip, and went on to a career on the Hawkesbury ferries.  All of the numerous boats mentioned in the book (covering the era 1920s - 1990s) are screw, not paddle.  IIRC, only one was steam.
There was considerable interchange of boats between Sydney Harbour, the Hawkesbury and Newcastle as smaller operators traded older ferries.  It is quite possible that some of the Sydney steam paddleboats were transferred to the Hawkesbury in the 1870s-90s, but I have no references.

MV Murray Explorer was a large cruising vessel, styled on a Rhine River cruising boat.  It was built in 1979, and was sold in 1987 and transferred to the Hawkesbury.  Despite the superb scenery of this waterway, overnight cruising was not a success.  The vessel was transferred to Sydney Harbour, under another name (Sydney Harbour Explorer?), c1994.

At Bobbin Head (up a side arm from the river), Halvorsen established a boatyard producing classic elegant 1950s cruising launches for the private market and for hire.  These were the epitome of style and wealth in that era.  At Goolwa wooden boat festival a week ago, there were 11 Halvorsens assembled adjacent.

24.5.08 update: I have added a photo which I found in a facsimile edition of Nov.1948 Australasian Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin: small, and low quality.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Excelsior]

I know this topic is going back a couple of days, but...  I've come across a reference in Parsons to a regular paddler service between Goolwa & Port Adelaide.

The Paddlesteamer Cadell ran this service from after the Queen of the South was sold in 1880, until the Cadell was sold in 1882.

I'll find a couple of pics of the Cadell & add them later.  She was an interesting vessel.

[Roderick Smith]

I did this research in 2004; the result was serialised in eight parts in AFS Newsletter [now Ferries Australia].
I have extracted the portions relevant for Paddleducks:
Notice the considerable interchange between NSW and Tasmania and Victoria.
I have conjectured that all unidentified types would be screw, not paddle.  From context, I suspect that the early few would have been paddle; later ones would have been screw.  The middle years remain a mystery.
Notice a long-lived paddlesteamer car ferry in this list.

