APAM- The Directors Cut!

[paddlesteamerman1]

Well Done Sean!! I see the recovery is going well... and the APAM is most useful!!! But I might be needing to speak to both you and Roderick about a website, so just wait around and I will let you know!! Great work again..

Cheers James

[thewharfonline]

The paddle steamer Australien was built in 1897 in Echuca and found a great deal of use in the construction of the Yarrawonga Weir, where she then stayed for many years as there was no lock to let her leave Yarrawonga.

Australien is 78 feet long and 16 feet wide. She had iron topsides and a wooden lower half of the hull, common on Australian paddle steamers and known as a ‘composite hull’. She was powered by a 2 cylinder horizontal 16hp Marshall steam engine with a rope drive. The boiler faced the stern of the boat instead of the bow like on board the Pevensey, the Alexander Arbuthnot and many other boats. The forward facing boiler and little lower deck housing on Aussie paddlers was built for a reason, the extreme heat of the out back in summer and a boiler don’t mix very well so the open lower deck allowed the wind and air to pass through the boat taking much of the hot air away. The rear facing boiler may have been even more effective at this and it can be seen on such boats as the Melbourne in Mildura and the Cato.

Around 1899 PS Australien was a general trading boat in the Mildura area. Australien changed hands various times but mainly seemed to stay in the hands of two families the Wilson family and the Wallins family. Her final sale was in 1980 with a trust formed in 1987 to restore the vessel. As far as I am aware this trust is still in order.

Australien was used extensively in the building of the Yarrawonga weir where along with the Invincible she towed and carried various tools and materials for the construction of this massive weir. However no lock was built for the weir and as such no boat can travel beyond Yarrawonga without being taken out of the water. This makes Cumberoona stuck in Albury. After construction was complete Australien was stuck behind the wall of the Yarrawonga weir and was abandoned here to fall apart.

The paddle steamer Invincible was built in 1889 with a 25hp direct acting steam engine built in Ballarat by the Phoenix Foundry. Invincible worked for some time for the Arbuthnot Saw Mills before being used for Weir construction at Yarrawonga. After this work was complete she was turned into a house boat and moored at Goolwa where she sunk. In 1978 she was raised and moved near Berri where the Milang Historic Steam & Shipping Group plan on restoring the vessel. I am unaware on progress of this vessel or wether it still is around.

In 1958 plans were made to install a diesel engine on the Australien and use her as a tourist vessel on Lake Yarrawonga, but this never happened and the boat began to deteriorate. The Australien was then moved to Echuca by the trust where she currently remains with restoration plans, however little seems to be happening. The top sides being sand blasted at some stage with some materials brought in to replace the rusty parts.

As seen on another part of Paddle Ducks there are a few of us interested in the restoration of this boat and she is still in a restorable state. Maybe one day PS Australien will be found on the river again.

[thewharfonline]

There's an article for you all on the Paddle Steamer Australien, the paddle Steamer Edwards is also under restoration at Echuca, if I can get some photos....wink wink nudge nudge Michael/Roderick... I'll write an article on her too.

There are currently quite a few original boats under restoration up and down the river.

Hero, Canally, Australien, Edwards, Success, Daisy, Ruby and the barge T.P which was at one stage the Wanera. Cato is currently under construction and is a replica of the original Cato and will use her original engine upon completion.

As you can see there are many boats being restored or having planned restoration. Many other new boats are being constructed so the Murray really has an ever growing fleet of paddlers and the comments made in many books of the paddle boat era dying here are truly false. I do believe there hasn't been a time when a paddler was not operating in some form on our rivers.

More APAM to come soon! I still have some articles to salvage too!

[paddlesteamerman1]

Where exactly is the PS Edwards... Is it in or around Echuca???

[paddlesteamerman1]

I would be really interested if you need photos, as I studied Photography and Digital Photography at school recently...  So if you want photos give me a holla and maybe, hopefully, I can help out a bit eh?
It would be an excellent opporutnity to photograph some amazing boats too!!!

