The PS Ruby, also known as the Paddle SteamerRuby 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.
The PS Ruby was built in 1907 at Morgan, South Australia by David Low Milne at the request of Captain Hugh King. This Ruby was a replacement for the Paddle Steamer Ruby built in 1876, which had been modified several times and had sunk twice before having her engine removed in 1908 (subsequently being renamed the Barge Radia).[1]:3,6
The Ruby left on her maiden voyage from Morgan, South Australia on 1 March 1908, arriving at Renmark on the morning of Saturday, 8 March 1908. She arrived towing barges Emerald and Pearl, carrying a total of over 80 tons of cargo.[2]Australia's Governor-GeneralLord Northcote travelled on board the Ruby in July 1908, arriving at Renmark[3] before continuing to Wentworth and arriving on July 16.[1]:13
The Gem Navigation Company was formed toward the end of 1909, and though she operated alongside vessels of this company, the PS Ruby was not formally placed under ownership of this group until 1914. During this year, the PS Ruby, PS Gem, PS Ellen, and PS Marion operated alongside each other between Morgan and Mildura.[1]:9 The Gem Navigation Company amalgamated with four other riverboat companies in 1919 to create Murray Shipping Limited.[4]
The PS Ruby ran aground in 1921 when, upstream of Swan Hill during a high river, a deckhand under the direction of Capt. G Alexander mistook saplings upon a nearby levee bank as the bank of the river, leading the Ruby over the levee onto the ground, causing the vessel to stop. The Ruby remained stationary for 12 days, costing the Murray Shipping Company almost £2000, and requiring the assistance of six other riverboats to return her to the river.[1]:16–17
Decline in river trade
The Ruby continued to operate between Morgan and Mildura until the late 1920s, including occasional trips to Euston and Echuca. Her last regular passenger cruise between Morgan and Mildura is recorded as being in 1928. The Ruby made occasional charter cruises in the early 1930s, before being sold and moved permanently to Mildura. The Ruby was removed from service in the early 1930s, and was laid up at her home port of Morgan for several years before being purchased in 1938 by Maurice Collins, of the Collins Brothers, for £200. This preceded her move to Mildura. The Collins Brother removed the engines, boiler and paddlewheels from the vessel, before she was sold again. The Ruby was sold multiple times prior to 1944, by which time Vic Robbins operated her as a houseboat. The PS Avoca later towed her to Johnsons Bend, and by the 1960s the Ruby had fallen into serious disrepair.[1]:31
Restoration
PS Ruby tied up along another paddle steamer at Morgan Wharf (c 1920) SLSA: [PRG 1258/1/3331]
The Wentworth Rotary Club, under the guidance of Frank Fotherby, purchased the PS Ruby for $1,600 in 1968. Due to years of neglet, her hull had begun to leak, leaving her resting on the mud of the river bank. The top deck of the boat was missing; many planks of the superstructure, the funnel, and the paddlewheels were also missing. With the power of a speedboat using a 100hp Mercury outboard engine, the Ruby was towed to the Wentworth wharf under the guidance of Capt. P Hogg. While the Ruby did sink at the Wentworth wharf, she was soon refloated and towed across the river to a basin that was soon drained, leaving the boat high and dry.[1]:32–33 Initially, the Wentworth Rotary Club relied on the locale community and private donations to assist the restoration of the PS Ruby. Between 1968 and 1973, the WRC spent $5447 (with most of this figure spent on materials). The vessel's figure was soon restored, with her engine room being filled with sand for children's enjoyment. The park of her residence soon became known as 'Fotherby Park'.[1]:36
Following an offer from Echuca to purchase the PS Ruby, the Wentworth Rotary Club donated the boat to the Wentworth community in 1996. After 30 years out of water, a full restoration was required (this included procedures such as excavating surrounding land and placing the hull on steel girders).[5] 360 planks of the hull had to be replaced, and on 16 February 2001 the task of caulking the hull began to take place (an estimated 13kg of oakum was hammered into the plank seams to watertight the hull). The deckhouse was then restored, requiring almost the entire superstructure to be refitted or replaced.[1]:36 On 26 January 2002, the PS Ruby was refloated. In September 2003, the Ruby was towed to Wentworth wharf to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first paddle steamers navigating the Murray River. By 2004, the paddlewheels were refitted, and cabins complete. The boiler was also installed, and during 2005 a substantial amount of work was undertaken in renovating and rebuilding the 1926 Robey & Co 20 nominal horsepower portable steam engine. The PS Ruby steamed for the first time in 70 years in May 2007.[1]:38
Cabins of the PS Ruby
Adapted from Paddle Steamer Ruby: One Hundred Years On[1]:48–49
Cabin number
Name
Details
1
Whyte Cabin
Named for E V Whyte (1900-1972), a fruit-growing property owner in Pomona and charter member of the Wentworth Rotary Club. An enthusiastic volunteer that worked on repairing the PS Ruby when bought to Wentworth in 1968.
2
Les Hunt Cabin
Named for L Hunt (1925-2000), lifelong member of the Mildura and District Historical Society with strong ties to the Murray River.
3
Moolgewanke Cabin
The PS Moolgewanke was a steamer launched in 1856 by J Crozier and H Jamieson, named after the Ngarrindjeri water spirits (half human, half fish).She carried stores to stations, and took wool and salt mined on Moorna Station. The Moolgewanke was burnt and abandoned at Wentworth in 1904.
