| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Launched | 1890 |
| Decommissioned | 1911 |
| Fate | Wrecked on Marlo beach, Australia |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | paddle steamer |
PS Curlip was a paddle steamer built in a Tabbara sawmill in 1889 by Samuel Richardson and his sons. It was operated along the Snowy River in Australia's Gippsland region between 1890 and 1919, before being washed out to sea, and broken on Marlo beach, by a flash flood. [1]
The Orbost and district community started a project in 2002 to construct a live steam-powered replica, albeit somewhat larger than the original to meet safety regulations and carry additional passengers for commercial reasons, the paddle steamer Curlip II with the assistance of grants from the Federal and Victorian State Governments. [2] Construction was started in earnest by shipwright Bill Jones in August 2006, and with the assistance of roughly 200 volunteers (a core group of 10 performing the majority of the work), [3] she was finally completed and launched on the Snowy River in late November 2008. The vessel is operated by a not for profit organisation, P S Curlip Inc, who offered regular cruises and private charters on the lower reaches of the river and its estuary, until 2015. Paddle steamer Curlip had its survey status revoked in 2015–16 due to the inability of the management to provide regular slipping and maintenance, compounded by the infestation and attack by Teredo navalis , the marine shipworm, that attached to and bored holes in the vessel's underwater hull.
A new board of management took over custodial care and maintenance of paddle steamer Curlip in October 2016. The not for profit management team is made up from members of the Gippsland Lakes Classic Boat Club, who took up office, as the new board of P.S.Curlip Inc, with the express purpose of relocating the vessel to the Gippsland Lakes at Paynesville, where the vessel is now located on leased hardstand facilities, in anticipation of a crowd funded campaign to rebuild the underwater hull of the vessel. Paddle steamer Curlip will also be fitted with a renewable and sustainable solar-powered and fresh-water regeneration plant to enable her self-sufficiency in her new area of eco tourism operation within the world listed, Ramsar Wetlands of the Mitchell River Delta and the Gippsland Lakes, between Bairnsdale and Paynesville, in East Gippsland, Victoria Australia. Paddle steamer Curlip was given permission from the government marine regulatory authority, AMSA, to make the historic open ocean voyage, crossing the Snowy River Bar, along Bass Strait, entering the Gippsland Lakes via the Lakes Entrance bar. Paddle steamer Curlip became the first paddle steamer to make an open ocean voyage since World War II.
A steamboat is a boat that is propelled primarily by steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S or PS ; however, these designations are most often used for steamships.
A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine that drives paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans.
The PSComet was built in 1812 for Henry Bell, hotel and baths owner in Helensburgh, and began a passenger service on 15 August 1812 on the River Clyde between Glasgow and Greenock that was the world's first commercially successful steamboat service.
Francis William Cadell was a European explorer of Australia, most remembered for opening the Murray River up for transport by steamship and for his activities as a slave trader.
The Gippsland Lakes are a network of coastal lakes, marshes and lagoons in East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia covering an overall area of about 354 km2 (137 sq mi) between the rural towns of Lakes Entrance, Bairnsdale and Sale. The largest of the lakes are Lake Wellington, Lake King and Lake Victoria. The lakes are collectively fed by the Avon, Thomson, Latrobe, Mitchell, Nicholson and Tambo Rivers, and drain into the Bass Strait through a short canal about 2 km (1.2 mi) southwest of Lakes Entrance town centre.
The Mitchell River is a perennial river of the East Gippsland catchment, located in the Australian state of Victoria. The unregulated river provides a unique example of riparian ecology, flowing generally south with the catchment area drawing from the steep mountains of the Victorian Alps to enter Lake King, one of the Gippsland Lakes, and then empty into the Bass Strait.
