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List of Murray–Darling steamboats

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of steamboats that have operated on the Murray-DarlingMurrumbidgee river system. It also includes several diesel-powered vessels built in the same tradition.

See also Murray-Darling steamboat people for more information on people mentioned in this article.

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Transcription

Dermott Brereton: If I was to ask you to name the two best known rivers in Australia, it's likely that you'd think of the Darling and the Murray Rivers, and in your mind's eye, you'd picture two beautifully flowing rivers through the countryside, a life blood supply of water that you can always rely on. Well this is the Darling River. Where I am here is 10 metres below the level when it's full. This is the Murray Mouth. We've had to resort to dredging a channel in an attempt to restore flow to the ocean. Where I am now would normally be 15 metres of water. There'd be a very deep channel and a current flowing really strongly out to the mouth of the Murray. Now if there's a message coming from Mother Nature about this, it is please, don't take our generous ol' man river for granted. In less than 200 years, the white settlers have managed to push parts of the Murray-Darling system to the brink of disaster. Although it's easy to point the finger and lay blame at certain sections of the Murray-Darling community, it's all of us who should shoulder the blame because as consumers, we buy and use goods that create such a demand for water and we do it without a second thought. The Murray-Darling Basin is a huge food producing area, and without it, the bulk of things in here may not be on the shelves. These are all basin brands - SPC, SunRice, Defiance, Sunbeam, the list goes on. So this rice might have come from Murrumbidgee water, these cotton pants from Darling water and this can of pears from Goulburn water. As for the fresh fruit and vegetables you're eating, there's a huge chance they've come from Murray-Darling water. Yet we don't even think about where they come from or who does what to get them to you. Seventy per cent of our continent's water is used in rural Australia, largely because all Australians demand produce. In turn, that drives the irrigation industry, not to mention a countless number of jobs in the cities all over Australia. So to you in the city who feel the need to finger point towards the country, perhaps you could either suggest new sources of water, or reduce your consumption first. The Murray-Darling Basin puts an estimated $23 billion into the Australian economy every year, but jobs and flow-on make it around $75 billion a year. The bottom line? All Australians are tied to the Murray and tens of millions around the world enjoy its products, and its history and culture are a vital part of being Australian. So we want to show this great river system alongside the problems it faces, and we'll do it through people who are committed to the Murray. Paul Sinclair: If I took 75 per cent of the blood out of your body now, you're going to get crook. You can't take 75 per cent of the water out of the river and expect it to be healthy. Phillip Mansell: You know, we're the baddies, but we're providing what they want. People still like eating fresh oranges, people love eating fresh grapes. Henry Jones: It doesn't matter if there's a drought in Australia. Every year is a drought down here now. Sixty per cent of the fish are extinct from the area. Warren Lang: Food has always got to be better than watching water flowing out to sea, and that's why we're growing what we are. Tony Sharley: Our challenge as Australians is to get the balance right between the amount of water that we use for agriculture, and the amount of water that we've got for the environment. Chris Hunter: Taking water off dairy farmers for environmental flows - as an industry, we would be passionately worried about that. Stefano de Pieri: I think it is important that Australians realise that this is the food bowl of the nation. Don Blackmore: Well science is telling us that we're going to need a massive amount of water to reconnect the flood plain to the river in the lower parts to get a healthy working river. Dermott: These people and many others we'll meet are an integral part of the Murray-Darling Basin. In showing that, we'll travel thousands of kilometres through the Basin. But our main focus will be the need to look after the river system. The Murray's journey to the Southern Ocean here, starts at Kosciuszko National Park, real Man from Snowy River country. The actual source is up here behind me, and it becomes a series of rivulets so you could say, I'm straddling the Murray here. As you'd expect, it looks pristine, doesn't it? But along the river, it's the small things we've taken for granted or not considered, that are often its biggest threat. Dave Foster: This is what I was talking about, Dermott, the horse poo right next to the stream. It doesn't take much of this to get into the stream, put parasites like giardia. Giardia was that little beast that got into the Sydney water supply some years ago. Can create a fair bit of havoc. The bank's here because we haven't had many brumbies back after the fires, have started to regenerate well. But you can see here where the banks have collapsed, where the edges have been plugged up. Dermott: Hoof prints. Dave Foster: Yep, yep, all that sort of thing. So that's what horses and cattle do to these pristine streams. Dermott: This is Pilot Creek. It comes in from New South Wales, and this little stream here is from the Victorian side. So technically, where I am standing here right now, this is where the Murray starts. >From here, it heads north and then swings west through some really rugged country. Heading downstream out of the wilderness area, it's a relatively short trip to the most important water storage on the Murray, Lake Hume. It regulates water that comes essentially from the Australian Alps, and its role in the system is vital. The typical annual flow out of the Murray Mouth is now a quarter of what it was under natural conditions, due to diversion for irrigation and towns. When I first arrived at Lake Hume, it was at 21 per cent of capacity, up from 5 per cent earlier in the year. But normally, it would have been well over 50 per cent at that time. The boat ramps are a pretty good indication of just how empty the lake is when it's only 21 per cent full. This is one of the more popular launching places, and where I am here now to the water's edge would probably be about 100 metres. The last time the water came to this spot would have been late in the year 2000. Full or nearly empty, it doesn't bother 14-year-old Michale Briant. There's always enough water to practice. It's an environment so ideal, that Michale's family came all the way from Perth to let her pursue her dream to be the world trick skiing champion. Michale: Having the Lake Hume at my back door is like terrific, because I can just come out here, slip out here after school, and I can just ski whenever I like. I want to be one of the best in the world. I reckon Albury is going to help me improve, you know, just go that little extra step. Dermott: So it's about much