4
Gunn Cabin
W Gunn became the first mayor of Wentworth in 1879. An important businessman, builder of the Crown hotel, and founder of Rendlesham House.
5
Laza-Way Cabin
Colin Rankin designed and constructed a fleet of houseboats known as Laza-Way in 1966.
Curlwaa became the first government irrigation area established in NSW, when the Wentworth Irrigation Trust was allowed some 10,600 acres of land in 1890.
Sponsored by N and B Hunter - inspired by Leon Wagner. They salute the Ruby and all who are dedicated to her long life - past present and future.
10
McKinnon Cabin
Named for the McKinnon family - D McKinnon was a Wentworth Shire councillor for 16 years, and mayor for 11 years.
11
Fuller Cabin
B M Fuller owned a number of paddlesteamers operating between Goolwa and Wilcannia in the 1870s and 1880s.
12
Merbein Sawmills Cabin
Merbein Sawmills have operated in the Wentworth area for generations - the Rowe family donated over 350 redgums planks used while restoring the Ruby's hull.
14
Wagner Cabin
Sponsored by Adrian and Camille Wagner.
15
Apex Cabin
The Wentworth Apex (c 1960) has raised more than $500,000 (as of 2007) for community project, including the restoration of the PS Ruby.
* There is no Cabin 13
Steam engine
The machinery of the PS Ruby consisted of a 70 psi boiler attached to a 20 nominal horsepower 2-cylinder Robey & Co high pressure horizontal steam engine (built in Lincoln, England).[1]:3 This engine was replaced in 1911 by a new power plant consisting of a narrow gauge locomotive boiler attached to a 1878 15 horsepower McCall, Anderson & Co direct action steam engine, taken from the recently decommissioned PS Industry.[1]:43
The engine of the Ruby was again replaced in 1918, this time a locomotive type 100psi Martin & Co steam engine requisitioned from the PS Lancashire Lass. This engine was removed in June 1922, and replaced with a 1916 Horwoods 2-cylinder non-condensing steam engine built in Adelaide.[1]:43 Her 1916 engine was removed from the vessel following her sale to M Collins (of the Collins brothers) and her relocation to Mildura in 1938.[1]:31
The Ruby was refitted with a 1926 Robey & Co 20 nominal horsepower portable steam engine and boiler in 2004, following a donation for the Wentworth Shire Council and grants from the NSW Heritage Office.[1]:36,38 This engine is the same make and size of the original steam engine fitted to the vessel in 1907. The PS Ruby steamed for the first time in over 70 years on 16 May 2007.
A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships came into practical usage during the early 1800s; however, there were exceptions that came before. Steamships usually use the prefix designations of "PS" for paddle steamer or "SS" for screw steamer. As paddle steamers became less common, "SS" is assumed by many to stand for "steamship". Ships powered by internal combustion engines use a prefix such as "MV" for motor vessel, so it is not correct to use "SS" for most modern vessels.
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 first commercially successful steamboat service in Europe.
The PS Oscar W is a restored paddle steamer located at Goolwa in South Australia.
The Alexander Arbuthnot is the last paddle steamer built as a working boat during the riverboat trade era on the Murray River, Australia.
Demologos was the first warship to be propelled by a steam engine. She was a wooden floating battery built to defend New York Harbor from the Royal Navy during the War of 1812. The vessel was designed to a unique pattern by Robert Fulton, and was renamed Fulton after his death. Because of the prompt end of the war, Demologos never saw action, and no other ship like her was built.
SS Archimedes was a steamship built in Britain in 1839. She was the world's first steamship to be driven successfully by a screw propeller.
The Paddle Steamer Waimarie is an historic riverboat based on the Whanganui River in New Zealand. She is the only coal–fired paddle steamer still operating in New Zealand. Waimarie was built in 1899 by Yarrow & Co. in London and transported to New Zealand in kitset form to be assembled at Whanganui. She operated on the Whanganui River for 49 years before being laid up. In 1952 she sank at her moorings and lay in the mud for the next 40 years.
The steamer Chautauqua Belle is an authentic Mississippi River-style sternwheel steamboat owned and operated by U.S. Steam Lines Ltd, operating on Chautauqua Lake in Western New York.
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 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 Canberra is an original paddle steamer operated by Murray River Paddlesteamers in Echuca.
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.
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.
PS Lucy Ashton was a Clyde-built paddle steamer that carried passengers on the Clyde between 1888 and 1949. She was one of the longest serving Clyde steamers.
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.
The PV Amphibious is a diesel-powered paddle vessel based in Echuca, Victoria. She was constructed in Melbourne in 1875 by Bevan & Cooke, and started life as a screw steamer in 1876.
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Australia
![PS Ruby tied up along another paddle steamer at Morgan Wharf (c 1920)
SLSA: [PRG 1258/1/3331] P.S. Ruby tied up outside another paddle steamer at Morgan Wharf.png](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/P.S._Ruby_tied_up_outside_another_paddle_steamer_at_Morgan_Wharf.png/310px-P.S._Ruby_tied_up_outside_another_paddle_steamer_at_Morgan_Wharf.png)
