 Dawn Fraser in Darling Harbour in December 2014 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Builders |
|
| Operators | |
| Completed | 7 |
| Active | 4 |
| Retired | 1 |
| Scrapped | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Catamaran |
| Length | 37.0 metres |
| Beam | 10.5 metres |
| Draught | 1.4 metres |
| Decks | 1 |
| Installed power | 2 x GM 8V92TA |
| Propulsion | 2 Shotell rudder/propeller drive |
| Speed | 22 knots |
| Capacity | 230 |
| Crew | 3 |
The Sydney RiverCats are a class of catamarans operated by Transdev Sydney Ferries on the Parramatta River.
In 1991 the State Transit Authority ordered six Grahame Parker Design designed RiverCats from NQEA, Cairns to operate Parramatta River services. [1]
Named after famous Australian female athletes, the first was delivered in early 1992. [2] They replaced First Fleet class ferries on the Circular Quay to Meadowbank service on 7 May 1992. [3] [4] In December 1993 they began operating to Parramatta. [5] [6]
In October 1995, a seventh vessel built by Wavemaster International in Henderson, Western Australia was delivered, named Nicole Livingstone. [7] In 2000, Marlene Matthews participated in the 2000 Summer Olympics torch relay. [8]
Although primarily operating Parramatta River services, they also operate other Transdev Sydney Ferries services.
On 16 February 2023 Betty Cuthbert, was the first retired from service. [9] On 7 June 2024 Evonne Goolagong was withdrawn. [10] [ better source needed ]
In June 2024 Betty Cuthbert and Evonne Goolagong were moved to Yamba by tugboat to be cut up for scrap by Polaris Marine Group. [11] [ better source needed ]
On 28 October 2024, Nicole Livingstone was withdrawn from service and was used for parts at Balmain Shipyard before being moved to Rozelle Bay, followed by a final movement to Yamba under tow where she is currently being broken up. The rest of the RiverCats are to be replaced by Parramatta River class ferries from 2024. [12]
| Photo of vessel | Name | Call sign | MMSI | Builder | Shipyard no. | Year in service | Namesake | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 MV Betty Cuthbert at Circular Quay, 2016. | Betty Cuthbert | 18555 | 503376100 | NQEA | 1992 | Betty Cuthbert | Scrapped | Withdrawn 16 February 2023, towed to Yamba June 2024 for scrapping [9] [11] | |
 MV Dawn Fraser at Circular Quay, 2023. | Dawn Fraser | 18554 | 503376200 | NQEA | 1992 | Dawn Fraser | In service | ||
 MV Evonne Goolagong at Cockatoo Island, 2023. | Evonne Goolagong | 18705 | 503376300 | NQEA | 1993 | Evonne Goolagong | Scrapped | Withdrawn 7 June 2024, towed to Yamba June 2024 for scrapping [10] [11] | |
 MV Shane Gould passing Walsh Bay, 2024. | Shane Gould | 18642 | 503376700 | NQEA | 184 | 1993 | Shane Gould | In service | |
 MV Marlene Matthews passing Cockatoo Island, 2024. | Marlene Mathews | 18643 | 503376600 | NQEA | 185 | 1993 | Marlene Mathews | In service | |
 MV Marjorie Jackson between Sydney Sydney Olympic Park and Rydalmere | Marjorie Jackson | 18706 | 503376400 | NQEA | 186 | 1993 | Marjorie Jackson | In service | |
 MV Nicole Livingstone at Cockatoo Island, 2024. | Nicole Livingstone | 19044 | 503241900 | Wavemaster International | 1995 | Nicole Livingstone | Undergoing scrapping [13] | Withdrawn 28 October 2024, towed to Yamba December 2024 for scrapping. Built as Nicole Stevenson, renamed after namesake returned to her maiden name. |
The State Transit Authority of New South Wales, also referred to as State Transit, was an agency of the Government of New South Wales operating bus services in Sydney. Superseding the Urban Transit Authority in 1989, it was also responsible for the provision of ferry services in Sydney until 2004 and bus and ferry services in Newcastle until 2017. It ceased trading after 2 April 2022 with its remaining operations to be contracted out by Transport for NSW to replacement operators. As of November 2024, the New South Wales Government has not yet put forward a Bill for the dissolution of the State Transit Authority of NSW.
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.
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Transdev NSW was a bus operator in the northern, southern and western suburbs of Sydney, Australia. It was a subsidiary of Transdev.
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Parramatta ferry wharf is located near the source of the Parramatta River, serving the Sydney satellite city of Parramatta.
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NQEA Pty Ltd is an engineering and shipbuilding company based in Cairns, Australia. The company was founded in 1948 as an engineering supply company named North Queensland Engineers & Agents, then expanded in 1966 into shipbuilding and was renamed.
Transdev Sydney Ferries, formerly Harbour City Ferries, is a subsidiary of Transdev Australasia, and is the operator of ferry services in the Sydney Ferries network since July 2012. It currently operates the ferry network under a contract until June 2028. As part of the operation contract, Transdev Sydney Ferries leases both the Balmain Maintenance Facility and the fleet from the government agency Sydney Ferries.
Transdev Australasia is an operator of bus, ferry, light rail and heavy rail services in Australia and New Zealand. It is a subsidiary of French-based, international Transdev. It was formed in 2013 by grouping the operations of Veolia Transport Australia and former Transdev together, as a result of the global rebranding from Veolia Transdev to Transdev.
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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.
The Parramatta River class are a ferry type operated by Transdev Sydney Ferries on Sydney Harbour.
Media related to Sydney RiverCats at Wikimedia Commons