[Roderick Smith]

In my teenage years, my family May or September holidays were spent caravanning to a Murray River town, as my father had spent his teenage years within earshot of the river near Swan Hill.  In May 65 we were at Yarrawonga, and drove across to Mulwala to view the derelict Australien.  At that stage, there was still superstructure (mainly framing without cladding).  IIRC the boiler and engine had been removed.

I thought that most riverboats had rearward-facing boilers.  This put the smokebox in line with the paddle shaft, and the firebox-door forward.  The forward hull could then be used to store firewood, in a more accessible location for wooding.  PS Marion has this arrangement.  On smaller boats (eg Ranger), this allows single-person operation, as the wheel is just in front of the firebox door (and feedwater and lubrication controls).

The composite hull was a solution to the problem of the fierce Australian sun causing shrinkage of timbers which were above the waterline, and hence leaking when the vessel was loaded.  A lot of boats spent 6 months of the year stranded on mud when the river was low.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[paddlesteamerman1]

It is the Melbourne that has a different engine arrangement isnt it? Because I remember something was different, and I am sure it was the engine!!!
Also the Industry's engine is a cross between the AA and the Adelaide I found out to!! Its motor works are under the boiler!!

[michael]

Actually the Australien had a 1cyl McDonald engine fitted into her and it basically 'shook her apart'. The steam engine was taken and scrapped and the diesel engine was also gone when she was refloated.
I went and took some photo's of Edwards tonight, she is looking very bad now. So get that article up and you'l have some photo's to add!

[paddlesteamerman1]

Ahhhh, i didnt think that the Australien had been refloated or even operational in recent times, but must be with the diesel engine removed!!
Who is restoring the Edwards?
I also heard from the owner of the PS Etona that the PS Perricoota is up for sale??? According to Rob, the owners new wife wants him to sell it!

[michael]

Yeah quietly a few boats are for sale Ranger was, Henry Charles is, Perricotta has been for a while, if you have $200,000 lying under your bed! I think Edwards has past its 'used by date'! She is just a pile of timber twisted and warped. If you wanted to rebuild her you would have to build a new hull, maybe use the wheels, winch, and there is a portale there also which was to be restored when the boat got restored. The original engine is like Hero's, rust!

[paddlesteamerman1]

Well, Michael, If i had the money i am sure as sure can be that the Henry Charles would do me just fine!! Also i would love to restore the Edwards, or any boat really!!! But the money is just a bit of a problem... I might go and start looking for loose coins under the bed eh?!!!!!

[michael]

PS Edwards built May 1975, Echuca, wooden hull,wooden frames. 82.8ft long by 16ft wide. Fitted with a 12hp steam engine.Owned by James Laing. Sold 1889 to Lawrence&son and a 15" centrifugal pump was fitted in her forward hull which ran of the steam engines flywheel, this delivering 6,000 galons per minute to irrigate the Lawrence property on the banks of the Murray, Murrumbidgge and Wakool rivers. Sold 1901 to John Webb then to William Maloney of Barmah in 1907 where she was fitted with a new engine and boiler. Sold to R.Evans in 1919 and used for towing outrigger barges, and 'inside' barges to and from the Barmah forest to their sawmill below Echuca wharf. As the paddle steamer era came to an end, Edwards was rarely used and her seams opened up and she sank below the Evans Sawmill Sept 1958, as the mill caught fire in 1959 the vessel was never salvaged.
She was refloated and had her machinary removed in 1981 and trucked to her present site outside of Echuca, where she sits in front of a house falling apart, there was talk of restoration, but she is too far gone now to rebuild her. All her machinary are in a paddock nearby aswell.

[thewharfonline]

Here are the photos Michael took of the warped hull and the machinary of the Paddle Steamer Edwards.

I think restoration is still a possibility...simply because look at the Hero, there is very little 'Hero' left instead she has been restored simply by renewing her register and mainly rebuilt. My theory use as much 'Edwards' as possible, try to restore as much as you can, if you can't well if Hero can get away with it so can Edwards!

I think Michael also meant she was built in 1875...

I also think although yes Warped the wood seems to look pretty good I mean even the bits next to the Stem Post are in tact...on my boat a similar bit looks in worse shape! I reckon she could be saved yet!

[paddlesteamerman1]

Well I certainly hope that the PS Edwards hasnt passed the salvageable stage, because it would be absolutely brilliant to see another one on the river. And yes if the Hero can do it, so can the Edwards :!:  :!:
It does really look like a lot of work, but it can be done, I am sure of it!! And the wood is not as bad as I pictured it either!!

[thewharfonline]

The Paddle Steamer Emmylou was built between 1980 and 1982 by Anthony Browell and was designed by Warwick Hood. Although the Emmylou was built as a new Paddle Steamer she was designed along the lines of the Paddle Steamers of old, which would include boats such as the Ellen, Gem and Ruby. The Emmylou is 90 feet long with a steel hull and wooden deck housing with three decks.

After construction the boat was used privately by Anthony Browell- apparently under a green colour scheme. However in 1984 the Emmylou was sold and a new company was formed- Emmylou Enterprises and the Emmylou began operating purely as a tourist boat. The Emmylou is fitted out with dining facilities and tourists can cruise on lunch and dinner trips along with over night accommodation at certain times of the year in ten cabins.

The Emmylou is powered by a 1906 Marshall and Sons steam engine which was restored and refitted to operate the paddlewheels of the boat and like all the steam boats in Echuca and the Murray is powered by wood- red gum from Barmah, which my friends great uncle supplies, it’s a small world! Emmylou is the tallest boat in Echuca offering great views from her wheelhouse where the skipper controls the forward/reversing of the wheels, speed and steering, which is similar to the Adelaide.

The Emmylou is also a star of the screen appearing in All The Rivers Run as the paddle steamer Providence which races the Pevensey at one stage in the movie. She has also appeared in several television advertisements and is a favourite for television travel shows. In fact the Emmylou is probably one of Echuca’s favourite boats simply because she was never a working boat, she has sleek lines instead of the more boxy work horses that appear shabby compared to this well groomed maiden of the river. Of course the locomotive whistle assists her likeability. (I have to boast how nice she is because it’s mum’s favourite boat!) However enthusiasts and people who realise the importance of the river, and men who get fascinated by steam, tend to ignore the looks of the Emmylou and hang out around the engine!

The Emmylou is now operated by Murray River Paddle Steamers which also operate Pride of The Murray and now the Canberra. Usually all three boats operate daily along with one boat from the Port all at slightly staggered times, which can often lead to interesting radio conversations and funny river situations. Last time I was up at Echuca the skipper of the Emmylou got ‘bored’ and with the low river trapping the Hero in the wet (now dry) dock decided to try some ‘free dredging’ to get her out. More simply the Emmylou was driven directly into the river bank- apparently this wasn’t the first time. Of course then the situation got slightly sticky, literally. The Emmylou has a hull more like a yacht than a paddle steamer and as such gets easily stuck onto the bank. Here the Emmylou floundered, one wheel in the water and the skipper getting impatient, of course the passengers must have thought it was interesting.

Radio chatter between the Pevensey, Emmylou and Pride of the Murray offered a few laughs as we (the Pev) threatened to give the Emmylou ‘a boot up the bum’ to get her off the bank. Unfortunately for our passengers we didn’t get to do this as the Emmylou got off the banks. After this I was told about many other funny happenings of long boat reversing streaks downstream for a six-pack and other similar stories. The next day I was back at the Port as a tourist and the Emmylou was at it again, pictures at the bottom of the article!

The Emmylou is currently Echuca’s only floating hotel- the Hero is slowly getting there though- and operates one or two night trips for a certain amount of time during the year. Tourists can also grab a snack or a meal on the boat on any of the other cruises throughout the day.

For more information visit: http://www.emmylou.com.au/About%20Emmylou.html
_________________________________________________________
Sources:Parsons, Ronald Ships of the Inland Rivers Gould Books, 1987
Plowman, Peter, Murray Darling Paddleboats Rosenberg, 2005
23rd Thursday, August 03, 2006