Lake Wendouree [Ballarat, Vic., Australia]

[Roderick Smith]

Ballarat:
Ballarat started life as one of Victoria's many goldmining centres, and evolved rapidly to be the state's third-largest city, and also an early centre of industry: Phoenix Foundry, which made its start making mining machinery, built lococomotives for Victorian Railways.  Ballarat was the location of the Eureka Stockade rebellion, which did much to establish Australia's political system and culture.  At the western end of the city a swamp, fed and drained by a creek, was dammed ~1860 to become a lake (~ 2 km long and 1.5 km wide); botanic gardens were established.  The area became the recreational focus of the city, and also the area of the classiest housing.  For 20 years, many paddlesteamers competed for the trade (peak fleet: eight in the mid 1890s).  Electric trams came in 1905, the volume of paddleboat traffic dwindled.  There were only three boats as at 1907 (others had been sold for use on Yarra River in Melbourne, and Swan River in Perth); but one lingered until 1966.  When Melbourne hosted the 1956 Olympic Games, the rowing course was carved from the weeds in the lake; Ballarat had its own Olympic Village.  When bad weather forced cancellation of the events one day, they were deferred to a Sunday.  This was the first time in Olympic history when events were held on a Sunday.  In recent years, the lake has suffered from low water levels.  First, powered boating was banned, then all boating was banned, then all boating was impossible: the bed dried out.  Lots of eager prospectors were out, searching for an Olympic gold medal which supposedly had fallen overboard from a rowing skiff.  The bottom wasn't bone dry.  One lady required rescuing after sinking into the mud.  It has had low and dry years in other eras, but recovered.  There was a risk that this time the lake would never fill again, but there is now a plan to fill it with recycled water.  As at early 2009, the refilling hasn't started, but the lake bed has had two wildfires: ignited fairy weed.  Both were a problem to extinguish.  Although the bed was dry, it was not sufficiently firm for safe access by fire trucks.  Ballarat's other tourist attractions include Sovereign Hill (a gold-mining folk museum), an operating tram museum in the gardens area, and its architecture and sense of history.   

Boats:
References are from Steamboat memories (see below).
* 19th century view, with a rowboat, sailingboats and an unidentified paddlesteamer (p5).
* 1865: Gill's Victoria launched.
* PS Union, built in 1874 (p6).
* 1874: PS Queen launched.  Painting of PS Queen, also two other paddlesteamers, and lots of rowing and sailing boats (p2 & 19).
* 1875: (Gill's?) Wendouree launched.  In a minor collision when rival skippers were racing (p6).
* Screw steamer Princess, 1876 (p6).
* 1877 PS Prince Consort, the largest on the lake, double-ended ~28 m.  It ran for 30 years (ie ~1907 disposal, after the trams came).  (p12-13 text and diagram).
* PS Ballarat built in 1878, 200 passengers (p1 & p3 photo).
* 1885: Gill's PS Golden City launched.  Ivey renamed his Lady of the Lake to Golden City, so Gill's was known as New Golden City until the other was sold away c1904.  Photos of Gill's in 1938, and 1987 (p15).  Photo of Ivey's on Yarra River as Alexandra in 1907 (p16).
* 1887: The Gill fleet was Ballarat, Prince Consort, Golden City, Queen and Princess.
* Double-deck dance boat PS Garden City, built in 1889, catamaran, two paddle wheels in the middle, two boilers, four engines (p12).
* p17: reed-cutting steamer Enterprise ~1889, got a passenger licence too (p17).
* 1904: PS or PV Gem launched, the last new boat on the lake for 72 years (p11 photo).
* 1998: PV Begonia Princess purchased, also operated by GCPS (p18 photo).

