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 Collaroy in November 2008 | ||||||||||||||
| Waterway | Sydney Harbour | |||||||||||||
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| Owner | Sydney Ferries | |||||||||||||
| Operator | Transdev Sydney Ferries | |||||||||||||
| System length | 2 wharves, 11.3km (7mi) | |||||||||||||
| No. of vessels | 2 Freshwater class; 3 Emerald class (Current), 3-4 Freshwater Class (Future) | |||||||||||||
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Manly ferry services (numbered F1) operate on Sydney Harbour connecting the Sydney suburb of Manly with Circular Quay in the CBD, a journey of seven nautical miles.
In 1853, Henry Gilbert Smith chartered the wooden paddle wheeler Brothers to bring people to the Manly area and thus boost the value of the subdivision of his land holdings near the Corso. The Manly area with its beaches and bays became a popular weekend destination and more ferries were chartered including by a local hotel owner. By 1855, the paddle steamer Emu (I) provided two daily weekday trips. Emu was followed by Black Swan and Pelican.
In 1859, the first double-ended ferry, Phantom commenced the service. She was a success, and the double-ended configuration remains the standard on the Manly route through to the present-day. Weekends and holidays were even busier than week days, and extra boats and tugs were put into service often as charters, including Goolwa, Breadalbane, Cobra, Royal Alfred, and Manly (I). A new company, the Port Jackson Steamboat Company was formed in 1876, and within a few years it was running British-built Fairlight and Commodore to Manly. In 1881, the company was reformed into the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company, and the biggest paddle steamer ferry to ever operate on the harbour, the opulent Brighton , was commissioned by the company in 1883.
With fares at one shilling for a single, in 1892 the Port Jackson Steamship Company announced a fare increase. In response, some Manly residents formed their own competing company, The Manly Co-operative Steam Ferry Company, which ran chartered steamers at sixpence a single. The Port Jackson company dropped their fares to threepence which was match by the Cop-op. Neither company was profitable at this price, so in 1896 they amalgamated to form the Port Jackson Co-operative Steamship Company. Renowned naval architect, Walter Reeks, designed two new ferries for the service, that would be archetypes for all Manly ferries through to the current Freshwater class. Manly (II) (1896) was the first double-ended screw ferry on the run, and Kuring-gai (1901) was steel, double-ended screw steamer that in its appearance, size and capacity, was the first of the familiar Manly ferries of the twentieth century.
To meet the expanding demand, the company commissioned six similar double-ended screw steamers: Binngarra (1905), Burra Bra (1908), Bellubera (1910), Balgowlah (1912), Barrenjoey (1913), and Baragoola (1922). [1] Prior to the construction of the first Spit Bridge in 1928, retired passenger ferries were used as cargo carriers. [2] In 1928, two new ferries built in Scotland, Curl Curl and Dee Why were commissioned. They were the largest and fastest ferries on the harbour until 1938 when the Company commissioned South Steyne also built in Scotland.
The three Scottish-built steamers and most remaining "Binngarra-type" vessels were pulled out of service over the course of the 1960s and 1970s as the Manly service and its vessels declined. The Port Jackson and Manly Steamship Company operated the service until it was sold to Brambles Industries in April 1972 and taken over by the NSW State-government Public Transport Commission in December 1974 along with the inner harbour services run formerly run by Sydney Ferries Ltd. In July 1980, operations came under the control of the Urban Transit Authority. Baragoola and Barrenjoey (later renamed North Head), were retired in 1983 and 1985 respectively upon the introduction of the Freshwater-class ferries which remain in service. [1] In January 1989, the service came under the control of the State Transit Authority and in 2004 Sydney Ferries.
In the mid-1960s hydrofoil services were introduced to complement the traditional ferries. They halved the travel time of the ferries but had significantly higher fares. The hydrofoils were replaced in 1990 by Jetcats, however, these proved unreliable and expensive and were replaced by the current Manly fast ferry service. The Sydney JetCats high speed service, was discontinued on 31 December 2008 and replaced with a privately owned service operated by Manly Fast Ferries. [3] In March 2010, the government announced that that Manly Fast Ferries contract had not been renewed. Instead another private operator, Sydney Fast Ferries, was awarded a five-year contract from 1 April 2010. [4] However both operators continued to operate services between Circular Quay and Manly [5] During 2014 Transport for NSW put out a tender for a combined service to commence during 2015 [6] with Bass & Flinders Cruises, SeaLink Travel Group, Sydney Fast Ferries and Transit Systems responding. [7] [8] [9] On 13 December 2014, it was announced that Manly Fast Ferries had won back the rights to operate the service, with a new contract which commenced on 1 April 2015. [10]
In 2013, the Manly Ferry was given the designation F1 as part of a program to number all lines of the Sydney Ferries, Sydney Trains and light rail networks.
In 2019, Transport for NSW announced [11] they would be retiring the Freshwater class as early as 2020, and replace them with three new Emerald Class ferries to provide more frequent services. The three emerald class ferries are named Clontarf, Balmoral & Fairlight as a homage to the suburbs of the northern beaches.
In November 2020, the Minister for Transport announced that when the new ferries are put into operation, the Collaroy would be retained in service until at least 2023 for weekend operation. [12] On 14 January 2021 it was announced that the Freshwater will also be retained for future services. The Queenscliff was retired on 13 October 2021 just prior to the first Emerald Class vessels operating. On 9 December 2021, it was announced that Narrabeen would be given new engines and an overhaul amidst rumours about the vessel having been decommissioned or scrapped. [13]
In 2023 it was announced that plans to return all 4 Freshwaters are underway. With this the Emerald-class are expected to be taken off the Manly run and repurposed on other routes. The return of the Freshwaters will restore the previous timetable used prior to the Emerald's introduction.