Major operators were O'May brothers, Huon, and Channel and Peninsula Co.
* PS Surprise: length 17.7 m, the first steamer in Hobart.  It was built in Sydney in 1831 (the first steamer built in NSW).  It arrived in Hobart on 1.2.1832, to run Hobart Town - Kangaroo Point (and was the first steamer to New Norfolk).  It was in service to 1841, then was converted to schooner Mary Jane.
* [PS/SS?] Governor Arthur: launched in Sullivans Cove in 1832, 19.3 m x 3.3 m x 1.4 m.  It was the second steamer in Hobart.  By the late 1830s, it was on the Launceston - George Town run as Steam Packet.  Later it was sold to Melbourne, and became the second steamer on the Yarra.
* [PS/SS?] Derwent: launched at Port Arthur in 1840, 49 tons.  It was the third steamer in Hobart, and was on the Hobart - New Norfolk run from 3.4.1840.
* [PS/SS?] Native Youth, launched at Battery Point in 1842, for Kangaroo Point and New Norfolk.  From Apr.1844, it also ran to Franklin (Huon River), the first steamer there.
* PS Thames, built in England, iron, length 30.5 m.  It arrived in Hobart on 10.11.1843, and ran to Huon River, and also to Coal River (Richmond).  In Dec.1847, it was transferred to Melbourne.  It was lost in Port Phillip Bay in 1852.
* PS Kangaroo (1): built in Sydney in 1840.  It arrived in Hobart in 1847.  In 1851, was transferred to Melbourne.
* PS White Hawk, built at Long Bay in 1849, 50 tons.  It was destroyed by fire in June 1850.
* PS Culloden: 71 tons, 65 hp, 44.2 m x 5.2 m x 2.4 m (draft 1.8 m).  It was displaced from Clyde River (Scotland) by a railway, reached Hobart in Sept.1853, and was used for coastal excursion cruises.
* PS Cobra: came from Scotland, and worked in tandem with Culloden, 91 tons, 29.9 m x 4.1 m x 2.7 m.  Later it was sold to Sydney, to become a Manly pioneer.
* PS Mimosa: Built on the Clyde (Scotland), 41.1 m x 5.3 m x 2.6 m.  It arrived in Hobart in 1854 for coastal services.  It was sold to Sydney in 1858.
* PS Monarch: 60 tons, built in Scotland in 1846.  It was in use in Hobart from Oct.1854, to New Norfolk, plus once per week to Cygnet later.
* PS Tamar was built in England in 1854 for Launceston Marine Board.  It was an iron tug, 30.3 m x 5.7 m x 3.4 m.  When replaced by the screw tug Wybia 30 years later, it was brought to Hobart for the channel trade, but was too deep for some jetties, and was uneconomical. It was sold to Mersey Marine Board, and finished its working days in Devonport.
* PS Kangaroo (2): 109 tons, twin hull, each 33.6 m x 3.5 m x 2.2 m.  It was driven by a single large paddle between the hulls.  It was in service as a Hobart - Kangaroo Point vehicular ferry from 1855 to 1926, a Hobart institution.
* PS Venus: was built on the Clyde (Scotland) as a tug, 24.7 m x 4.3 m x 1.8 m.  It was in Hobart for the Kangaroo Point service from Nov.1854, but was unsuitable.  It was sold to the Victorian government in 1858.
* [SS?] Enterprise: built at Battery Point in 1870 for O'May brothers (their first vessel), 14.0 m x 2.7 m x 1.4 m.  It serviced Bellerive, but became too small for the traffic, and became pleasure craft Silver Queen.
* [SS?] Success: built at Battery Point in 1876 for O'May brothers, 17.4 m x 2.9 m x 1.7 m.  It also became too small, and was sold to operate on Macquarie Harbour as Kathleen.
* [SS?] Collen [Colleen?] Bawn: built at Kangaroo Point for Bellerive.  Became Phoenix, then Tenalga, then was sold to Sydney.
* PS Gem: was built in Sydney in 1878, 29.5 m, 4.3 m x 1.7 m.  It was used on the Derwent for excursions to New Norfolk, and later as a sanitary transport from Hobart to Ralph's Bay.  Later it was rebuilt with a round counter stern and straight stem, renamed Hopetoun, and was a most useful vessel in the HC&P fleet.
* [SS?] Minx: built in Sydney, and arrived in Hobart in 1880.  It ran with Pearl then was sold to Union Steamship to be a tender at Trial Harbour from 1888.
* SWPS Esperance: built in 1884, 17.4 m x 4.9 m x 1.2 m.
* [SS?] Louie: was built in Sydney in 1884, length 17.4 m.  It was brought to Hobart to freight oysters from Spring Bay, then was used for various other purposes until scrapped at Recherche Bay.
* [SS] Cygnet: 66 tons, steel, 36.6 m x 5.3 m x 2.6 m.  It arrived in 1886.  Except for one trip to Macquarie Harbour, it remained in the Hobart channel - Huon trade until 1904, when it went to Sydney for Manly.  Later it was sold to NZ.
* [SS?] Glenturk: was built at Port Esperance for Tasmanian Hardwood Company, and was used in Macquarie Harbour.
* PS Waldemar was a double-ended paddle steamer built in Sydney for Balmain Ferry Co. in 1881.  In 1903, it was brought to the Derwent.
* SWPS Lintrose: was an iron, shallow-draught, stern-wheeler, built in Scotland and shipped to Brisbane in sections, 38.6 m x 7.9 m x 1.8 m.  In 1921, it was towed to Hobart, where the propulsion was changed to twin screws.  It was lost in 1932 on Iron Pot Reef.
* PS Morse: was built at Macquarie Harbour in 1917, 30.5 m x 7.2 m x 1.9 m.  James Rowe & Sons brought it to Hobart, removed the paddles, and installed a screw.  As at 1957, it was still afloat, but out of commission.

First Bass Strait steamers: In 1842, regular steam services between Launceston, Melbourne and Sydney commenced with Benjamin Boyd's wooden paddlesteamer Seahorse, replaced in 1843 by Hunter River Steam Navigation Company's iron paddlesteamer Shamrock.  Both were under 50 m in length.

Bass Strait: Loney lists 33 passenger ferries which were used at various stages, probably between Tasmania and Melbourne (as Port Phillip Bay was the focus of the book): Black Swan, Burrumbeet, City of Launceston, City of Melbourne, Clarence, Clonmel, Derwent, Duncan Hoyle, Elingamite, Flinders, Flora, Havilah, Lady Bird, Mangana, Newcastle, Oonah, Pateena, Penguin, Pirate, Queen, Rotomahana, Royal Shepherd, Shamrock, Tamar, Tasmania and Yarra Yarra.
King Island: Loney lists ten ferries which called regularly: Ida Clausen, King Islander, Koomeela, Marrawah, Rah, Tambar, Wauchope and Yambacoona.  Other well-known vessels which called occasionally included Blythe Star, Loorinna and Wongala.
[With these, I didn't identify PS/SS in the Tasmanian article; those which were PS should have appeared on my Victoria list a few posts back.  I have deleted the known modern SS & MV; I can delete a couple more with a little checking].