PS/PV Golden City:
* 1885: Built by/for Gill, launched 16.6.  Length 15.8 m; beam (over hull?) 2.9 m.
* 1935: Converted to motor operation.
* Became the last paddleboat on the lake.  [I cruised in Mar.1961].
* 1966: sold for use on the lake at Caribbean Gardens (a recreational centre in Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs).
* Reengined, and hull overhauled and fibreglassed.
* In 1987 purchased and returned to Ballarat by Apex Club of Ballarat. Golden City Paddle Steamer Museum Society Inc. was formed in 1988 as a consequence of a public meeting convened by Apex.
* The society purchased and renovated Gill's Boatshed, established the Lake Wendouree Museum and facilitated the development of the Boatshed Restaurant which will underwrite the society's future viability.
* Restoration to working condition was completed in 1995; the boat was operated until 2000.  It was removed from the water in 2004 for a major overhaul.  Plans included reconversion to steam.
* 2006: Restoration was nearly complete (at an industrial site, not the historic boatshed museum); the boat was destroyed in what is believed to be an arson attack.
* GCPS launched an appeal to fund the construction of a replica.  Meanwhile, the lake has remained unnavigable for either vessel.
* As at 2008, work on the replica is well advanced.

References:
* a book by Colin Jones Steamboat memories, 2001, isbn 1 876761 03 2.  It is a self-covered 20 page A5 publication in landscape format.  AFAIK it is still in print, and could be available by mail order from Railfan Shop or Hylands in Melbourne.  It may also be available via GCPSMS.
* www.goldencitypaddlesteamer.org.au: Golden City Paddle Steamer Museum Society, with a direct link to an earlier version of the site (www.ballarat.com/paddlesteamer): history, photos, contacts, and a good coverage of the restoration, changed after a fire to construction of a replica.
* www.collectionsaustralia.net/org/390/about.  This mentions that there were 15 paddleboats on the lake in various eras (but doesn't name them).
* www.ballarathistory.org/transgct.html.  An online article by Peter Butters on the history of boating on the lake, with a period photo not in the book.
* http://nla.gov.au/nla.cs-pa-http%253A%252F%252Fmview.museum.vic.gov.au%252Fpaimages%252Fmm%252F001%252F001666.htm: PV Golden City decorated for the Ballarat centenary celebrations, 1938.
* There are more available by googling.

I am now in email contact with Colin Jones, author of the Ballarat and Yarra/Maribyrnong ferry books.  He has advised that:
Melbourne Fairyland was originally Ballarat Ballarat and Melbourne Alexandra was originally Ivey's Golden City.  I will have to update the Yarra thread too.

I now enclose an additional photo from him: PS Lord Roberts, from the State Library of Victoria collection.  This one has not been mentioned hitherto.

I enclose:
* East shore Lake Wendouree c1905. Garden City Steamboat Company's sheds with Gem in the foreground lhs, Prince Consort behind, and Ivey's Golden City in the background rhs (from the Butters website).
* PV Golden City in Mar.61, taken by my father.
* The front cover of Steamboat memories, a sepia-toned print of PS Ballarat at the western end of the lake, where a few small islands and narrow channels were dubbed 'Fairyland'.
* Four from Steamboat memories; the sources were not stated.

As noted by Derek, weeds have always been a problem in the lake.  In 1889, there was a purpose-made weed-cutting vessel.  In another era, Ballarat engineers looked at weed-clearing equipment in Albert Park Lake (Melbourne).  I grew up hearing that the Olympic course has since weeded over.  AFAIK it was cleared periodically.  Currently, it is suitable only for horse racing.  Lake Learmonth, only 30 km from Ballarat, has been dry for several years, and does have an annual horse race in the dry bed.

I haven't cruised in Begonia Princess yet, and I never visited Caribbean Gardens when Golden City was there.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[derekwarner_decoy]

Goodness PD's...it is a miracle Roderick that the vessel did not suffer from a seized paddle shaft with the amount of flotsom about.......

http://www.paddleducks.co.uk/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=3547.0;attach=8640

[Roderick Smith]

I have noted with some surprise that the Lake Weeroona thread, on which the existence of a paddlesteamer has yet to be proven, has had twice as many views at has this Lake Wendouree thread.  I put this down to Google: people looking for Cornish folk songs have been directed to Lake Weeroona, much to their surprise.
To redress the imbalance, here is a folk song with Australian and Lake Wendouree links.

From http://raymondfolk.wetpaint.com/page/Songs+from+England?t=anon
'Botany Bay' is usually categorised as an Australian ballad but it actually comes from the English music-hall tradition....when I was a small child my father sang it to me when he took me out in a rowing boat on Lake Wendouree in Ballarat.  Here is my performance. And here are the lyrics.
[You will have to scroll down and click on the link; I haven't given you the direct one.  Do not get distracted by the usually-bawdy 'Barnacle Bill the sailor'].