more than storage. The lake's recreational benefits tie it strongly to the community in Albury Wodonga, the largest centre on the river. Back in November 1824, it was the crossing point for the first Europeans to see the Murray, explorers Hume and Hovell. They carved their names in separate trees. Hume's is long since gone, but Hovell's has stood the test of time. But interestingly enough, Ned Kelly and his gang were often seen in the area. They had a secret place where they used to cross the river, but that secret died along with them. Both places are very close to what is now the Hume Highway, the main road link between Melbourne and Sydney. More people cross the river here than anywhere else, and I reckon that's why we have such a comfortable feeling that everything's all right in the river system. People only get glimpses. There's enough time to see there's water in the river, then it's gone. But even with the river low, the thought process is, oh I saw water in there, so everything must be okay. So the perception that the Murray is flowing healthily and productively through the country - that's pretty hard to change. In the same way, people assume the Hume is full. When it was built, the dam was seen as Australian technology at its best. It was a time when phrases like, turning water into liquid gold, were used to promote the river master plan. If there was no such thing as a dam wall anywhere along the river system here, how would it be different from right now? Don Blackmore: Oh, it would be an absolute disaster for us and everybody else. This river would have stopped running here in February. Zero [water]. Dermott: The Hume epitomises what we've done to this river. It prevents damaging floods and conserves water for our use, releasing it year round through these pipes. This is at a cost to the environment. While 500 gigalitres of water has now been committed for environmental flow, experts say we need at least 1500 a year. That's 50 per cent of the Hume's capacity, or the equivalent of three Sydney Harbours. One of the effects of the dam has been to drop the water temperature by a difference of up to eight degrees from top to bottom when the reservoir's full. If the water was taken from up here, that wouldn't be so bad. But the water's released from down here where it's much too cold for our native fish to breed. But those import species like the European carp and redfin, they love it. Combined with the heavier than normal flow that comes from the dam, the habitat for the native fish has been dramatically altered. As a result, between Lake Hume and Albury, there's no golden perch nor freshwater catfish and virtually no cod. The message of caring for what's downstream wasn't lost on Albury Council engineer, Daryl McGregor, and he backed it up with a major contribution to the river community. The Murray had been no more than a drain for the city's effluent, and Horseshoe Lagoon, an ancient billabong, was a holding pond for sewerage being discharged into the river. Now, it's been revitalised. Daryl McGregor: In 1998, we drained it and we took out 10,000 kilograms of carp. Since that time, we've rehabilitated the pondage and we've stocked it with native fish. Dermott: The water that's piped into Horseshoe Lagoon these days is close to drinking standard and comes from a state-of-the-art treatment plant. Daryl McGregor: Well this water specifically, it came from the Murray River, it's been used by the community, it's been reclaimed, treated and made safe for beneficial reuse. This is the finished product. Totally natural process to produce it, biological processes from here to the wetlands and reuse is about 24 hours. But you compare that to River Murray water, it's better quality than is flowing in the River Murray past here at the moment. Dermott: The water now feeds not only plantation forests and other crops, but has reinvigorated the nearby Wonga Wetlands. In turn, they've become a very important part of environmental education. Mike Copland: The more that we think about the Murray River and other rivers in the basin, and understand what's gone wrong with them over the years, this is the generation that's got to know how to fix things in the future. To do that, they've got to understand what the problems are now. Dermott: What about the wetlands for you? What have they taught you? Mike Copland: Look, it's a wonderful resource for a community, and the fact that Albury Wodonga has this, it's just the perfect resource for education. Just terrific. Let's see we got out of that today. Now then we're going to use a white tray to find our bugs. Why do you think we're using a white tray? Dermott: That would be for identifying the dark... Mike Copland: There's the shrimp. There's your shrimp. Now look, there's two shrimp. Now the shrimp are great indicators of good water conditions. Daryl McGregor: This is a connected system. We need to look after the whole of the Murray, not look in terms of small sections or whatever. We need to care about the health of the whole system. Dermott: Corowa is pivotal to the Murray story, both geographically and historically. The land area from the source to here makes up just two per cent of the Murray-Darling Basin, but it contributes nearly 40 per cent of the Murray waters. Not only did Corowa host the federation conference of 1893, but also the river rights conference in 1902, using the courthouse and Oddfellows Hall. Most of the VIP delegates stayed here at the Globe Hotel, and apparently on the first night, they feasted out on the balcony. Well it used to have a balcony. You're going to have to trust me on that one. Back then, this place looked pretty different. It was after a seven year drought and despite interstate rivalry, the one certainty was that delegates didn't want the river to dry up again, and irrigation needed a guaranteed water supply. Eventually, in 1915 governments ratified an agreement to dam the river and the bulk of the work was completed by 1939. A decline has been on in earnest ever since. Suddenly man was in control and not nature. Consequently, the river's been pulled in three different directions. The regulated irrigator's river, tourism and recreation, and the natural environment, the least considered. It's little wonder the river's looking so tired now. But the most valuable Corowa conference was in 2002, when government ministers agreed to what's called the Living Murray Initiative. It's about what constitutes a healthy working river and what's needed to achieve that. It's about protecting the things that the River Murray really means to Australians. It recognises that science is telling us the river is unhealthy, and that the lack of a natural flow of water is the overwhelming reason. That we need to take a first step now and return 500 gigalitres - one Sydney Harbour - to the river. This will benefit important wetlands and forests, and the cost of the water will be met by Government. Heading downstream from Corowa by road, this is the first real look at Lake Mulwala. It divides the twin towns of Yarrawonga in Victoria and Mulwala in New South Wales. There's a clear reminder of the states' inability to meet in the middle on management of the river as you cross from one state into another. When the authorities decided to build this bridge, they