Recent years:
Fake PV Lady Stelfox has been mentioned in another thread.  The paddles are decorative, not propulsive.  It was built for Launceston, then was relocated to Melbourne.
The small private paddlesteamer Murray Queen was relocated from Echuca to the Port Huon area a few years ago.  I have yet to track a photo or the exact location.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Waverley]

Interesting list, Roderick

Here is a photo of MONARCH at Hobart

http://eheritage.statelibrary.tas.gov.au/dbimages/MMT_P_1991-137_1_w.jpg

Captain James Williamson has a bit to say about her (The Clyde Passenger steamer, 1904).   She was built in 1846 using the engines of the wrecked COUNTESS OF EGLINTON (1844). She left Rothesay (on the Clyde) 4th March 1854 and arrived Hobart 12 July, 1854 - this information he obtained from her log courtesy of the Hobart harbour master.  

The engines were not removed till 1899 (so she must have been quite a survivor) and were "now" (ie 1904) being used to power a sawmill at Huon River.

I don't think CULLODEN was displaced from the Clyde by a railway. She was built in 1845 as a member of the large Burns fleet of steamers which was the dominant operator of the time - she served in both the Clyde and the West Highlands.  Duckworth & Langmuir (West Highland Steamers) record that after leaving the Clyde she was for a short time on the Newhaven - Dieppe (English) cross channel service and also served on Belfast Lough. She finally left the Clyde in January 1853 for Melbourne and moved on to Hobart.   Her registry was closed 27 April 1866.

Do you have any more info on COBRA or MIMOSA? I have no references to them.

The name is probably COLLEEN BAWN - there has been more than one Irish vessel with this name. Isn't a COLLEEN an attractive young lady?

Regards from an ice-cold England

David

[Roderick Smith]

Notice how fast the APAM and CPAY threads have come together.  Away from the Murray, Australian paddlesteamers owe a lot to their Scottish (particularly Clyde River) ancestry: construction and design.  In a much earlier post, I referred to paddlesteamers in Argentina and India, all built in Scotland.

My principal reference for the Tasmanian paddlesteamers was the  Harry O'May book, ~1957 (ie a secondary source).  There will be errors in my summarising, and errors in his original research.  The book is now a collectors item.  I can access a copy in one branch of my municipal library, but only to special order, and I must wear silk gloves while handling it.  It is not to be inverted onto a photocopier.
The era is not one in which prime material was reported or saved comprehensively.  I agree with David's statement that Culloden was unlikely to have been displaced from the Clyde by a railway.  I don't have any more on Cobra or Mimosa; continuing research will have to bring together material from Scotland, Tasmania and Sydney for those vessels which worked in more than one location.

It is interesting to see the link between paddlesteamers and railways, with rival companies operating their own fleets.

I include here the full set of references which I used for the Tasmanian article.  Not all refer to paddlesteamers, and many are about the modern vessels.  My scope was river, lake, coastal and Bass Strait ferries in all eras: historical through to operations today (that's why it went to eight parts), including a whole chapter on how the ferry industry rose to the occasion to cope with the collapse of Derwent Bridge (Hobart) after being hit by a ship.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

