 Scarborough in Pyrmont Bay in November 2017 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders | Carrington Slipways |
| Operators | |
| Built | 1984–1986 |
| Completed | 9 |
| Active | 9 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Catamaran |
| Displacement | 83 tonnes |
| Length | 25.4 m (83 ft) |
| Propulsion | MTU Series 60 |
| Speed | 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph) |
| Capacity | 393 |
The First Fleet class is a class of ferry operated by Transdev Sydney Ferries on Sydney Harbour.
In the early 1980s, the Urban Transit Authority ordered nine catamaran ferries from Carrington Slipways, Tomago. They were to replace the K-class and wooden Lady class ferries on Sydney Harbour. The new vessels were named after ships of the First Fleet and were delivered between 1984 and 1986. It was originally intended that they would operate services on the Parramatta River, but they generated too much wash.
In 2006/07, the class were repowered with MTU Series 60 engines. [1] As at November 2023, all nine remain in service with Transdev Sydney Ferries. [2]
Between 2020 and 2022, eight of the ferries underwent life extension rebuilds to extend their lives for a further 10 years. The work was undertaken by Birdon at Port Macquarie and included new engines, refurbished interiors, the provision of air conditioning and additional safety features. The first vessel completed was the Golden Grove in June 2020. [3] [4]
| Photo of Vessel | Name | Call sign | MMSI | Shipyard no | Launched | Status | Namesake | Reference | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Supply | 16496 | 503344800 | 163 | 10 December 1984 | Active | HMS Supply | First vessel in service. | |
 | Sirius | 15622 | 503345700 | 164 | 20 August 1984 | Active | HMS Sirius | First vessel launched. Had different handrails up until 2023 drydocking. One of 3 vessels surveyed to go to Manly. | |
 | Alexander | 15517 | 503344900 | 165 | 19 January 1985 | Active | Alexander | [5] [ self-published source? ] | Only vessel to not receive a refit. Last vessel with wooden sponsons. Sponsons were replaced in 2024 docking at Balmain Shipyard |
 | 166|16852 | 503345100 | 4 February 1985 | Active | Borrowdale | [6] [ self-published source? ] | Has a flattened bow unique to this vessel. | ||
 | Charlotte | 17258 | 503345200 | 167 | 23 February 1985 | Active | Charlotte | [7] [ self-published source? ] | |
 | Fishburn | 15519 | 503345300 | 176 | 31 August 1985 | Active | Fishburn | [8] [ self-published source? ] | One of 3 vessels surveyed to go to Manly. |
 | Friendship | 17458 | 503345400 | 9 May 1986 | Active | Friendship | [9] [ self-published source? ] | Last vessel in service. | |
 | Golden Grove | 16497 | 503345500 | 177 | 16th November 1985 | Active | Golden Grove | [10] [ self-published source? ] | The pattern of windows that open is different on this vessel. First to receive refit. One of 3 vessels surveyed to go to Manly. |
 | Scarborough | 16814 | 503345600 | 178 | 1 February 1986 | Active | Scarborough | ||
King Street Wharf is a mixed-use tourism, commercial, residential, retail and maritime development on the eastern shore of Darling Harbour, an inlet of Sydney Harbour, Australia. Located on the western side of the city's central business district, the complex served as a maritime industrial area in the early and mid 20th century. It was redeveloped as part of extensive urban renewal projects around Sydney Harbour in the 1980s and 90s. The complex is host to a cluster of nine wharves, with the first two wharves currently in use by private ferry operator Captain Cook Cruises and a third decommissioned by Sydney Ferries.
Borrowdale was a three-masted, square rigged merchant ship, launched in 1785, that served as a storeship of the First Fleet, a convoy of 11 ships taking settlers and convicts to establish the first European colony in Australia. She was wrecked in 1789.
The State Transit Authority of New South Wales, also referred to as State Transit, was an agency of the Government of New South Wales operating bus services in Sydney. Superseding the Urban Transit Authority in 1989, it was also responsible for the provision of ferry services in Sydney until 2004 and bus and ferry services in Newcastle until 2017. It ceased trading after 2 April 2022 with its remaining operations to be contracted out by Transport for NSW to replacement operators. The New South Wales Government has not yet put forward a bill for the dissolution of the State Transit Authority of NSW.