The Sydney Ferries network is operated by Transdev Sydney Ferries. Route design, timetabling and branding of the services is managed by Transport for NSW. During the Summer Holidays, the Manly Ferry runs to a "Summer Timetable" which provides additional services to cater for demand from increased tourist numbers. [14]
The former Harbour City Ferries fleet of four Manly ferries are known as the Freshwater class and comprised, in order of commissioning, the MV Freshwater, MV Queenscliff, MV Narrabeen, and MV Collaroy, which were commissioned between 1982 and 1988. They were built by the State Dockyard in Newcastle and Carrington Slipways in Tomago. They are 70 metres (230 ft) in length, 12.5 metres (41 ft) wide, draught of 3.3 metres (11 ft) and they displace 1,140 tonnes (1122 Imperial tons). Their passenger capacity is 1,100 and their service speed is 16 knots. [15] Emissions per person‐kilometre travelled are nearly the same for private car and for ferry. [16]
They are powered by two Daihatsu model 8DSMB-32 turbo-charged diesel engines which each develop 2238 kW at 600rpm, and have hand-controllable pitch propellers. The hull and lower cabin area are of welded steel construction and the upper cabin and two wheelhouses are aluminium.
In 2019 plans were announced to retire all 4 Freshwater class ferries and replace them with new versions of the smaller inner harbour Emerald-class ferries fitted with wave piercing hulls. [17] Due to large public outcry and problems with the new Emerald-class ferries 2 of the 4 Freshwater-class ferries (Freshwater and Collaroy) were saved from retirement. In October 2021 MV Queenscliff was retired. [18] Later on that same year, MV Narrabeen was retired after a cancelled engine replacement as it would cost too much money. In 2021 there were plans to save Collaroy only, and retire freshwater, but it was later decided to bring Queenscliff back in service and retire Collaroy. Currently 2 of the Freshwater-class ferries only operate on weekends and public holidays however they have been seen operating when the swells are too large for the Emerald-class ferries to operate.
In 2023 it was announced that plans are under way to return all 4 Freshwater Class Ferries to full time operation, thus bringing Narrabeen and Queenscliff out of retirement and cancelling Collaroy's retirement. But two weeks after plans to bring all four ferries back in service, the NSW government put Collaroy under inspection to see if it was actually suited for continuing service.
3 Emerald-class ferries currently operate the Manly ferry service. These vessels are named Fairlight, Balmoral and Clontarf. The Emerald-class ferries are a second series of an inner harbour design fitted with wave piercing hulls to help them cross Sydney harbour's heads.
The Emerald-class are expected to be removed from the run once a time table is worked out for at least 3 of the Freshwater-class.
Sydney Ferries services use Wharf 3 at Circular Quay for services to Manly. Wharf 3 is specially designed to allow for double deck boarding and alighting, lowering dwell time for ferries.
This wharf serves the suburb of Manly and is located opposite the harbour end of The Corso on The Esplanade. The wharf was designed to allow for double deck boarding on the "A" side of the wharf. The "B" side is used by Manly Fast Ferries for services to Circular Quay [19] while My Fast Ferry and Captain Cook Cruises Harbour Explorer use the Manly Hotel wharf also known as the East Wharf, just south east of the main wharf, for Hop On/Hop off services around Sydney Harbour with the former also operating a loop service to Darling Harbour. [20] [21] [22]
Local bus services depart from stands in front of the wharf to many Northern Beaches Suburbs. [23]
The following table shows the patronage of Sydney Ferries network for the year ending 30 June 2022.
| 1 716 000 |
| |||
| 542 000 | ||||
| 1 067 000 | ||||
| 1 216 000 | ||||
| 244 000 | ||||
| 353 000 | ||||
| 106 000 | ||||
| 269 000 | ||||
| 624 000 |
The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson, west to Middle Harbour and north to the entrance of Broken Bay. The area was formerly inhabited by the Garigal or Caregal people in a region known as Guringai country.
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.
Manly Beach is a beach situated among the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Australia, in Manly, New South Wales. From north to south, the three main sections are Queenscliff, North Steyne, and South Steyne.
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.
The Urban Transit Authority, a former statutory authority of the Government of New South Wales, was responsible for the operation and maintenance of buses and ferries in Sydney and Newcastle from July 1980 until January 1989.
Circular Quay ferry wharf is a complex of wharves at Circular Quay, on Sydney Cove, that serves as the hub for the Sydney Harbour ferry network.
The Port Jackson and Manly Steamship Company (PJ&MSC) was a publicly listed company that operated the Manly ferries in Sydney, Australia. After being taken over by Brambles Industries, the ferry service was eventually taken over by the State Government and is now part of Sydney Ferries.
MV Baragoola was a ferry formerly operated by the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company and its successors on the Manly service.
Manly Wharf is a heritage-listed passenger terminal wharf and recreational area located at West Esplanade and serving Manly, a Sydney suburb in the Northern Beaches Council local government area of New South Wales, Australia. Since the 1850s, it has served as the Manly embarkation and disembarkation point for the Manly to Sydney ferry service.
Sydney Fast Ferries operated high-speed ferry services on Port Jackson between Circular Quay and Manly from April 2010 until March 2015.
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. 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 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.
Watsons Bay ferry wharf is located on the southern side of Sydney Harbour serving the Sydney suburb of Watsons Bay.
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 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.
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.
Lady Edeline was a Sydney Harbour ferry built in 1913 for the Balmain New Ferry Company. She and four similar ferries, Lady Chelmsford (1910), Lady Denman (1912), Lady Ferguson (1914), Lady Scott (1914) were a new series of "Lady-class", designed by renowned naval architect, Walter Reeks.
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.
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