* Tasmania Cruises seems to be a booking agent rather than an operator: phone 03 6234 3336; fax 03 6234 3166; 129 Liverpool St, Hobart City, Tas 7000.
* Harry O'May Hobart river craft; Sealers of Bass Strait.  nd.  Whale boats, small craft, steamers and schooners; seems to date from 1957.
* T K Fitchett Down the bay.  Rigby, 1973.
* T K Fitchett Vanished fleet; Australian coastal passenger ships 1910-1960.  Rigby, 1976.
* Barry Pemberton Australian coastal shipping.  Melbourne University Press, 1979.
* Ronald Parsons Steamers in the south.  Rigby, 1979.
* Ronald Parsons Australian coastal passenger ships.  1981.
* Ronald Parsons Australian shipowners and their fleets.  1982
* Since I researched the article, Ronald Parsons has published a book on Bass Strait ferries.
* Jack Loney Bay steamers and coastal ferries.  Reed, 1988.
* Graeme Andrews Ferries of Sydney.  Sydney University Press & Oxford University Press, 1994.
* Tom Lewis By Derwent divided.  Tall Stories, 1999.
* Faye Gardam Shifting sands; history of the Mersey River, Devonport.  Devonport Maritime Museum & Historical Society, 2001.
* Australian Sea Heritage:
 - 33, summer 92: History of Empress of Australia.
 - 45, summer 96: Rowitta (now at Warrnambool maritime museum); May Queen.
 - 47, winter 96: article on Denison Star (including a colour photo); item on ferries Lady Ferguson, Lady Wakehurst, Lady Northcott & Kosciusko (followup letter in issue 49); Lady Jillian withdrawn.
 - 50, autumn 97: Item on Hobart ferries; photo of Bundeena & North Head; article on Cartela.
 - 53, summer 98: ad for Martin Cash; photo of Matthew Flinders; Incat 45 on the Melbourne run.
 - 54, autumn 98: Lady Wakehurst now in Auckland; article on Huddart Parker's Westralia.
 - 55, winter 98: Article on little ships of Hobart; maritime-heritage guide to Tasmania; photos of May Queen, Brooke St cruise centre; Mirambeena (just privatised over protests)
 - 56, winter 99: Photo of Harry O'May .
 - 60, spring 99: Item on Reemere; photo of Tasmanian Achiever.
 - 61, summer 99: Plans for Devil Cat for the 1999-2000 season.
 - 73, summer 03: SoT I & II replace SoT; Bundeena returns to Sydney.
* Rail News Victoria: June 98; Jan., Feb., Mar. & Oct.99; Apr., May, June, Sept., Nov. & Dec.00; Feb., June & July 01; Jan., Feb., Mar., May, June & Sept.02; Nov. & Dec.03; Jan., Feb. & Mar.04.
* 3.8 & 15.12.98 Melbourne Herald Sun: TT Line Incat services.
* 1.12.98 Melbourne Age: Federal car-equalisation subsidy.
* 16.6, 24.10 & 28.11.99, 30.1 & 28.2.00 Melbourne HS: Summer DevilCat operation.
* 13, 15 & 22.9.99 Melbourne HS: Condor 10 replacing failed SoT.
* 19.2.00 Melbourne Age: SoT dinner cruises.
* 1.8.00 Melbourne Age & 6.8.00 Melbourne HS: Olympic flame.
* 15.2.02 Melbourne HS: Lady Nelson.
* 16.12.03 Burnie Advocate: Roche O'May.
* 18 & 20.12.03 & 3, 7, 13 & 15.1.04 Hobart Mercury: SoT III.
* www.tt-line.com.au/history.htm
* www.anl.com.au
* www.faktaomfartyg.com; Bass Trader (2), Brisbane Trader, Empress of Australia and Princess of Tasmania.
* www.faktaomfartyg.crosswinds.net/bass_trader_1976.htm: Bass Trader (2).
* www.anmm.gov.au/lib/spixsb.pdf: National Library picture index.
* www.australianheritagefleet.com.au/yLibraryDB/Museums.html: Tasmanian museums.
* www.nex.net.au/users/reidgck/BASS-S.HTM: Excellent pictorial history.
* www.seaheritage.asn.au: National Maritime Museum.
* www.incat.com.au/news/media.cgi?news_task=DETAIL&articleID=63730§ionID=63068: Incat photo gallery.
* www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/viewship.asp?id=10989
* www.kingisland.org.au/kihist.asp
* http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.whittick/history/nairana.html: Nairana.
* www.nex.net.au/users/reidgck/BASS-S.HTM#A
* www.heritage.vic.gov.au/CityLaunceston1.html: Wreck of City of Launceston.
* http://images.statelibrary.tas.gov.au/Search/Search.asp?Letter=T&Title=T.S.S.+Loongana+arrived+new+in+1906
* www.simplonpc.co.uk/ (/TT-Line-Tasmania.html#anchor82433 & /Peter-Pan-3.html)
* www.rootsweb.com/~austas/mtlyell.htm: Mt Lyell mine fire.
* www.geocities.com/bilmac.geo/disaster.html: Mt Lyell mine fire.
* www.strait.co.nz/fleet4.htm: Straitsman.
* www.shiplink.info/contents1.asp?refno=3251: Straitsman.
* www.hamiltonislandweddings.com.au/default.asp?action=article&ID=54: Denison Star.
* www.cruiseindigo.com.au: Denison Star.
* www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Harbor/2971/marinecruise.html: PoT.
* www.simplonpc.co.uk/WhatShipQueries.html: PoT.
* www.ferry-site.dk/ferry.php?id=7362108&lang=da: Abel Tasman.
* http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-vn3075710: Straitsman capsized.
* www.mattmar.com.au/Guestphotographer_napier.htm (ships at Napier, NZ): Straitsman.
* www.wavemaster.com.au/Design%20Catalogue.pdf: Gordon Explorer.
* www.incat.com.au: Incat fleet..
* www.railpage.org.au: Incat memories.
* www.geocities.com/treiziste/seacat.html: Sea Containers Incats.
* http://members.ozemail.com.au/~marinedb/Ferries_4_Sale.htm: Wilderness Seeker, James Kelly II, Gordon Explorer, Condor 10 and Denison Star.
* http://202.53.40.234/shipsinfo/wwwexpmvmt.asp: Daily shipping moves in & out of Melbourne.
* www.portdev.com.au: Port of Devonport, including many photos.
* www.burnieport.com.au: Port of Burnie.
* www.asa.com.au/listofships.asp: Australian Shipowners Association: Bass Trader (3).
* http://164.80.32.111/irm/content/about/about.html: Patrick Shipping.
* www.amsa.gov.au/Shipping_Registration/List_of_Registered_Ships: List of ships on the national register.
* www.pictureaustralia.org/apps/pictureaustralia: Bass Trader (1).