Sydney Ferries is the public transport ferry network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales. Services operate on Sydney Harbour and the connecting Parramatta River. The network is controlled by the New South Wales Government's transport authority, Transport for NSW, and is part of the authority's Opal ticketing system. In 2017–18, 15.3 million passenger journeys were made on the network.
Transdev Brisbane Ferries, formerly Metrolink Queensland and TransdevTSL Brisbane Ferries, was the operator of the CityCat, CityHopper, and Cross River ferry networks on the Brisbane River in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from November 2003 until November 2020. The network, operated under contract to the Brisbane City Council, formed part of the Translink integrated public transport scheme.
Manly ferry services operate on Sydney Harbour connecting the Sydney suburb of Manly with Circular Quay in the CBD, a journey of seven nautical miles.
MV Lady Cutler was a Lady-class ferry on Sydney Harbour services for 22 years. Retired from Sydney ferry service in 1991, she has since been refurbished and now operates tours on Port Phillip, Melbourne.
Burra Bra was a Manly ferry on Sydney Harbour that operated by the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company from 1908 until 1940, before being requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy for use as an anti-submarine training vessel and target tow during World War II.
MV Baragoola was a ferry formerly operated by the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company and its successors on the Manly service.
Transdev Sydney Ferries, formerly Harbour City Ferries, is a subsidiary of Transdev Australasia, and is the operator of ferry services in the Sydney Ferries network since July 2012. It currently operates the ferry network under a contract until June 2028. As part of the operation contract, Transdev Sydney Ferries leases both the Balmain Maintenance Facility and the fleet from the government agency Sydney Ferries.
Transdev Australasia is an operator of bus, ferry, light rail and heavy rail services in Australia and New Zealand. It is a subsidiary of French-based, international Transdev. It was formed in 2013 by grouping the operations of Veolia Transport Australia and former Transdev together, as a result of the global rebranding from Veolia Transdev to Transdev.
Manly Fast Ferry is an Australian ferry operator that services the areas of Botany Bay and Port Jackson.
The Pyrmont Bay ferry service, officially known as F4 Pyrmont Bay, is a commuter ferry service in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Part of the Sydney Ferries network, it is operated by Transdev Sydney Ferries and services the Lavender Bay and Darling Harbour areas. It began operation on 25 October 2020, and replaced the western half of the F4 Cross Harbour ferry service. Emerald-class ferries and SuperCat ferries operate the service.
The Lady class is a class of ferry that were operated by Harbour City Ferries and its predecessors on Sydney Harbour. The term 'Lady class' was also used to describe five wooden-hulled double-ended ferries that were operated on Sydney Harbour, from the 1910s to the early 1970s.
The Emerald ferry class is a class of ferry operated by Sydney Ferries on Sydney Harbour. There is capacity for about 400 passengers, improved accessibility for people with disabilities, wi-fi access, luggage and bicycle storage areas and charging stations/ USB ports for electronic devices.
The Stockton ferry service is a ferry service in Newcastle, New South Wales. Operated by Newcastle Transport under contract to Transport for NSW, it crosses the Hunter River from the Newcastle CBD at Queens Wharf to Stockton.
The Freshwater class is a class of ferry operating the Manly ferry service between Circular Quay and Manly on Sydney Harbour. The ferries are owned by the Government of New South Wales and operated by the franchisee Transdev Sydney Ferries under the government's Sydney Ferries brand.
RiverCity Ferries is a public transport company which commenced operating ferry services in Brisbane on 4 November 2020. It is a subsidiary of the Kelsian Group.
The River class is a ferry type operated by Transdev Sydney Ferries on Sydney Harbour.
Sydney Harbour ferry services date back to the first years of Sydney's European settlement. Slow and sporadic boats ran along the Parramatta River from Sydney to Parramatta and served the agricultural settlements in between. By the mid-1830s, speculative ventures established regular services. From the late-nineteenth century the North Shore developed rapidly. A rail connection to Milsons Point took alighting ferry passengers up the North Shore line to Hornsby, New South Wales via North Sydney. Without a bridge connection, increasingly large fleets of steamers serviced the cross harbour routes and in the early twentieth century, Sydney Ferries Limited was the largest ferry operator in the world.
Media related to First Fleet ferry class at Wikimedia Commons