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

Some updates.

As at Mar.09, the lake is still dry.  Plans to fill it with recycled water have still not come to fruition.  A new thread in the Research forum is 'Begonia Princess - high and dry"; it shows that paddle vessel sitting on the bed (traditionally a familiar seasonal aspect for flat-hull Australian paddleboats).
See: www.paddleducks.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=4145.0

I have now completed my Yarra River thread, also in this Research forum.
See: www.paddleducks.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=4152.0
It refers to two Lake Wendouree boats being transferred to Yarra River.
PS Alexandra, built in 1884, transferred in 1907.
PS Fairyland, transferred in 1934, and converted to PV.

Neither of these was mentioned in Steamboat memories, which raises the prospect that the book missed other boats too.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

I enclose another Colin Jones photo, which came to me via the collection of Dave Menzies (a British expat who worked for Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board in the late 1960s and 1970s, now back in UK).
This one shows PV Begonia Princess operating on the lake, and PV Golden City floating.
It is nostalgic in this era just for showing water in the lake.
It is dated 1990, which hints that the earlier 1998 date for Begonia Princess in this thread was wrong; 1988 is more likely.  In any research hobby, consistent references are good; inconsistent ones are a worry: they alert a researcher to a fault, but don't hint which version is correct.

Edit on 2.7.09:  There are three more Ballarat photos on p18 of the APAM - List... thread, www.paddleducks.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=2566.255

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

Good rains at the end of September have resulted in stream flows in watercourses which have been dry for over a decade (eg Wimmera River in western Victoria, which was never a boating river).
Lake Wendouree has started to fill.  The optimistic newspaper photo showed a kayak floating on water.  However, it was a bit misleading: it was floating because the owner wasn't aboard.  The owner was standing alongside, up to his ankles in water.  That is not enough depth for paddleboat operation yet.

About 60 km to the north-east, Cairn Curran (a reservoir on Loddon River) has sufficient water for the yacht club to hold its 50th anniversary regatta.  It had been unboatable for a decade.  Another photo showed water in Lake Eppalock (Campaspe River, a reservoir serving Bendigo).  This had been a recreational boating lake since its construction, but had been unboatable for a few years.

For more photos of PV Begonia Princess, see www.paddleducks.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=4145.0

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Barry]

The waters back in Lake Wendouree, along with a lot of reeds and weed. Begonia Princess is a float again but doesn't appear to be back in service yet.

[Roderick Smith]

Wooden Boat Association has been invited to send a fleet for the Labor Day long weekend, as part of the annual Begonia Festival.  The begonias are in glasshouses in the gardens at the west end of the lake.  The preserved tourist tram runs around that section too.  I would love to launch there, but my boat will be in Renmark.  The dates are Sat.13-Mon.15.3.  WBA members own mainly dinghies and half-cabin launches powered by putt-putt engines or older Seagull outboards, some members have steam launches; AFAIK all are screw, not paddle.  I intend to visit.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria

[Mike Smith]

Barry,
I don't think that the Begonia Princess will be put back into service on Lake Wendouree, it stop operations in 2003 and its license lapsed two years later. The boat is a real sore point with the Golden City Paddle Steamer Museum Society as it is blocking the entrance to their shed where they wish to complete the final fit out of their newly built boat to enable it to become operational. I have attached a number of links one to the Golden City's web site and the others are local new paper articles on the on going dispute between the Council, Golden City Society, and the owner of the Begonia Princess. One of the articles from Feb 2010 reported that the Begonia Princess had been sold to interests in Sale and would operate on the Gippsland Lakes.

http://www.thecourier.com.au/news/local/news/general/lake-wendouree-boat-battle/1926070.aspx
http://www.goldencitypaddlesteamer.org.au/
http://www.thecourier.com.au/news/local/news/general/get-rid-of-begonia-princess-council/1584162.aspx
http://www.thecourier.com.au/news/local/news/general/begonia-princess-ferry-stuck-on-lake-until-april/1716374.aspx
http://www.thecourier.com.au/news/local/news/general/dredge-may-herald-end-for-begonia-princess/1955870.aspx
http://sale.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/paddle-boat-service-for-port/1761145.aspx

[Roderick Smith]

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

From Sat.22.1.10 Ballarat Courier:
Plan for ferries on Lake Wendouree
Ferries could soon be providing passenger services on Lake Wendouree with its return to capacity.
Ballarat City Council has advertised for expressions of interests from people to operate commercial passenger ferries for the lake.
City of Ballarat director of development and infrastructure Eric Braslis said they would be issuing a limited number of five-year licences to suitably qualified parties who could deliver passenger ferry services.
So far the council has advertised on their website and in the Courier and Mr Braslis said they do hope to attract a local operator.
"We really do hope we'll get a number of applications ... but I think in fairness we need to go through that open process so that either the existing operators or any others have the opportunity to come back to council with their application," he said.
Mr Braslis is referring to PV Golden City and Begonia Princess, which both operated on the lake until it dried up in the early 2000s.
The Golden City team is working furiously to prepare the boat so it is ready to hit the lake, while Begonia Princess owner Greg Austin will not be returning.
"It hasn't been removed but it is going to be shortly, it won't be operating there again," he said.
"We're going to revamp it and do it up. We're still negotiating whether it will be used as a house boat or as a ferry, but it won't be in Ballarat."
Begonia Princess has been the source of much controversy after it became stuck in the dry lake bed and was unable to be removed, blocking the entrance to a boat shed.
Now the water has risen allowing the boat to float, Mr Austin said he hopes to have it out within the next few weeks.
Paddle steamer society vice-president Barry Burnett said they were nearing completion, following the huge effort to rebuild Golden City after it was destroyed by fire in 2006.
"The decking is three-quarters completed and we need to mount the seats," he said. "Next is the the red and white canvas roofing, but there's no point putting it on until we get it on the water."

[Roderick Smith]

This year, Ballarat Begonia Festival celebrated its 59th year.  It is held at Ballarat Gardens and the shore of Lake Wendouree, based around the hothouses of begonias, but with many other attractions.  The portion of the electric tram, preserved as a museum operation, provides sponsored free shuttles between the carpark at the northern end, and the various attractions (plus being an attraction in its own right).
This year, Wooden Boat Association was invited to attend, but only a couple of boats appeared, as it clashed with another wooden-boat rally.

I had multiple attractions in the region that day, so I drove up and juggled them all in.

I opened with a tram ride, then continued by hiring a pedalo, then viewed the wooden boats.  The owner of the pedalo & kayak hire had is own clinker-built sailing dinghy on a trailer, and a larger wooden boat in the water (his rescue boat for hirers in trouble).
The Pelican is built in Canada.
See www.pelicansport.com
and link through to
www.pelicansport.com/index.php?language=en&category=pedalboat&nauticalboat=pedalboat

The event is at the west end of the lake; the two paddleboats are at the east end (which is why the lake had paddleboats over 100 years ago: taking the workers from the housing zone to the recreation zone).  I didn't have the time to drive by to see if PV Begonia Princess has gone yet.

I've included a tram photo: that patch of green to the left is a corner of the lake, with weed-infested water.  The area was termed 'Fairyland', and a feature of a ferry cruise was coming in between the trees and the shore: a contrast to the open lake.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

Here is a photo of PV Golden City on Lake Wendouree on 26.12.87.
http://tdu.to/a24531/1/Ballarat%20032.jpg

It was by Robin Clarke, relayed via Dave Menzies.  It it had been Dave's own, I could have reposted it here.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[sawdustoz]

Hi,  I'm a new member to this forum and I'm researching Lake Wendouree steamboat proprietor James Ivey (albeit more for his previous life in mechanical engineering than for his later work on Lake Wendouree)).  Can someone put me in touch with Colin Jones, or let me know where I can buy a copy of 'Steamboat Memories'?  A search on the internet for a second-hand copy has proved fruitless.

Cheers,
PeterE.

[Brian Gates]

Hi Peter

Is this the book you are searching for?

STEAMBOAT MEMORIES

Jones, Colin

http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=14205435377&searchurl=sts%3Dt%26tn%3DSteamboat+Memories

Brian

[Barry]

If you'd like to PM me I have a spare copy of Steamboat memories. Not a lot in it really about James Ivey.