thought it would be a good idea to start on opposite sides meeting out halfway in the middle. Well it wasn't exactly engineering perfection, so with a quick redesign, they came up with this dip which we're in right now to compensate. Fortunately, design changes didn't apply to the Yarrawonga Weir adjacent. Again, like the Hume Dam, Yarrawonga was seen as a major achievement when finished in 1939. When you think about it, our culture has developed based on a regulated river and not the free flowing river of Aboriginal times, so the real needs of the river environmentally speaking become well and truly secondary, because there's been no long term ongoing relationship between the river and white settlers. They only saw the river for the first time in the 1800s. Consequently, our river culture is about irrigation and leisure lifestyle, and leisure lifestyle is a huge slice of life at Yarrawonga and Mulwala. The river feeds the lake, the lake feeds the town, and at the centre of it all is the Yarrawonga and Border Golf Club, the largest public access course in Australia - 45 holes. This is one of Australia's most popular golf destinations, and one of the river's tourism magnets. So what better way to learn about what it means to have a healthy river than a round of golf with the club's CEO Rob Dick, local golf pro James McCully, and the man who controls the lake, Colin Fitzpatrick. Rob, how important is the river to the golf course? Rob Dick: The river is enormously important to the golf course. First of all, it takes a lot of water to irrigate 45 holes of golf, and we use approximately 500 megalitres of irrigation water each year. Obviously with the river just behind us here, that facilitates that part of it. Without that, we wouldn't have the facility we have today. Colin Fitzpatrick: To save the Barmah-Millewa Forest which is a big forest downstream of here, currently we have high rain and inflows into the lake. During the summer months, we've got nowhere to put the water in the lake, so we have to tip it in the river and hence we get unseasonal flooding of that forest downstream, which is no good for that forest. Dermott: What might be done in one part of the river to benefit another can raise local community concerns. Here there's been debate about lowering the lake level so it can hold more water after rain and prevent unseasonal flooding of downstream forests. Colin has an answer to that. Colin Fitzpatrick: If you look down there on the wall, you can actually see where the lake has an operating range already. So you can see by the high water mark, the lake's actually down - down about 30 centimetres today. So we're not talking huge amounts. I don't want people to be fearful that there's going to be great big mudflats exposed or their quality of life's going to be lost. Rob Dick: The biggest issue is the whole economy and fibre that the town has been built on and has so successfully been developed on over the last 20 or 30 years may well come to an end. We have an enormous number of skiers that reside in the town and also come to the town. It's an extremely important part of the town's culture, to the extent that we've held world ski championships here and it's a fantastic facility and skiers come from all over the world to ski here. Mark Robinson: The ski club alone has over 5000 members and the water skiing facilities up here attract thousands of people per year which generate millions of dollars to the local community. Dermott: For the record, Nerissa Wright is world barefoot champion and her brother Brendan, the youngest member of the Australian team. Land prices are booming around Lake Mulwala, matching many top seaside resorts. While 65 per cent of people who live here are retired, young people are now also being drawn into this community. They're part of the human equation that must be taken into account when there's talk of change in the river system. Eighteen holes is enough for these days, but after you run out of golf, you get to come back here to this room which is on course. You get this magnificent big king-size bed to relax on. That's brilliant. After that, you can look out through the windows over the course that I've just hacked up. But if there's a lucky centre on the Murray, this is it, because Lake Mulwala is a diversion dam. It's designed to work on gravity and needs to be near full through the irrigation season, or water can't flow out though outlets like Mulwala Channel on the New South Wales side and the Yarrawonga Main Channel in Victoria. This is the largest irrigation diversion point on the river, and water can travel hundreds of kilometres from here. With enormous benefits to the local leisure industry on one hand and irrigation on the other, it highlights the different demands on the river and how we need to get a balance between them. The weir has harnessed not only the waters of the Murray, but also the Ovens River, probably the cleanest river running into the system. The Ovens Everglades tour is part of the Yarrawonga tourism trail. Even when it's raining, there's a magic about it and a message in its story. Bruce, what's the difference between the Ovens and the other rivers in the region? Bruce Myers: One of the major things with the Ovens is that it's got a natural flow regime. That means it's really not regulated at all. It supplies 14 per cent of the Murray's flow, but it's only a comparatively short river from where it joins the Murray back to the base of Mount Hotham. So we haven't got a huge build-up of larger towns there that the actual Murray has on it. It's not unusual for us to have a metre and a half of water through here. That means that all the land that you can see either side goes under, so it means that people can't get usage to it, can't get access to it, your farmers can't get in to graze it, or if they do put their cattle in there, they've got to go out when the heavy rainfall season comes around or there's the chance of getting - you know, that six inches of rain up in the mountains. Dermott: If you want to get off the boat and have a little wander around, you can find all these amazing things in the bush. Could live in here. Somebody else is. There's a swallow's nest in here. I didn't realise the actual riverbanks were so important to it. The fact that cattle can't get to it and feed or drink from the water's edge, erode the embankment. Bruce Myers: We're starting to come to appreciate them more and more, right throughout our whole river environment. Not many people actually appreciate, but those - the stream side vegetation or the riparian vegetation, the grass that goes right down to the edge of the water, that's important because that's a natural filter. That's what catches all the excess nutrients that wash off when it does rain. You catch them back on the land before they get into the water, you're going to improve the quality of your stream. Dermott: In 2001, the release of the largest environmental water flow in Australia's history was a bonanza for birds and fish at Barmah Forest. Such flows are the best way we can restore the river's health and vitality, so natural flooding in 2003 was a bonus. The Murray's a floodplain river, which means it needs to go outwards as well as flow downstream. Environmentally, we need flooding. It's vital, and we need