Burra Bra as built, ca. 1909 | |
History | |
---|---|
Australia | |
Name | Burra Bra |
Operator | Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company |
Port of registry | Sydney |
Route | Manly |
Builder | Mort's Dock |
Yard number | 33 |
Launched | 17 June 1908 |
Out of service | 1940 |
Australia (RAN) | |
Name | Burra Bra |
Commissioned | 1 February 1943 |
Fate | Sold in 1947 and scrapped |
General characteristics | |
Tonnage | 458 gross tonnage |
Length | 195 ft (59 m) [1] |
Beam | 31.6 ft (10 m) [1] |
Depth | 14.3 ft (4 m) [1] |
Decks | 2 |
Armament |
|
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.
"Burra-Bra" is an Australian Aboriginal name for The Spit in northern Sydney. [2]
The Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company's fleet transitioned comparatively late to screw propelled vessels and the fleet comprised mostly paddle steamers until the early years of the twentieth century. The difficulty of turning in the narrow bays of Sydney Harbour - particularly in the busy Circular Quay terminus in Sydney Cove - required the use of double-ended vessels. However, a double-ended screw configuration was particularly difficult for the fine bows that Manly ferries required for both speed and heavy seas. Further, a propeller at the leading forward end of a vessel reduced speed considerably. In the prosperous early twentieth century, this speed drawback was overcome by increasing engine size and power.
The first screw ferries on the Manly run were two innovative Walter Reeks–designed vessels; the SS Manly (1896), and SS Kuring-gai (1901), which were to become the fore-runners of the "Binngarra-class" ferries. They both had high forecastles at either to help her run through the deep-sea conditions across the Sydney Heads. The steel-hulled Kuring-gai was larger and she further refined the basic design to be similar to the subsequent and larger "Binngarra-class" vessels. Manly and Kuring-gai had both, however, followed paddle steamer design with their bridges around the midships funnels. Whereas the "Binngarra-class" vessels would have their wheelhouses at either end of their promenade decks.
Burra Bra was built by Mort Docks and Engineering Co, Woolwich for the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company for the Manly service. Launched on 17 June 1908, it was the second of six Binngarra type Manly ferries. Almost identical sister ship to Binngarra (1905), Bellubera (1910), Balgowlah (1912), Barrenjoey (1913 - later North Head, and Baragoola .
At 59 metres in length and with a gross tonnage of 458 tons, she had a passenger capacity of 1,448. [2] With her open upper deck, her winter capacity was 916 passengers. Her triple-expansion steam engines generated 100 hp and powered her to a maximum of 13 knots. [3]
She made her trial run on 6 November 1908. [2]
During the 1928 Roman Catholic Congress, the church used the vessel to ferry delegates to Manly. She was painted white with a large cross on either side of her funnel and was escorted many smaller craft and other ferries. [4] She was the flag ship for the Pittwater Regatta on 28 December 1929. [2]
She became the last of the open upper deck Manly ferries; unlike her sisters, Bellubera, Barrenjoey (North Head), and Baragoola her upper decks were never enclosed. The second oldest of the Binngarra type ferry (Binngarra of 1905 was hulked in 1933), she was used as a spare ferry from the mid-1930s. [5] The ferry was withdrawn from service in 1940. [1] [6]
On 13 November 1942 during World War 2, it was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy. Her superstructure was stripped down, one wheelhouse removed, and she was fitted out by Poole and Steel Limited (Sydney) and armed with one 12-pounder on the stern, two Vickers machine guns, and two depth charge chutes. She was commissioned HMAS Burra Bra, with the Pennant Number 69, on 1 February 1943. Based at Jervis Bay, the navy used her at sea as an anti-submarine training ship and as a target towing vessel for aircraft torpedo and bombing practise. [5] On 25 August 1943 Burra Bra was purchased by the Commonwealth government. It was laid up on 1 June 1944 at Athol Bight adjacent Bradley's Head, before being used to supply steam to vessels under refit. It was sold in November 1947 for stripping and later scuttled at sea. [5] [6] [7] [8]
The Dee Why and Curl Curl, were two identical steam ferries servicing Sydney Harbour's Circular Quay to Manly service. Both commissioned in 1928, they were the largest ferries on Sydney Harbour until the 1938 introduction of the South Steyne.
SS Balgowlah was a ferry on Sydney Harbour operated by the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company on the Manly service from 1912 until 1951.
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.
The SS South Steyne is a former Manly ferry on Sydney Harbour. She was the world's largest steam-powered passenger ferry and operated on the service from 1938 to 1974. Restored in the 1980s, she served as a restaurant ship in Newcastle in the 1990s, and in 2000 was moved back to Sydney and open to the public at Darling Harbour. Since April 2016 she has been stored at Berrys Bay. She was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
MV Baragoola was a ferry formerly operated by the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company and its successors on the Manly service.
The MV North Head was a ferry operated by the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company and its successors on the Manly service from 1913 until 1985.
Bellubera was a ferry operated by the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company on the Manly service. Launched in 1910, she was the third of six "Binngarra-type" vessels. Upon her 1936 conversion from steam power, she became the first diesel-electric vessel in Australia. She was decommissioned in 1973, and scuttled at sea in 1980.
The K-class ferries were a group of double-ended screw steam ferries run by Sydney Ferries Limited and its government successors on Sydney Harbour. The company introduced more than two dozen of the vessels from the 1890s through to the early twentieth century to meet the booming demand for ferry services across Sydney Harbour prior to the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932.
Koree was a "K-class" ferry on Sydney Harbour. Launched in 1902, the timber-hulled steamer was built for Sydney Ferries Limited during the boom in cross-harbour ferry travel prior to the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Binngarra was a ferry operated by Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company on the Manly service. Launched in 1905, she was the first of six similar vessels built for the company–the Binngarra class—the success of which saw three of her sister vessels serving through to the 1970s and 1980s.
SS Kuring-gai was a ferry that served on the Sydney to Manly run from 1901 to 1928.
Manly (II) was a ferry that served on the Sydney to Manly run from 1896 to 1924.
The Kirrule-type ferries - Kiandra, Kirrule and Kubu - were three identical K-class ferries that operated on Sydney Harbour by Sydney Ferries Limited.
Kummulla was a "K-class" ferry on Sydney Harbour. Launched in 1903, the timber-hulled steamer was built for Sydney Ferries Limited during the boom in cross-harbour ferry travel prior to the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. She was decommissioned in 1934 after the 1932 opening of the Bridge.
Vaucluse was a ferry on Sydney Harbour that served on the Circular Quay to Watsons Bay run. She was launched in 1905, and was one of the fastest ferries in Sydney. She was sent to Newcastle after which her fate is unknown. She was named after the Sydney suburb, Vaucluse.
Emu, later Brightside, was an iron-hulled paddle steamer that was built in Scotland in 1864 for using in Australia. For her first few years, she worked on the Brisbane River and Moreton Bay. From 1868, she was a local ferry in Sydney Harbour. From 1902, she was a cargo ship. She was scrapped in Sydney in 1909.
Fairlight was a paddle steamer ferry that operated on the Circular Quay to Manly run from 1878 to 1914. She was the third double-ended steamer on the Manly run and first to be specifically designed for the route.
Narrabeen was a paddle steamer ferry on Sydney Harbour that ran on the Circular Quay to Manly route.
Kareela was a "K-class" ferry on Sydney Harbour. Launched in 1905, the double-ended timber-hulled steamer was built for Sydney Ferries Limited in response to the early twentieth century boom in cross-harbour ferry travel prior to the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. She was the first of Sydney Ferries Limited's boats to have a fully enclosed upper deck.
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.