PS Lincoln Castle was a coal-fired side-wheel paddle steamer, which ferried passengers across the Humber from the 1941 until 1978. She was the last coal-fired paddle steamer still in regular services in the UK. Later, she served as a pub at Hessle, and then as a restaurant under permanent dock at Alexandra Dock, Grimsby. In September 2010, the Hull Daily Mail reported that she was in an advanced state of demolition, despite the efforts of local people to buy the historic vessel and restore her. On 31 March 2011, the Lincoln Castle Preservation Society were reported to have purchased the broken up parts of the ship for restoration.
The Alexander Arbuthnot is the last paddle steamer built as a working boat during the riverboat trade era on the Murray River, Australia.
The PS Ruby, also known as the Paddle Steamer Ruby is the flagship of the historic port of Wentworth, New South Wales at the junction of the Murray and Darling Rivers. She is a composite hull paddle steamer that features a 1926 Robey & Co 20 nominal horsepower portable steam engine. Between 1996 and 2007 she was restored to her early 20th-century appearance.
Marlo is a small village in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. Marlo has received great recognition for having wonderful beaches, swimming in the Snowy river and great fishing. It is located east near the mouth of the Snowy River where the Snowy River meets and flows into the Southern Ocean. The name "Marlo" is generally accepted to have roots in tribal aboriginal language. "Marloo" meaning white clay is suggestive of the Marlo Bluff, whilst "Murloo" meaning "muddy banks" was reportedly used by the local indigenous people. At the 2006 census, Marlo had a population of 564.
The PS Stadt Zürich is the older of the two remaining steam paddle ships on Lake Zürich. Stadt Zürich was built in 1909 by Escher, Wyss & Cie. in Zürich for the Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft, as the 32nd tourist ship on Lake Zürich. In contrast to most other Swiss paddle steamers, the most striking features of this vessel and its sister ship Stadt Rapperswil (1914) are a short smoke stack, and a spacious 1st class upper deck.
The River Dart Steamboat Co Ltd (RDSC) and its predecessors, the Dartmouth Steam Packet Company and the Dartmouth and Torbay Steam Packet Company, were the major ferry and excursion boat operators on the River Dart in South Devon for 120 years, until the company's demise in 1976. The company was famous for its distinctive paddle steamers, which were a familiar sight on the river until the late 1960s.
The Brodribb River is a perennial river of the Snowy River catchment, located in the East Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria.
PS Adelaide is the second oldest wooden hulled paddle steamer still operating anywhere in the world. Hjejlen from Denmark is older and have sailed since 1861 It is now moored at the Echuca Wharf and used for special occasions.
PS Pevensey is a historic paddle steamer, with its original steam engine, in the fleet of steamers at Echuca Wharf, Victoria, Australia. Built in 1911, it traded on the Murray River until about 1958. In 1973 it was brought by Echuca for restoration and now operates as a tourist boat.
PS Enterprise is an 1878 Australian paddle steamer, currently owned by the National Museum of Australia in Canberra. It is still operational, and one of the oldest working paddle steamers in the world. It is listed on the Australian Register of Historic Vehicles.
PS Rodney is a heritage-listed paddle steamer shipwreck on the Darling River at Polia Station, Pooncarie in the Wentworth Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Captains Dorward and Davies and built by Thomas McDonald. The property is owned by Department of Trade & Investment, Regional Infrastructure & Services, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 23 November 2007.
The PS Gem is a retired side-wheel paddle steamer that was first launched in 1876 on the Murray River at Moama, New South Wales. She operated as a cargo and passenger steamer, regularly cruising between Morgan and Mildura. The Gem operated as a tourist passenger vessel during the 1930s and 1940s, and was retired in the early 1950s. In 1962 the Gem was sold to the then Swan Hill Folk Museum, where it would become a static display and historic monument.
The PV Pyap is a tourist paddle vessel operating within Swan Hill's Pioneer Settlement. Originally launched as a barge in July 1896 at Mannum, the Pyap was completed as a paddle steamer in late 1897 and operated on the Murray River. In 1970, the Pyap was purchased by Toby Henson and refitted with a diesel enginge, with the intention of relocation to the Pioneer Settlement.