it at the right time of the year. So what's happening here right now in this spring flooding, it's great. But in general, floodplains are under threat because irrigation demands the water at the wrong time of the year for the natural cycle. They need to be timed to trigger the breeding of plants and animals. For example, red gums release seeds when their trunk is submerged and the seeds are washed to higher ground to take root. The Barmah Forest is a favourite location for fish surveys that help build a profile of the river. On day one, natural resources officers, Matt Jones and John McKenzie lay drum nets in different parts of the forest. Then on day two they use electrofishing to find fish around snags. I don't mind this kind of fishing. A thousand volts stuns fish that are within a few metres. That's if they're there. Our search told the story of fish numbers in the river. Most of our attempts yielded nothing, and in total, amongst about 20 carp, there were a couple of yellowbelly, with the only cod under the last snag of the day. Matt Jones: There we go boys. Dermott: Unreal, look at the size of this fella. Snags are synonymous with the Murray, but countless numbers were taken out to clear the river for navigation. When their role as hiding and breeding places for cod was understood, the removal programs were stopped, and now snags are actually being replaced. Who would have thought that snags are beneficial? Even with the best intentions, we can still muck up the balance of the river. It's another great example of how we fail to understand the river system. Ten introduced fish species live in the river, but until the mid-1970s, native fish, though in decline, were still dominant. Carp changed all that. They're enemy number one because they spread at an astonishing rate through the system, laying 500,000 eggs several times a year. These would have to be the luckiest carp in Australia, wouldn't they? Because by law you have to kill the carp you pull out, but any carp you guys catch for tag and release, they're very lucky. What about the king? Matt Jones: Yeah, right-o, we'll get this cod on the... Dermott: The cod is Australia's largest freshwater fish, weighing up to 113 kilograms. The oldest caught was 47 years old and 1.27 metres long. The species is at least as old as the river itself. Has he got a name yet? Matt Jones: I think we could call him Dermy. Dermott: Hey hang on, you don't know what sex he is. John McKenzie: Well that doesn't matter. Matt Jones: Since it's your fish Dermy, how about you release it. Dermott: Oh yeah, all right. Matt Jones: I think he's pretty still there, so just give him a kiss if you want. Dermott: I'm not kissing that. Look, don't forget me. Matt Jones: He should give a quick kick of the tail. Dermott: Hang on, there he goes. Having been in the Barmah Forest, I'm reminded of how we fought to save our wild and untamed rivers like the Gordon and the Franklin in the '80s in Tasmania. But because the Murray was tamed by weirs for irrigation and navigation, no one seemed to notice that it was in trouble. The deal was done, so to speak. The Murray culture I mentioned earlier didn't relate to an untamed river or a wild river, so we seem to have rationalised things like cod decline and dead red gums as part of progress and think, she'll be right. But Barmah Forest may have the last laugh because carp like to breed here and can be left stranded by receding waters. Matt Jones: In conjunction with professional fishermen, a couple of years ago we caught 76 tonnes in about six weeks. So he was quite happy about that and so was Charlie Carp. Dermott: You're lucky we haven't invented smellivision yet, because you can't smell it on that side of the camera. It's not good in here. It's not exactly a smorgasbord. In actual fact, they reckon the best way to prepare carp is marinate them for 24 hours, cook them for another 10, and then feed them to the cat on a long handled shovel. Harold, how did you come up on the idea for Charlie Carp? Harold Clapham: All of the persona about the carp is negative, so if we'd come up with a product and called it dogfish fertiliser or something, it would never have worked. So we tried to create something that had an appealing name, was appealing to the consumer and wasn't entirely negative about the carp. Dermott: I suppose if you do your job too well, you might run yourself out of business. Harold Clapham: If we did that, I don't think anybody would be unhappy. Dermott: For years, I've been coming to the Riverina, one of the more productive parts of the basin. Now, Deniliquin has been hugely dependent on irrigation and it's prospered enormously on the back of some of their crops. Crops like rice. East of Deniliquin is the huge Berriquin irrigation area, a stronghold of rice growers. Water comes from up to 100 kilometres away via the Mulwala channel. In the face of criticism that rice shouldn't be grown in Australia, it's a longstanding irrigation system that rice farmer Warren Lang defends strongly. So it's ironic that what looks like rice is wheat in a rain-sodden field. Why the wheat? Warren Lang: Well it's basically last year, we had - because of the low water allocation, we didn't have enough water to grow the rice. Dermott: Could you still be farming purely based on wheat crops? Warren Lang: I would doubt it really because of - you know, for one, the cost of this land and we bought the land within an irrigation area. Quite frankly, just to grow cereal crop in high productive country like this, we won't survive. We've got the infrastructure here, they've encouraged irrigation in this area, encouraged people to settle and make families' lives here. By eroding the amount of water we can actually use and be irrigation farmers, it's becoming very difficult. Dermott: What does an unhealthy River Murray mean to you here? Warren Lang: Well I think it - not only to me, but it means to all Australians, that we - we don't want an unhealthy Murray River and as far as we're concerned at the top end and in the middle end, I mean it's been - I think the science is out there now, that it is in quite a healthy state. Dermott: Single-minded or just a belief in what he does, the fact is Warren, his wife Alison and their three daughters live according to the seasons. Allison Lang: Certainly it puts the pressure on financially, because we have budgeted on the rice, so we've got through this last year with it. So far have been able to allow them to keep doing their music and things, but if it continues, there are things that will have to be cut back on. We've probably cut our holidays back to just camping at the river and things like that. Dermott: The community of Deniliquin lives by the same rules. It's a rich town, but whether money comes from carp fertiliser or rice, they depend on the common denominator of river water. Kath, running the newsagency would really give you a feel for the mood of Deniliquin. What's it telling you? Kathy Simpson: The mood is one of serious concern about what the outcomes are going to be on the discussions of water and the future management of water and the environment and the effect of that long term on Deniliquin. I think you could really relate the water in the river to like the blood in your veins. If you haven't got it, inevitably these