[AlistairD]

Roderick
 Â 
 You listed a lot of sources a few days ago.
 Â 
 Do you know of "Paddle Steamers of Australia" by R H Parsons,  third edition published in 1973, with an introduction  by John C Tolley.
 Â 
 Â 
 This appears to be a home-produced publication, 172 pages of  foolscap typescript with an alphabetical listing of all Australian paddle  steamers and a handful of pages of photographs.
 Â 
 The previewed editions appeared in 196 and 1973.
 Â 
 ISBN is 0 9599387 6 1
 Â 
 Alistair

[Roderick Smith]

Alistair's post was timely.  I have spent the last month shifting my library from temporary storage back into my rebuilt house, and unscrambling.  I found that I do own a copy of this reference, and will use it for preparing further responses (initially to the NZ thread).

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

I had two photos in an Oscar W post in the Preserved thread, explaining how a Murray-Darling towline worked.  This was responding to a question raised in one of the model-construction threads.  I have now relocated them here.

Here is PS Oscar W towing barge Dart as part of the 2001 'Source to sea' fleet, celebrating the centenary of Australian federation.
The barge had been fitted with two display rooms, camouflaged as deck cargo (bridge piles rather than wool, as that was the service in which Dart had been used in its working career).
The duo left Mannum facing upriver, then rounded up to head downriver to Murray Bridge.
In the first view, the towline is barely visible, but you can see how the towing vessel needed the steerage.
In the second, the towline is visible, angling up to the typically-high Australian central towing point.
In Australia, barges always had a helmsman.
Sean has mentioned that this was required to handle the tight and frequent bends on our rivers, and often the channel was much narrower than the river.
A related post, showing PV Mosquito, is elsewhere.

From Plowman 'Murray Darling paddleboats':
* Built at Echuca in 1908, 31.9 m long, 6.4 m beam, hull depth 1.5 m.
* 1942 sold to a Goolwa owner and relocated; onsold to the SA government, and used to tow vehiculr punts between the maintenance depot at Morgan and the various operating sites.
* 1959: sold to a Mildura owner, and used for excursions.
* 1962-63: towed Gem from Mildura to Swan Hill, delayed for months at Bitch & Pups, then to Echuca for excursions.
* 1965: sold to a Murray Bridge owner, who commenced an overhaul.
* 1986: sold to the SA government, and restored as the centrepiece of Signal Point interpretive centre at Goolwa.

It is now maintained and operated by a friends group, and has appeared at many river ceremonies.  In the 1990s it journeyed through to Echuca.  It was part of the 2001 Source to Sea fleet.  In 2003, it was part of the Randell Cadell 150th anniversary fleet, to Psyche Bend (upriver of Mildura).  In 2004 it was part of the ceremony for the 150th anniversary of the Goolwa Port Elliot railway.  In 2006 it hauled barge Dart over some of the journey to Renmark, for local displays marking the 50th anniversary of the 1956 floods (I have an item describing this event in a thread somewhere).  For the rest of the journey, the barge was towed by MV Nalta Yuki, today's work boat at Morgan for transferring punts.  Work has been continuing on bringing Oscar W to survey standard, so that it can run revenue-making cruises at Goolwa.  This was not completed in time for 2007 Goolwa Wooden Boat Festival, but will be completed in time for a 2008 voyage (to Echuca if water level allows) to mark the centenary of its construction.  The 2007 voyage to celebrate the centenaries of Ruby and Canally have been deferred because of low water this year, and will take place in conjunction with Oscar W's voyage.

