PS Pevensey (2021) | |
History | |
---|---|
Australia | |
Name | Pevensey |
Port of registry | Melbourne, Victoria [1] |
Route | River Murray, Australia |
Builder | Permewan Wright & Co. Ltd. |
Laid down | 1911 |
Homeport | Echuca, Victoria |
Identification | 120770 |
Status | Tourist vessel |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Paddle steamer |
Tonnage | 130 grt |
Length | 111.6 ft (34 m) |
Beam | 23.0 ft (7 m) |
Depth | 6.9 ft (2 m) |
Propulsion | Side-wheel paddle steamer |
Notes | Registered Heritage Vessel [2] |
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.
Pevensey was of composite construction, with timber on iron frames, built at the Moama slipway in 1911 by Permewan, Wright & Co. Ltd. The hull is 111.6 ft (34 m) in length, with a 23.0-foot (7 m) beam and 6.9 ft (2 m) in depth, was measured at 130 grt. [3] It still has its original steam engine and boiler, built by Marshall, Sons & Co. of Gainsborough, England. It is a 20 nhp high-pressure, two-cylinder engine, No 55721, which gives Pevensey a speed of 8 knots (9.2 mph; 15 km/h). [3] [4]
Pevensey began life in 1910 as a barge named Mascotte, but was rebuilt as a paddle steamer within twelve months. [5] The completed steamer was named after a sheep property on the Murrumbidgee River called Pevensey Station. [4] It was first operated by its builder and collected bales of wool from sheep stations and brought them to the Echuca wharf. From the wharf, it was loaded onto trains and taken to Melbourne for export overseas. Pevensey, with a cargo capacity of 120 tons, could carry 815 bales of wool and a total of 2,000 bales when barges were towed along behind. [4] Pevensey's barge, also composite built, was called Ada, and is also preserved at Echuca. [6]
Pevensey was sold to Murray Shipping Ltd in July 1919. In October 1932 it suffered a major fire at Koraleigh Landing, near Swan Hill, but returned to service in 1935 after rebuild at Morgan, South Australia, running between there and Mildura. After the river trade ended around 1958, Pevensey was tied up at Mildura where it was sunk by vandals in 1967, though later raised. In 1968, Pevensey was purchased by the Collins brothers (of Mildura) with intention of use as a tourist attractions. The vessel was refloated and moored at Gol Gol; however, the intentions were never carried out. The Collins brothers later sold the paddle steamer to the Mildura City Council, with no further restoration being completed. [7] In 1973 the steamer was purchased by Echuca City Council for $20,000 and towed there for restoration (leaving Mildura on 22 July 1973), with assistance of the Victorian Government. [3] [7] PS Pevensey arrived in Echuca on 5 August 1973, and was slipped in December 1974 (however, restoration work was delayed by several major floods until 1976). Pevensey was launched back into the Murray River on 29 October 1976. [7]
Pevensey starred in the role of the fictional PS Philadelphia in the Australian television mini-series All the Rivers Run , made in Echuca in 1982–1983, alongside fellow Echuca steamer Emmylou . [4]
The Pevensey's composite barge, Ada (built in 1899), was purchased by the Port of Echuca in 1974. In an preservation effort, the 52-tonne barge was removed from the Murray River in August 2012 (at a cost of $33,000), and now resides towards the rear of the Moama slipway. The current condition of the barge is described as "poor", with "no funds available, nor plans in place, to restore the Ada barge". [8]
Echuca is a town on the banks of the Murray River and Campaspe River in Victoria, Australia. The border town of Moama is adjacent on the northern side of the Murray River in New South Wales. Echuca is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Shire of Campaspe. As of the 2021 census, Echuca had a population of 15,056, and the population of the combined Echuca and Moama townships was 22,568.
The PS Oscar W is a restored paddle steamer located at Goolwa in South Australia.
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.
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John H Amos is a paddlewheel tugboat built in Scotland in 1931. The last paddlewheel tug built for private owners, now owned by the Medway Maritime Trust. She is one of only two surviving British-built paddle tugs, the other being Eppleton Hall preserved at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park in San Francisco, California.
PS Adelaide is the oldest wooden hulled paddle steamer still operating anywhere in the world.. It is now moored at the Echuca Wharf and used for special occasions.
PS Success is a historic paddle steamer in Victoria, Australia. Originally built as a snagging steamer in June 1877, it is currently being restored by the Port of Echuca to full working order. When operational, it will be added to the fleet of paddle steamers at Echuca Wharf.
PS Emmylou is a paddle steamer operated by Murray River Paddlesteamers in Echuca, used for both day and overnight accommodation cruises.
PS Canberra is an original paddle steamer operated by Murray River Paddlesteamers in Echuca.
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The Hero is a paddle steamer that was built at Echuca in 1874 by George Linklater. The working life of Hero first ended in 1957, but it was later restored c2000 as a first class luxury paddle steamer finely fitted-out for private charters.
This is a list of captains and boat owners and others important in the history of the Murray-Darling steamer trade, predominantly between 1850 and 1950.
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 Moama Historic Precinct is a heritage-listed abandoned settlement location, river wharf and public space on Hunt Street, Moama, New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Echuca – Moama Bridge and the Echuca Wharf on the Victorian side of the river. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
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 engine, with the intention of relocation to the Pioneer Settlement.
PV Coonawarra is a diesel-powered paddle vessel that operated as a tourist vessel on the Murray River. Built in Echuca in 1950 from the barge J L Roberts, the Coonawarra was intended by owners Murray Valley Coaches Ltd to replace the tourist vessel PS Murrumbidgee, which burnt beyond repair in 1948. The Coonawarra is currently moored in Midlura, overlooking the weir and wharf, operating as a floating motel.