communities will die. Dermott: What would be the impact on Deniliquin without rice? Kathy Simpson: It would be very hard to imagine Deniliquin surviving very long without rice. Gerry Lawson: It generates hundreds of millions of dollars in an export sense. It employs more than a thousand people directly and many thousand indirectly. It's the biggest rice mill in the southern hemisphere. Every business in Deniliquin depends in some way on the wellbeing of this business. Dermott: What sort of water savings can the rice industry make? Gerry Lawson: I think it's perfectly reasonable for us to expect to make savings of 20 per cent or so over the next 10 years. We recently announced a new variety of rice called Quest that uses 10 per cent less water. Dermott: How do you see the need for an environmental flow? Gerry Lawson: I think it's very important that there are environmental flows. Where those flows come from is the debate of course. Dermott: Does rice have a viable future if there is more of an environmental flow taken? Gerry Lawson: If sense prevails and there is balance, it's got an absolutely strong future. Growing rice has never been compulsory. People have only grown it because it returns the way it does. Kathy Simpson: Both sides of the argument are now coming together and I believe that there will be sustainable outcomes for everybody. Gerry Lawson: I find it extraordinary that we're having a debate about something that feeds tens of millions of people every day. Dermott: The Riverina on the New South Wales side of the river is to rice what the Goulburn Valley on the Victorian side is to dairy. Both know they have to reduce water use to become more efficient and have taken steps to do it. The drought has been severe on dairy farmers, with many having to rely on very expensive dry feed, or send their cows away. Chris Hunter: The current status in the Goulburn Valley of the dairy industry right now is full steam recovery from the toughest year that we have ever had in history of this area. Dermott: Prominent Kyabram dairy farmer Chris Hunter says he and his sensible colleagues are changing. He's installed auto-irrigation to try for better efficiency. Russell Pell, after watching red gums die in drought, decided that it's easier to work with nature than against. His property fronts the Goulburn River, and some of the practices of other dairy farmers he finds destructive. Russell Pell: One of the banks is totally overgrazed and it's got a bit of a history for overgrazing. It hasn't happened overnight. You can imagine cattle running up and down those banks over the other side there, and each time they run up and down, they loosen some of the dirt and next time the flow comes up, bingo, it's into the stream and that's why you have a high clay content in the water. What we're really looking for is a good riparian zone like this one here where we're standing on, that actually works as a filter. So what we're really trying to do here is encourage farmers to actually fence off the riparian zone and actually manage them better. Dermott: So Chris, you can operate the whole farm from here? Chris Hunter: Yes. Example, this wheel here, here's the water wheel just outside the house. I can click on open. Dermott: So we could walk outside in the next minute or so and that water wheel would be in operation. Chris Hunter: Marvellous. It excites me as a dairy farmer. Dermott: Beautiful. Chris Hunter: Because it's all about growing grass, Dermy, and I love doing that. Dermott: So this is what you programmed through just a couple of minutes ago for when walked out here? Chris Hunter: Yes and so we timed it right, but probably Dermy, the most exciting thing is any time - that can be done while we're doing other things. So it's labour efficient, but more importantly it's water efficient, and that wheel is measuring the amount of water that we're taking from the commission. Expensive though, Dermy. It hits the hip pocket, but that's what we've got to do. Russell Pell: These trees out here in front here that we're looking at now, I'm really quite concerned about them because it's seven years since they've had a decent drink. Now it's probably one of the things that's really made me look at the way we're farming and what we're trying to do now is perhaps come back more with nature and extend our watering seasons and leave that real harsh stuff alone. Chris Hunger: So Dermy, we're here seven k's from the computer where we were in the office at the house. So all this water has been delivered from drainage from my farm and from the community drains, saved it from going into the Murray River, so there's a wonderful advantage here for the community for nutrient removal from the Murray system. - Blue-green algae - you know about that Dermy, don't you? - Dermott: Yep. Chris Hunter: Difficult for fish to live in. No good for human consumption. So the nutrient is stored in here, used on our pastures, and we get benefit from the nutrient. So - and of course, this dam was built five years ago with government incentives, so government are doing wonderful things to aid us as dairy farmers to become more efficient with water and to use water more wisely. Russell Pell: Because it doesn't make sense to me to be watering a whole lot of green stuff during the middle of our really hot time during the year. Dermott: Against the seasonal... Russell Pell: Against the season. Just go with the flow. Chris Hunter: But one of the big issues we have is a system that's been put in and it's old and a bit rundown. In the cities they look after transport, roads, buildings, they don't let them run down. There's a lot of leakage, seepage - evaporation's a big issue too, I know. But there are structures that need to be repaired. Russell Pell: If you're looking a long way out, the environment comes first, but it's not as simple as that because in the long run, you have to make a choice whether you want food or whether you want a really pristine environment. So it'll be a balancing act. Chris Hunter: The health of the river and farming - there's a fine line between environment and productivity on agriculture. There is a future and I'm passionate about that and I'll be here and my son will be here for a long time. Dermott: For too long it's been too easy to make the farmers the heavies, saying they use too much water. But in Melbourne for example, less than one per cent of the water used is recycled so we can't be too precious about it. In fact we have the highest per capita water consumption of any country. Quite simply, we can't let it continue. Echuca is a gem of a town and the closest point on the river to Melbourne. With a main street that's subject to heritage controls, its historic value can't be overestimated, but at its heart is the tourist precinct and the restored Port of Echuca. Just when it seemed the historic town could be left only with memories, the paddle steamer Pevensey starred in the television series All the Rivers Run, and in the mid-1980s, Echuca was reborn. The wharf was once over a kilometre long. Its height reflects the extremes of river levels. Flood measurements show just how things can change here. 1916 was one of the worst, but in 1870, it's said a massive flood outdid the flow of the mighty Nile. Echuca was the greatest inland port in