The other photos enclosed with this post:
* Oscar W leaving lock 11 Mildura, heading to Psyche Bend on its last day with the Randel Cadell 150th anniversary fleet, having steamed with the fleet since the start of the voyage at Goolwa in August.
* Oscar W carrying wool from Milang as part of the ceremonies for the 150th anniversary of the Goolwa - Port Elliot horse-worked railway.  I took the photo from PS Industry.  The choppy water doesn't show in this view, or the chop had subsided by this stage, as we were now close to Goolwa and more protected by Hindmarsh Island.  PS William Randell was also part of this parade, but well back.  There was an escort of private boats, and a tv helicopter.  The photo shows not only a rainbow, but a pot of gold on Oscar W's rear deck.

I have also placed photos of Oscar W's winch in another thread, responding to a question about winches.  There is one of Oscar W passing PS Marion in the Flood anniversary post in the Preserved thread.  There is one of Oscar W moored with PS Industry in the Industry post in the APAM LoP thread.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[michael]

Getting back on track: still in Mildura PS Melbourne. Was built in Koondrook 1912 for the Victorian Government for removing snags out of the river for the river trade. She measures 29m long and 6.5m wide she is powered by a 25hp compound steam engine with a boiler rated of 150psi, one of the more powerfull engines still around one boats today.
She was used by the governmet till the 1940s. She was sold to Evans Bro sawmill in Echuca to tow logging barges to and from the Barmah forest. Aswell as the occasional picnic for people coming up by train from Melbourne. By the 1960s she was laid up as the sawmill burnt in 1958 and was in bad need of repair, she was bought by Alby Pointon of Mildura for use in the tourist trade, she was slipped at Moama where she had extensive hull work, she arrived in Mildura in September 1965, by the end of 1966 she was rebuilt for carrying passengers and can carry up to 300  on its 2hr trips downstream through Mildura lock.

[Roderick Smith]

In my APAM LoP voyage of exposition, I forgot to post my already-scanned PS Melbourne photos when I was at page 6.  I enclose them now in this thread.
The family was at Swan Hill as the boat was heading downriver from Echuca to Mildura, yet to be converted to showboat configuration.  It was stranded there for a few days, as a cogwheel in the bridge-raising mechanism had fractured, and a replacement part was being taken from another bridge.  The boat passed under on Mon.30.8.65.
One other shows the compound engine: rare in Murray-Darling practice.  The remaining one shows it at Psyche Bend, an unusual destination.  This was on a charter cruise for railway enthusiasts who had travelled to Mildura on a special steam train.  PS Melbourne has a railway headlamp, as evidenced by the panels on each side designed to hold an illuminated loco number.
There is a glimpse of PS Melbourne in the photo of the Commonwealth Games Queen's Baton on Chaffey Bridge, in the APAM LoP thread.

I have also updated my Rothbury post on page 6 to include a before-conversion photo to accompany the after-conversion one.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[michael]

Pv Rothbury was built in 1881 near Gunbower and operated along the Murray and Darling Rivers as a towing boat towing barges laden with wool, wheat, timber and machinery.
She measuerd 25m long and 6.1m wide powered by a 30hp twin cyl steam engine.
On one day while at Wilcannia on the Darling River it had a towing race against the PS South Australian known for its speed. PS South Australian went first towing a barge and a paddlesteamer with its wheels lashed.
PS Rothbury then went towing the same load, but due to the eager fireman stoking the fire her pressure dropped and she lost by 9secs.
In 1901 it was sold to a large Riverboat Company and was based at Echuca, used for towing. In 1910 she was sold and moved to Mildura where she was used in the timber industry towing timber from nearby forests to the timber mills of Mildura. When trucks and excuvators were invented Rothbury became idle and was sold in 1967 to Alby Pointon who had bought the PS Melbourne a couple years earlier.
he converted her to a tourist boat, but removed the steam engine as it was beyond repair and a diesel engine was fitted.
Rothbury has been known as the fastest paddle vessel on the Murray as she has won all previous races, the last one in 2001 being the closest by rivals PV Akuna Amphibious and PV Jumbuck.