Yarra River ferries [Melbourne, Vic., Australia]

[Roderick Smith]

Melbourne's founder came up the river, said 'This will be the place for a village', and bought the site from the locals for a few blankets and glass trinkets.

This is the river which flows upside down; too thick to swim in, but too thin to plough.

The river and its delta have been reshaped many times.  Today's river has been widened and straightened: ornamental above Princes Bridge; shipping commercial below.  Ocean-going ships were restricted to Queens Bridge (central city) by a reef, then by bridges; then newer bridges forced them further downstream; other craft could reach Dights Falls (Collingwood, 14 km by river); that is still a restriction today, although rowing boats can be launched above the falls, and many stretches further up provide various standards of training and competitive kayaking.

Service- and leisure-ferries have been important from the early days.  The Yarra is surprisingly rural in the heart of densely-built suburbs, because it flows well down with high and steep banks.  The Maribyrnong was quite flood prone, so most of its banks are parkland.

The definitive work is Colin Jones 'Ferries on the Yarra', Greenhouse Publications, 1981m hardcover, 108 pages.  Isbn 0 909104 42 5
He didn't identify vessels by type.

1854: PS Gondola built locally for the leisure trade, central city to pleasure gardens at Cremorne.  This was followed by a string of screw vessels, providing scheduled services to the expanding suburbs, and recreational/tourist cruises.
1884: PS Alexandra was built for Lake Wendouree (Ballarat) as Ivey's Golden City; it came to Melbourne in 1907.
1934: PV Fairyland was built for Lake Wendouree as PS Ballarat.  It was brought to Melbourne in 1934, was converted to motor operation and renamed, then was destroyed by fire in 1937.
1935: PV River Queen built in Melbourne.  It was the largest Yarra cruise boat to date.  It was converted to dual propulsion: paddle and screw. [appendix shows 1935-58]
1937: PV Mississippi built to replace Fairyland [appendix shows 1938-61]
There was a new Fairyland, screw; I recall this one from my own Melbourne visits in the early 1950s [appendix shows 1945-58]

There were four survivors in 1957: PV River Princess & Mississippi, and screw Jolly Roger & St Anthony.
The tide of public opinion had turned against the ferries: antiquated and prone to sinking (Mississippi had been rebuilt after a sinking).  The operating company was wound up; the boats were sold to two operators.  River Princess was scrapped soon after.

The tide has turned again.  There is an extensive fleet of low-profile screw vessels, capable of passing under the very-restrictive bridges.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Woz]

Great information.  I'll have to get hold of the book.

Woz

[Roderick Smith]

Jessie II at the upper end of Maribyrnong River navigation.  This is Canning Reserve, formerly the site of tearooms and a dance hall.  This is the upper limit for MV Blackbird.  I was able to get 1 km further up before touching the bottom.  This tranquil rural scene is only 10 km from the gpo of a city of 4m people.  There are still sightings of the elusive platypus along the banks.  Back in the days, a young gentleman in a straw boater could hire a punt in Essendon, and propel his young lady (in a mutton-sleeve top and long dress) up the river to the site.  The remains of the grandstands for Henley on Maribyrnong are among the many features visible from a Blackbird cruise up the river.
A modern low-profile Yarra ferry (Yarra Queen) on Maribyrnong River, taking a group to Melbourne Cup.  Because the company's boats look so similar, each was colour coded with balloons so that patrons could find the right vessel.  This is the busiest day of the year on the river, with most river-charter boats taking groups, and a lot of private boats coming from bayside marinas.  I have also seen a Cleopatra barge and a Viking longboat on earlier Cup Days.  Melbourne Cup takes place on the first Tuesday in November, and is a public holiday in Melbourne.  It is known as the 'Race which stops a nation'.  In mid afternoon, as it is being run, work stops around Australia, and people listen to the calling of the race.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

Here is a publicly-accessible archive for an article which I wrote on Yarra and Maribyrnong bridges for a tram group.
There are some boats in the links (but screw, not paddle).
http://tdu.to/86313.msg
In particular, http://tdu.to/86313.msg/061109Th-Yarra-JohnstonSt-JFitzsimons-s.jpg shows Jessie II at the top end of Yarra navigation.  I was onto rock, and couldn't go under the bridge unless I hoisted the motor and walked the boat through.
http://tdu.to/86812.msg shows two more modern ferries, and one of the low bridges which forces the design.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

With my Murray collection, I was able to use my own photos.
For Port Phillip, Yarra River, Lake Wendouree and Gippsland lakes, I will have to scan images from published works, unless I can find links.
State Library of Victoria has a good index.
Public Records of Victoria has a hopeless non-index.

PS Gondola: www.slv.vic.gov.au/pictoria/b/2/8/doc/b28670.shtml
A lovely watercolour, dated 1855.  It appears in b&w in the book, along with another from the famous painter T S Gill (whose 'Life on the goldfields' sketches provide the image which most Australians know).

PV Mississippi: www.slv.vic.gov.au/pictures/0/0/5/doc/pi005096.shtml

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

These Yarra River photographs were taken on a day when Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Australia had hired MV Blackbird to explore Port of Melbourne and Yarra River.  The trip was booked out; I had been on Blackbird before; I had cruised higher up the Yarra in Jessie II.  I was happy to leave a spot for somebody else to enjoy the experience, but did get some riverbank photos.
Blackbird was build c1927 for cruising on Gippsland Lakes at the popular holiday resort Lakes Entrance.  I have photos taken during a cruise of North Arm.  It has been based on Maribyrnong River for ~30 years now, and makes regular cruises down to the docks and up to Canning Reserve. See: www.blackbirdcruises.com.au.  This stunning site has everything: the river, the boat specifications and history, the cruises available, and links to every other river-ferry website (there are lots).

