APAM- List of Paddlers Part 1 Modern and Restored Vessels

[Excelsior]

Hi all...  My understanding is that the Colonel is a very long term project.  Steve Moritz (the owner) is very busy with his business & other projects.  He has an in depth knowledge of the rivers & the boats & is very interesting to chat with.

[Roderick Smith]

I didn't think to call by Mildura and see how much of PS Excelsior is revealed while lock 11 is undergoing maintenance, and hence the pool is dropped.
Hopefully, the owner can post a photo (or a radar view).

What is PS Melbourne doing for its daily cruising?  Enough depth through the river channel with the weir removed?  Or has the weir not been removed, just drop the pool?

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Excelsior]

Hi Roderick.  I'd be very surprised if the Ex was showing.  She sits in deep water in the middle of the river (near the bowling club I think).  I have also been led to believe that over the past 2 decades she's been almost completely covered by silt.  Although I haven't spoken to anyone in Mildura for a few years I might send off an email & ask the question though.  It would be interesting if she was showing. If you hear anything in your travels, I'd love to know.  Hopefully if she does show somebody will get some photos.

It was asked in the Invincible thread whether there are any plans to restore the Ex.  At this point I'd say it's extremely unlikely that will ever occur.  The difficulties with funding & the shipwreck act probably put the task beyond my abilities.  Also, there's no evidence as to her current condition.  There are two people that I've spoken to who have dived on her.  One of whom says 10 foot of the bow is missing (not a huge worry), the other seemed to think she was in good condition with even the sponsons intact.  Seeing how the Daisy was when she came up makes me wonder how good the Ex could possibly be.  Never say never though.

[ian savage]

Giday Excelsior..

Just enquiring  regards to the shipwrecks act , you mentioned that after ex amount of time you cannot shift or raise a wreck, does this apply Aust wide or is it just say in S.A for example ?? or is this something that just applies to the Murray river.

May i ask  how did you come to aquire the wreck of the Excelsior did  you buy it from someone and with the intention of raising  and restoring her
?? are you a Mildura person yourself ?? it seems strange that if people do  have the time and money to actually restore a vessel, and go to so much work why then have these laws come into place. 

I was watching  online here an interview with the group that were formally restoring the success in the Mildura area  and they were lamenting the loss of yet another paddle steamer to the Echuca area, i was wondering also  why the local council  and local interest groups  could not have shown more interest in keeping the Success  in the  Mildura area.

Do you know anything about the Alpha being raised in july ?? someone else here mentioned it in a previous thread ??             

many thanks

Ian Savage...

[Roderick Smith]

We must wait for 'Excelsior' for a full answer.  AFAIK the shipwreck legislation is national, and was intended to apply for coastal waters.  Perhaps rivers became included by oversight?  Perhaps deliberately by Pollyanna types, who haven't a clue?  This is the same sort which has caused a ban on desnagging, and is pleased to announce that new snags are being planted.

On the other front, AFAIK the groups was not oversaddened by the relocation of 'Success': the task had been beyond the group's ability, and the new home offers a much brighter future.  Still in the area is the restoration of 'Canally', at Robinvale.  That project has stretched for over 10 years, and the small core of workers is also 10 years older.  Merging two volunteer pools could bring that project to fruition while the team is still sufficiently agile to go aboard and enjoy a cruise.  Canally's hull had been replanked with professional advice and help.  The sinking was a setback, but it is in safe terrain now.  Chatting with the team: a priority now is having a local slipway, and that seems to be an achievable goal.  Robinvale is only 80 km from Mildura by road, and has at least 60 km of permanent pool cruising available above the weir, with extended voyaging available season to season / flush to flush.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Excelsior]

My understanding, re shipwreck act, is that there is national legislation & state based legislation.  The Ex is certainly protected under NSW state legislation.  The act covers all shipwrecks over 50 years in age, however the Ex sank 49 years ago (50 next march).  I believe that there is provision for shipwrecks under 50 years in age to be nominated as historic wrecks, thus the Ex is now protected.  I've also been lead to believe that the legislation has some holes in it which make it possible for the owner of a wrecked vessel to salvage the wreck.  Not being a solicitor I have no idea how true this is.  That being said, it's no use salvaging a vessel if you can't immediately start work on restoration, the material would deteriorate too badly... You end up with a situation like the Edwards.

As for the Alpha being salvaged, I think that's a misunderstanding.  I believe the poster was talking about the levels in the Mildura weir being lowered in July while maintenance is being done.   During this time it's likely that the wreck of the Alpha will show.  From the pics I've seen of the wreck she looks pretty stuffed, although I think there are others who's opinion on this would be a better guide.

As for living in Mildura... Sadly no, I don't.  Currently I live in central Sydney.

Mac Murray

[Excelsior]

Oh yeah... I acquired the Ex just before my 19th birthday.  Through a tip from Rod Williams & some further investigation I managed to track down the owners & acquired it from them.  My intention was to restore the boat... I was much younger then (obviously) & had no real idea of what that involved.  It's still a pipe dream, I'd love for it to happen someday, but I'm a little more realistic these days.

[ian savage]

G day Mac..

Just wondering why u took the remains of the Excelsior on at such a young age ?? and also when the vessel first sunk, why wasn't it raised at that particular time around 1961 i think u said ! i have seen pics of it sunk in the SA godson collection  with the vessel superstructure protruding from the water, surely it would have been much easier  in 1961 to have raised it, than too leave it sunk for so long in the Murray ??  and i get the impression that the boat is now out in deeper water did it move there from the current or was it moved out to deeper waters for safety reasons ?? there r some fine pics of her in that collection and of course i have seen her pictured in many books on the Murray and surrounds.

Did u ever manage to see the vessel when it was afloat or have u ever dived on her over the years ? when i m back in oz at Xmas, I'm going to spend a couple of weeks traveling along the Murray from Albury to mildura  just to catch up on seeing all the PS and taking as many pics as possible.
 

if u have any interesting  fact about the Excelsior or stories to tell, please post them in here I'm sure we would all love to  hear more about her history and her later life on the Murray. i guess if u ever win the lotto down there, u may be able to do something 2 her if that is still possible ! is it true though i hear many  conflicting reports,  that if a vessel is kept sunk its better for them to stay perserved over a long period of time, as boats i have seen on land seem to dry up and rot quicker, what ya view on this ?? or knowledge on this,  for example  the Edwards and the Australian near Echuca a few yrs back i was out on the Pride of the Murray and the captain at that time told me that the worst thing they ever did was take the Edwards out of the river and leave her to rot on land !! 

i guess people have all the best intentions to help and perserve these relics of our past but sometime i think they get a bit way layed if there not up for instant perservation !! time and money r  factors to consider as well..
 

 Hope to hear from you soon. 

Ian Savage ..  in HK ...