![]() Coonawarra laid-up (2019) | |
History | |
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Name | PV Coonawarra |
Route | Murray River |
Builder | Charlie Felshow [1] |
Launched | 15 September 1949 [2] |
Maiden voyage | 12 October 1950 [3] |
Homeport |
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Identification | 177216 [5] |
Status | Tourist vessel |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Side paddle wheeler |
Length | 111 ft 6 in (34.0 m) [6] |
Beam | 22 ft 4 in (6.8 m) |
Depth of hold | 8 ft 6 in (2.6 m) |
Propulsion | Diesel |
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 (itself built in 1894), the Coonawarra was intended by owners Murray Valley Coaches Ltd to replace the tourist vessel PS Murrumbidgee, which burnt beyond repair in 1948. [6] The Coonawarra is currently moored in Midlura, overlooking the weir and wharf, operating as a floating motel. [7]
The J L Roberts barge was built in Echuca in 1894 for Permewan, Wright & Co Ltd, [8] and was later sold to Murray Shipping Ltd. [9] She was used for transport of wool and general goods along the Murray, Darling, and Murrumbidgee Rivers, being towed behind paddle steamers such as PS Maggie, [10] PS Pride of the Murray, [11] and PS Goldsbrough. [12]
In the 1930s, the J L Roberts barge was purchased, along with the PS Murrumbidgee, by Captain Spencer "Spinny" Clarke. Both vessels were used for the transportation of sleepers from Yielima to Echuca. The Roberts was also the final barge to be towed down the Murrumbidgee River, behind the PS Murrumbidgee in 1936. [13] [14]
Clarke sold both vessels to Murray Valley Coaches Ltd (MVC) in 1946, with the company utilising the Murrumbidgee as a tourist vessel out of Echuca. On 29 November 1948, the Murrumbidgee caught fire upstream of Echuca after departing on "her usual four-day cruise to [the] Barmah Lakes", [15] and was burned beyond repair some three miles north of the junction of the Murray and Goulburn rivers. [16]
The J L Roberts was inspected by a marine arcitect after being slipped January 18, 1949. [15] On 3 March 1949, MVC general manager H J Lawrence announced the plans for a Murrumbidgee II to be built at Evans Bros' slipway in Echuca, through the conversion of the J L Roberts barge. Details of the planned vessel were released, describing that "the lower deck [would] include a dining room, a spacious lounge complete with piano and, other amenities; [while] the upper deck [would] have accommodation for fifty passengers in two berth cabins". [17] The new vessel was designed by naval architect Charles Mackinnon, [6] with shipwright Charlie Felshow overseeing construction. The unnamed vessel was launched to a small crowd on September 15, 1949, and was expected to be towed by the PS Edwards to the Echuca Wharf the following Monday for installation of the paddlewheels and diesel engines. [2]
The PV Coonawarra was officially commissioned, in Echuca, on 9 October 1950 by F M Osborne (representing the Minister for Shipping), with Captain Hilary Hogg taking the vessel to the Campaspe junction and back in preperation for the paddle boat's maiden voyage to Barmah the following Thursday. [3] The name "Coonawarra", an Aboriginal term meaning "black swan", [18] was chosen following a nation-wide competition attracting some 10,000 entries. [3] By 1952, the Coonawarra was skippered by Rowley McGraw, with Barney Binks (former captain of the PS Adelaide) as his second-in-command. [19] Between the boat's commission and October 1953, she carried some 5,000 passengers from across the country. [20]
In 1953, due to a planned lowering of river levels, the Coonawarra left Echuca for Renmark, planning to operate from its new home for at least two years. At the time, it was the first passenger paddle vessel to travel from Echuca to Mildura since August 1937. [20] She berthed at Renmark on November 16, following which she undertook a weekly run to Waikerie and back. [21] The Coonawarra again relocated to Mildura in November of 1954, to operate weekly trips between Mildura and Renmark, in hoping to "re-capture the NSW trade", noting the lack of interest in a new river boat in South Australia. [22]
By the 1960s, the Coonawarra was operating out of Murray Bridge, conducting trips to Blanchetown, [23] and later 5-day return cruises to Morgan, [24] which continued into the 1970s. [25] In 1981, the PV Coonawarra was purchased by Alby Pointon, returning to Mildura, where she remains to the present day. [26] By 1986, the vessel had resumed regular weekend, three-day, and five-day cruises, accommodating up to 42 passengers. [27] In 1988, while at Goolwa, South Australia, the Coonawarra competed in a paddleboat race against the PS Rothbury, PS Mayflower, PS Impulse, and PV Murray River Queen, finishing in third place. [28] The vessel made a brief return to Echuca in 1990, as part of its 40th anniversary cruise. [29]
Today, the Coonawarra is privately owned, moored in Mildura overlooking the wharf and weir. [30] As a static motel, she boasts 16 air-conditioned cabins, each with an ensuite. [31]
The Coonawarra is powered by twin diesel engines, allowing to 'split' the directions of the paddle wheels. [32]
The 15ft paddle wheels of the Coonawarra were sourced from the wreck of the PS Excelsior, while the paddle shaft was sourced from the burnt wreck of the PS Murrumbidgee. [6]
The Murray River is a river in Southeastern Australia. It is Australia's longest river at 2,508 km (1,558 mi) extent. Its tributaries include five of the next six longest rivers of Australia. Together with that of the Murray, the catchments of these rivers form the Murray–Darling basin, which covers about one-seventh the area of Australia. It is widely considered Australia's most important irrigated region.
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.
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 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.
PV Murray River Queen is an Australian paddle vessel built at Hindmarsh Island in 1974 as a luxury passenger cruise boat. She was a tourist boat carrying passengers on the Murray River in South Australia. For many years, her home port was Goolwa where she offered week-long cruises operated by her builders, the Veenstra family. She was the first of several large boats built by the Veenstras for the Murray River, they later also built the MV Murray Explorer and PS Murray Princess.
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.
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.
PV Pride of the Murray, like many other Australian paddle wheelers, started out life as a timber logging barge. It was built at Echuca on the Murray River in 1924, and relaunched as a tourist vessel in 1977, also at Echuca. In 2022 the vessel was transported overland to Longreach, Queensland, for use as a tourist attraction on the Thompson River.
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.
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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 enginge, with the intention of relocation to the Pioneer Settlement.
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