Herring Island was formed in 1928 by creating a short-cut for the Yarra through a former council quarry.  Both sides are navigable, and Melbourne River Cruises runs hourly cruises from Southbank past Melbourne gardens and sports zones, rounding the island to return.
See http://home.vicnet.net.au/~herring/about.htm

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

My transport friend John Fitzsimons (deckhand on my Jessie II cruise nearly to Dights Falls) called by with a set of postcards which he had just purchased.
Sitting in a folder of late 1920s Melbourne was this view which included a Yarra River paddleboat, plus a glimpse of a smaller launch.
I have cropped the famous Princes Bridge and Flinders St station lhs; there are glimpses of Young and Jackson Princes Bridge Hotel (famous), Manchester Unity building (art deco) and St Paul's Cathedral.  Today, the riverbank view there has been changed completely, and filled with the gimmicky Federation Square.
It is almost certainly PV Fairyland, 1934-37, with a slight chance of being PV River Queen, 1935-58.
It is unlikely to be PV Mississippi, 1938-61: the windows are different.
It was a card in a view folder, and all of the others have the tone of the late 1920s, but could be early 1930s.
The long roof board matches Fairyland better than River Queen, but roofboards can be changed with ease; it isn't a definitive clue.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

The book has three photos of PS Alexandra on Yarra River.
One is all soot & whitewash; one is small and remote.
This is the best, and is from the collection of Richmond & Burnley Historical Society (the suburb Burnley was part of the municipality Richmond; now all have been merged into a larger municipality).
This was was taken under the 1880s railway bridge at Heyington.  As part of freeway construction in the late 1960s, the river was diverted, and the bridge was replaced with one on a slightly different alignment.

PS Alexandra will appear again in my posts, as it was built for Lake Wendouree (Ballarat) in 1884, then was relocated to Melbourne in 1907.  Iron hull, 52 ft (15.8 m) long; under 10 ft (3.0 m) beam.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

PS Fairyland was brought from Ballarat, and was rebuilt with a petrol engine.  The name refers to a section of Lake Wendouree, where boats could pass under overhanging trees through a narrow channel between a small island and the main bank.  It was 65 ft [19.8 m] long, and could carry 162 passengers.  My earlier post must show Fairyland: other boats had dummy funnels.  Fairyland carried its name on the roof board; the paddleboxes carried 'Melbourne Ferries', and that pattern is just discernable in the earlier view.  It entered service in Mar.1934.  It hit a rock one night, and was beached promptly; all passengers evacuated safely.  The damage was repaired promptly.  Fairyland was destroyed by fire on 16.3.1937.  A new and larger screw Fairyland was built to replace it.
I have just checked with my Ballarat book: neither PS Alexandra nor PS Fairyland is mentioned.

PV River Queen was built in 1935, 19.8 m long, 4.8 m beam, 1.2 m draught.
It was built with dummy funnels.  These had to be removed in the 1940s to allow it to pass under the scaffolding for the erection of Swan St bridge.  It was in service until 1958.

PV Mississippi was in service 1938-61, 18.3 m long, 5.2 m beam, 1.4 m draft.  Its fake funnels were also removed to allow passage under Swan St bridge construction scaffolding.  A photo is at www.slv.vic.gov.au/pictures/0/0/5/doc/pi005096.shtml.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

I thought that I had finished, tidied, inserted links, and was ready to move to another theme.
However, SS/SL Elizabeth Anne 1 warrants a place in this thread, even if not paddle.
I have a history somewhere (IIRC from Tasmania).
This little cutie did the classic Yarra cruise, from touristy Southbank (opposite Flinders St station) to Herring Island.
It had a folding funnel for passing under lower bridges (all downstream?).

It has been out of use for over a year, and is starting to look quite forlorn.  Apparently residents of expensive blocks of flats [apartments] were complaining about the noise of the whistle.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[Roderick Smith]

I have updated slightly my original long post in this thread, using information emailed by Colin Jones.

Until the start of May, there is an exhibition of photos in Gallery 101 (Collins St, Melbourne, between Russell St and Exhibition St).  They are stylised b&w ones from renowned architecture photographer Mark Strizic.  The theme is 'Melbourne, a city in transition', with most photos being from the 1950s and 1960s.  See www.101collins.com.au/gallerye9.php, and follow the further link.
Mark Strizic (conceivably an anglo version of Strzic) is usually overshadowed by Wolfang Sievers.  The two have many elements in common, but Mark's work usually juxtaposes a gentler aspect with the fiercely modern.
The photos are quite stylised, but have a lot of content interest for transport lovers, particularly those who grew up through the 1950s and 60s.  There are several photos showing trams and trains, and some showing Yarra River cruise ferries.
The exhibition is free.
* One showing derelict 'River Tripper' below Queens Bridge (with most superstructure removed to get it there).  This had been a Bass Strait ketch.
* One showing four moored in midstream:
-
-
Anne (possibly St Anthony)
- (looks like Jolly Roger)
All four seemed to be screw, not paddle.
* Another of an unidentifiable single moored alongside Batman Ave.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor