 Hydrofoil Dee Why passing the ferry South Steyne , Sydney Heads, 1970 | |
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The Sydney hydrofoils were a series of hydrofoils operated by Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company and its successors on the ferry service from Circular Quay to Manly.
The hydrofoils covered the 10-kilometre (6 mi) journey from Circular Quay to Manly in 15 minutes compared to 35 minutes for conventional ferries.
By the mid-1960s, patronage on the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company's formerly lucrative Circular Quay to Manly service was declining. The company introduced a hydrofoil service halving the travelling time from 30 to 15 minutes but at a premium fare.
Introduced in 1965, the first hydrofoil was a 75-seat PT20 from Hitachi, Kanagawa named Manly . [1] [2] [3] [4] Despite early troubles with harbour debris, she proved to be a success and three larger hydrofoils were ordered from Italy through leasing arrangements. [5]
The first of the three was a 140-seat Rodriguez PT50 hydrofoil, Fairlight, built by Cantiere navale di Ancona, Ancona and entered service in 1966. It would be joined by the Dee Why in 1970 and Curl Curl in 1973. These were joined by the Palm Beach purchased second hand from Macau in 1975 and the Long Reef from Italy in 1978. [1] [2] [3] [4]
In March 1973, Curl Curl was used on a hydrofoil service from Circular Quay to Gladesville, however, the service was short-lived due to river bank damage. [6]
The hydrofoils, along with the conventional Manly ferries, North Head, Baragoola, and South Steyne, were taken over by Brambles when it acquired the Port Jackson company. The hydrofoils were profitable for Brambles as they were leased rather than owned outright. [1] In 1974, the NSW State Government's Public Transport Commission took over the Manly ferry and hydrofoil services, and the hydrofoils were purchased from a finance company in 1975. [7]
In 1984/85, two 235-seat hydrofoils, Manly IV and Sydney entered service. The State Transit Authority replaced its remaining hydrofoils with three JetCats, with the last operating on 18 March 1991. The remaining vessels were sold for further service on the Mediterranean Sea. [2] [3] [8] Fairlight, Dee Why and Palm Beach were scrapped at Homebush Bay in 1988. [9]
| Name | Type | Image | Official Number | MMSI | Year in service | Length | Seats | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| m | ft | ||||||||
| Manly III | PT20 |  | 317480 [10] | 1965 | 18.59 | 61.0 | 75 | Builder: Hitachi. sold 1979 to Great Keppel Island, renamed Enterprise | |
| Fairlight II | PT50 |  | 317902 [11] | 1966 | 28.96 | 95.0 | 140 | Builder: Cantiere navale L Rodriquez, Messina. Scrapped 1988 [12] | |
| Dee Why II | PT50 |  | 343631 [13] | 1970 | 28.96 | 95.0 | 140 | Builder: Cantiere navale L Rodriquez, Messina. scrapped 1988 [14] | |
| Curl Curl II | RHS140 |  | 355207 [15] | 7232975 | 1973 | 28.96 | 95.0 | 140 | Builder: Cantiere navale L Rodriquez, Messina. Sold 1992 to Ustica Lines, Italy & renamed Spargi, sold to Alimare [3] [16] [17] |
| Palm Beach | PT50 |  | 1975 | 28.96 | 95.0 | 140 | Builder: Cantiere navale L Rodriquez, Messina. ex Patane, second-hand from Macau, built 1970 | ||
| Long Reef | PT50 |  | 1978 | 28.96 | 95.0 | 140 | Builder: Cantiere navale L Rodriquez, Messina. second-hand from Italy, built 1967 as Freccia di Mergellina, sold 1992 to Italy [3] | ||
| Manly IV | RHS160F |  | 8222290 | 1984 | 31.20 | 102.4 | 235 | Builder: Cantiere navale L Rodriquez, Messina. sold 1992 to Naples, renamed Sinai [3] | |
| Sydney | RHS160F |  | 8310982 | 1985 | 31.20 | 102.4 | 235 | Builder: Cantiere navale L Rodriquez, Messina. sold 1992 to Naples, renamed Fast Blu [3] | |
The Fairlight CMI, a pioneering digital synthesiser, was named for the Fairlight II, which, in turn, was named after Fairlight, New South Wales. [18]
The Dee Why and Curl Curl, were two identical steam ferries servicing Sydney Harbour's Circular Quay to Manly service. Both commissioned in 1928, they were the largest ferries on Sydney Harbour until the 1938 introduction of the South Steyne.
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.
Manly ferry services operate on Sydney Harbour connecting the Sydney suburb of Manly with Circular Quay in the CBD, a journey of seven nautical miles.
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.
Rose Bay ferry wharf is located on the southern side of Sydney Harbour serving the Sydney suburb of Rose Bay.
The SS South Steyne is a former Manly ferry on Sydney Harbour. She was the world's largest steam-powered passenger ferry and operated on the service from 1938 to 1974. Restored in the 1980s, she served as a restaurant ship in Newcastle in the 1990s, and in 2000 was moved back to Sydney and open to the public at Darling Harbour. Since April 2016 she has been stored at Berrys Bay. She was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
Burra Bra was a Manly ferry on Sydney Harbour that operated by the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company from 1908 until 1940, before being requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy for use as an anti-submarine training vessel and target tow during World War II.
MV Baragoola was a ferry formerly operated by the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company and its successors on the Manly service.
PS Brighton was a ferry used on the Sydney to Manly run. The biggest Manly ferry at the time and the largest paddle steamer to operate on Sydney Harbour, she was well-appointed and popular with passengers.
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.
Bellubera was a ferry operated by the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company on the Manly service. Launched in 1910, she was the third of six "Binngarra-type" vessels. Upon her 1936 conversion from steam power, she became the first diesel-electric vessel in Australia. She was decommissioned in 1973, and scuttled at sea in 1980.
Binngarra was a ferry operated by Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company on the Manly service. Launched in 1905, she was the first of six similar vessels built for the company–the Binngarra class—the success of which saw three of her sister vessels serving through to the 1970s and 1980s.
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.
The Kirrule-type ferries - Kiandra, Kirrule and Kubu - were three identical K-class ferries that operated on Sydney Harbour by Sydney Ferries Limited.
Emu, later Brightside, was an iron-hulled paddle steamer that was built in Scotland in 1864 for using in Australia. For her first few years, she worked on the Brisbane River and Moreton Bay. From 1868, she was a local ferry in Sydney Harbour. From 1902, she was a cargo ship. She was scrapped in Sydney in 1909.
Fairlight was a paddle steamer ferry that operated on the Circular Quay to Manly run from 1878 to 1914. She was the third double-ended steamer on the Manly run and first to be specifically designed for the route.
Narrabeen was a paddle steamer ferry on Sydney Harbour that ran on the Circular Quay to Manly route.
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.