Australia and part of our first real inland transport network. Even today, travelling the river is a journey through time. Life seems to slow down once you're on the river. Graham Trist: It's a beautiful old boat. It's a powerful boat. It was used as a passenger boat actually up at Murray Downs and Swan Hill there originally. Then it became a tow steamer for the Murray River saw mills. It could tow four or five barges loaded with about 120 tonnes of logs on each barge. Dermott: Along the system, river boats pulled in wherever they were flagged down. They'd call wherever the dog barked and if it didn't bark, they'd call in to see why not. Graham Trist: In the old days it would have thought this was a really good river without the locks and weirs and reservoirs to control the levels, they didn't have much water and plus they had plenty of snow in Melbourne and rainfall. Depending on the season, they'd have been laid up for several months. Dermott: River boat activity peaked in the 1870s and '80s when nearly 100 steamers worked the system. The paddle steamer Adelaide and many others are reminders of a special era, one that ended after the drought of 1914-1915, when the Murray simply didn't flow. For paddle steamers, the writing was on the wall. Rail took over, and by the 1930s, the river boats were reduced mainly to commuter tourist services. We have a desire to think fondly of life the way it was at the peak of the river trade, but it's estimated 15 billion trees were felled for use as paddle steamer fuel and saw milling along the Murray-Darling system. Environmental protection wasn't high on the agenda. No one wants to see a healthy Murray system more than conservationists Tim Fisher and Paul Sinclair. Tim Fisher: So this is it, mate? Paul Sinclair: Yeah, this is where I grew up, but there's a few trees over there that the old man planted and a few old black box... Dermott: Paul need go no further than the former family farm and adjacent properties to see classic land care problems that are facing the Murray-Darling Basin today. Tim Fisher: Has this changed in your lifetime? Paul Sinclair: Look, a lot of paddocks out over here, I can remember them as being pasture, straight pasture. Now they're getting those little bushes in at the - a sign of the salt coming up. I mean the green grass looks great, but look at the trees dying over here. There's no future in it. Everybody loses from this sort of situation and we're running out of time basically. We need to get something done. Dermott: Gunbower Forest near Kerang is listed to be one of the first beneficiaries of environmental flows, if it lasts that long. It's in a sorry state and Paul and Tim have taken advantage of any opportunity to publicise its plight. Tim Fisher: This forest is used to having a drink nearly every year. It hasn't had a decent drink in 10 years and unless we get a flood up to this area in the next few months or year, then you're going to see most of those trees that are still barely alive keel over and die. Paul Sinclair: When this sort of forest starts keeling over, it means a whole lot of other things under it are also struggling really, really badly. Dermott: The sad truth is few red gums have been allowed to grow old. To put it in perspective, this rarity in Gunbower Forest probably started its life when Henry VIII was on the throne of England, and now it's dying of thirst. Tim Fisher: That's tragic. That's just criminal neglect. Paul Sinclair: We need to think of the river not as something that starts high in the mountain and then runs out at the Murray Mouth. It actually moves laterally like a lung. You know, it's natural movement is actually up out of its channel and onto the floodplain which is its supermarket, which are these forests. Then it brings back all these goodies back into the main channel. So these forests are - they might be the lungs of the river, the river's the heart. You can't have a lung without a heart, you can't have a heart without a lung. You can't condemn people really for being so focussed on their patch of the river. Skippers a hundred years ago used to scoff at farmers who thought the river started just above their farm and ended just below. But it's a big river, you know? Very few people get to travel down the length of it. Tim Fisher: It's easy to sit up in the Murrumbidgee or in the Goulburn and not ever have to think about what's happening at the Murray Mouth. Paul Sinclair: At this time, we need to start trying to interconnect these little patches to see it not just as an isolated spot but as an interconnected system. Dermott: I hate to say it, but most city-dwelling Australians may as well live in Manchester or New York for all they know about what's happening out here. People just don't understand how we've tortured this river, mostly unintentionally. It's going to take a lot of hard work to keep this river healthy and maintain a reasonable production level from the Murray-Darling Basin. We're still learning to live in Australia's skin. In Southern Queensland, the Condamine-Balonne system is one of many that contributes to what becomes the Darling River. There are 36 weirs along a watercourse that fluctuates dramatically with drought and flood, and around them, the signs of degradation and high nutrient run-off from where there was once a vast network of wetlands. More often than not though, along their length, they look like this. Waiting for the next flush of water. It's an environment cotton-grower Leith Boully has lived with nearly all her life. Leith Boully: Where I'm standing today is in the Condamine River, more than 2000 kilometres from the mouth of the Murray. Between here and the mouth, there are many communities who rely on this river, many individuals who rely on it for production and as a beautiful place to visit. What links us all together is the mouth of the Murray, because that's the one outlet for this basin. It's the one place where salt can be discharged. Dermott: The Condamine-Balonne runs through much of Southern Queensland's cotton country. Home to places like Cubbie Station near Dirranbandi. This is the largest irrigation property in Australia when there's enough water. The dams here can hold nearly as much as Sydney Harbour. Leith Boully: Obviously these storages have an impact on the river system, because they're taking water that would have flowed down the rivers. Water resource development can't happen in this way in the future, because for the most part, we've fully allocated the resources that we have. But neither can we blame those people who've taken up the allocations in the past, because government encouraged them to develop and they were fully within the law. It's obvious. We're going to have to acquire water from irrigators. The only fair way to do this is to buy that water back. Look, cotton's just an outcome of the way that I manage a whole lot of natural resources. The way I manage my land and water is really important to me and I believe I've got a personal responsibility to make sure that I produce cotton or any other commodity in a way that preserves the integrity of those resources. Dermott: As you enter the Darling proper and head downstream towards Bourke, you're reminded of how long this system has been important. The simple stonefish traps at Brewarrina are thought to be one of the oldest manmade structures on Earth. The region is steeped in Aboriginal history, legend and folklore. It's red earth country, exemplified by landmarks like Mount Oxley near Bourke, so it's easy to accept the idea that it's the last place you'd expect to grow fruit. But water on the red soil does wonders and delivers an advantage of an earlier growing season, and that's what encouraged the Mansell family to come here 14 years ago. It started a great relationship between family and town, bringing much needed employment to locals. The Mansell's dedication to the top end of the Darling led them to building the Jandra as a tourist attraction, but hard times meant they had to sell it. With the Darling an integral part of their lives, water was barely an issue for the Mansell family in late 2001, and things looked rosy. Then drought hit. The Darling dried up and suddenly, they were vulnerable. But the town rallied and gave part of their domestic allocation to the Mansells so they could continue to irrigate. Ruth Mansell: We had been struggling, town was already struggling, and just that cooperative approach that - yeah, they felt they could give us a hand and help out the town as well, and that they were prepared to sacrifice something to be part of the solution. Dermott: Despite the town's help, Phillip Mansell's lost over 80 per cent of his crop. Phillip Mansell: The one in my right hand here, it's nice smooth skin fruit. It's quite soft and juicy. This one here, it's just been moisture stressed and just with the sun impact on it, it's got sun burnt and it just hasn't been able to keep up with the moisture lost from the fruit. This fruit's unmarketable. One of the big things here, we are on an unregulated stretch of the Darling River, so there is no release from government storages for what we do here. The flows in the river are dependent upon the rains, so the variability coming down the river can be huge. In the big picture, the Darling can bear it for what we're doing for the horticultural side of things, with efficiency of irrigation, yes it can bear it. Leith Boully: It doesn't matter whether you grow fruit or cotton along the Darling. What's really important is that we get the allocation of the water resources right, and make sure that there's a proper balance between the environment and agriculture, and that we make sure that we're growing those crops on land that's suitable to grow them. Phillip Mansell: We're the baddies, but we're providing what they want. People still like eating fresh oranges. They'll still choose the blemish-free piece of fruit before they'll choose the fruit which has got a blemish on it, because it's been grown in a climate which is wet, which people think we usually grow these crops in those climates, the consumers still wants the fruit which is grown in a good dry climate. Wally Mitchell: Dermott, I'm very proud of what the people of Bourke have done for the Mansells, giving them part of their domestic water, going without themselves. That's what Darling River people are like. That's why I love it out here. Dermott: Because it runs through low rainfall areas, the Darling can lose more by evaporation than it receives from tributaries. Wally Mitchell: You break that whole background down, yeah. Well this a typical dry season flow. It's pretty low there now, but it's still flowing, and it's healthy, the water you can drink it. But by contrast, behind us on the bridge, the marks indicate different river levels. 1988 was a fairly moderate flood. The yellow one above that is 12 metres deeper than the river is here now, 400,000 swimming pools going past here every day for a period of two months. Dermott: Apart from Bourke, population 3500, the Darling is essentially a river of hamlets, like Louth. In between are huge stations like Kallara, mini-communities in their own right, supplying faraway cities, but where owners like Jan McClure are finding the need to diversify. Jan McClure: Hello Dermott, how are you? Dermott: Very well, thank you. Jan McClure: Good, would you like me to show you where you're staying? Dermott: Lead the way. Jan McClure: Dermott, this is where our guests stay. I hope you'll enjoy staying here. Dermott: Why did you start farm stays? Jan McClure: Well with the recession, wool prices and everything being at such a low, we had a unique opportunity here on the river to diversify and it's worked very well. People love to come down here and use the boat, sail on the river. Dermott: Bit of fishing as well? Jan McClure: Yes, yes they like that and they can join in most of the station activities. We like them to feel that they are visitors, not tourists. Dermott: Because of drought conditions, the lambs in this mob were the first born in the area for two seasons. That's great fun. I don't know how I'd handle staying out here for 10 hours a day doing that, but that is great fun for while I'm doing it now. Let's stay here a bit longer actually, I want to have another crack at it. When they've mustered all the sheep and the likes, do they get to shear? Jan McClure: Yes. Would you like to shear? Dermott: Yeah, but you're not going to make me wear one of those singlets, are you? Jan McClure: Oh yes I am, that's part of the deal. Male: Not bad. Very good, very good. Dermott: Thanks for that. Male: We'll get him next year. Dermott: Yeah, when's the next season? I took my boat ride too, but instead of fishing invited Wally and Jan's son Justin along to talk about the challenge of living on an unregulated river. Justin McClure: It's an event river. It has been. Always has been. When it runs, it runs. We're weired here, but in normal circumstances, this river would be dry. Wally Mitchell: We drain water from as far away as Chincilla and Warwick, and when they get rain, we get a river. Our weirs in the Darling are only holding up this body of water. We need to increase those logically another three metres, you've still got all of that bank. That would sustain a large body of water and protect it from evaporation by the timber you see on it, and that's the logical storage for long term progress in the river. Justin McClure: Dermott I guess this is our - this is our life. This river is our lifeline. But the bottom line is it's got to be sustainable, and if we haven't got a river, we haven't got anything. Dermott Brereton: Well I'm glad I brought you here because this is the Tilpa Hotel. It's a classic outback pub. This is the downtown sector of the McClure empire. There's thousands of messages from people who have passed through or locals as well who have written them on the walls. Mike, what's the history of the Tilpa hotel? Ta. Michael McInerney: It's one of only two of the original bush pubs still in existence. The rest have either been closed down or burnt down. In the early days it was served by the paddle steamers, later by Cobb and Co. If it wasn't here, there wouldn't be a Tilpa. Dermott: She's pretty dry now. How many times have you seen it totally dry? Michael McInerney: Oh, it's been dry several times that I know of, but the period from last October through to April when it stopped flowing for six months, is the longest period that it's ever... Dermott: Bad as ever. Michael McInerney: ...been as bad as that. Dermott: Who signs the walls? Michael McInerney: Anybody who travels to Tilpa for $2 as a donation to the Flying Doctor Service, they sign their name on the wall. Dermott: Now Mark behind the bar has armed me with a Texta and he said find a spot and write on it, but that's easier said than done. The only thing I can come up with is this little spot here. On the rare occasions it rains in Broken Hill, it generally pours, creating instant fast flowing rivers. They usually dry up just as quickly. Remote as it is, Broken Hill is just on the western edge of the Murray-Darling Basin, but the sandy desert streams aren't its main source of water. That comes from Menindee Lakes fed by the Darling River, 110 kilometres to the west. Now we're about to drive into Lake Menindee. The lake is bone dry, and in fact, where we are here right now, normally we'd be standing ankle deep in water when the lake is full. The lake is bone dry because the water that was in here was required to service Adelaide. There's no more water coming into the lake. It'll remain this way as long as the Darling only has a trickle going through it. The lake's a second home to Broken Hill-based artist, Roxanne Minchin, lake's deputy manager Barry Philp, and fisherman Geoff Looney. Roxanne Minchin: I have never seen anything like this in my entire life. I've been painting this area for 28 years. This is the first time I've ever seen it so desolate. Dermott: Geoff, this is meant to be one of the more popular spots for fishing for the local guys? Geoff Looney: Yeah, most surely along these trees you'd catch a lot of fish. Dermott: What type of fish do they catch along here? Geoff Looney: Mainly golden perch and... Dermott: Plenty of them? Geoff Looney: Yeah, a lot of golden perch in the system. It's pretty good for perch. Dermott: Barry, it's pretty big and it's pretty bare. How long it is going to take to fill it? Barry Philp: Probably three, three to four years to fill up again. All depends how much rainfall we have up in the upper catchment. Dermott: Roxanne, as an artist, you would draw a fair bit of inspiration from these types of lakes? Roxanne Minchin: This is my main inspiration. It's my signature tune, I suppose you could say, and when I paint my trees, you only see half of what we're seeing now because the water level is normally so high. Wally Mitchell: See we have a situation a Menindee Lakes built in the '40s - a good idea but badly done. Very shallow lakes, 130,000 acres of surface area, evaporating at two metres a year, so you're losing a massive amount of that in evaporation, but more importantly, you're leaving behind the salts and the sediments and only pure water's evaporating off. So you're creating problems for the South Australian people. Roxanne Minchin: Our water is undrinkable at this stage. I've lost most of my gardens through the salinity and it just shouldn't be happening. Our water has not been looked after properly. Dermott: The main upstream storage for Adelaide is Lake Victoria, near the South Australian border. At peak irrigation times when there's heavy dependence on the Murray, Adelaide could be drinking Darling water. That puts even more strain on the outback river. I reckon if I took a great big runner off the top of that bank up there, I reckon I could jump the Darling River here. I'm not going to - I might later when the cameras aren't rolling - but in how many countries of the world could you say you've jumped their longest river. If that doesn't make us think about the value of water, I don't know what will. It's not all that unusual. You could have done it quite a few times over the years. But hopefully the drought has made us think about the health of our rivers, the delicate nature and balance of the systems, and of them as a source of water. It's an indication of just how dramatically things can change out here. The area where the Darling meets the Murray is known as Sunraysia. It's centred around Wentworth and Mildura and based on lots of sunshine and water, both for irrigation and tourism. Increasingly, food has developed as a theme in Mildura with the old paddle steamer, Avoca, now a floating restaurant in the latest of a series of attractions. The weir at Mildura holds back water for one of the world's most productive food bowls. It was here in the late 1800s that George and William Chaffey introduced irrigation and ensured a transformation from red earth country. Their vision for Mildura was as a temperance settlement built around the Grand Hotel. It started life as the Coffee Palace, and developed as the place where both the city and outback came to stay. It's still a meeting place but, as the food reputation of Mildura has developed, perhaps it's better known for the restaurants of television chef Stefano de Pieri. The most famous is called Stefano's, and food critics rank it among Australia's best. It was the ideal place to meet with him and three other locals who have a major interest in the river's health. Stefano de Pieri: After all, Mildura is really the food bowl of Victoria, if not, of a large part of Australia. Kathy Keeble: We need to assess every kilolitre we take out of that river and what we do with it, why we take it out, what we use it for. Look at alternatives, so can we not use water for some things. Col Thompson: We've been irrigating now for some 100 years. I think there's an expectation out there that we can change all this overnight. We can't. Arron Wood: We look at placing blame all the time, we don't move forward. What we should be looking at now is saying okay, farmers have always operated on best case information. No one wants to do bad by the environment. I mean until 10 years ago, Queensland Government was paying incentives to clear land. Stefano de Pieri: The government has to find money. All levels of government. Money is found in emergencies for - say for the recent conflict with Iraq. It was thought politically that it had to be done and the money was found. Col Thompson: We tend to be focussing a little bit at the moment on saying, we just put more water back and agricultural production back into the river and we'll solve all the problems. I don't think we will solve all the problems by doing that. You think of the waste water that must go out of Melbourne and Sydney that is just lost to everybody. That orange is probably one of the best oranges you'll get anywhere in the world. The climate, the soil, the water here is all conducive to the perfect production of citrus fruits. Healthy agriculture equates to a healthy community. This show's been going for some 120 years, it's going from strength to strength, and that rotates around the healthy rural community, a lot of which rotates around a healthy working river. Arron Wood: Having grown up on Kings Billabong on the banks of the mighty Murray, I've gone from seeing - you know, being able to put my feet in the water and being able to see my feet in knee deep water to being able to see my hand just below the surface because it's muddied up and that sort of stuff. What I'm doing is kneeling on pipes that are over 100 years old and it represents the way we've seen the river. Since 1891 in fact, when the Chaffeys first settled this region, we've been sucking water out of the river, and we continue to do it with the new pump side over here. That is the way we've seen the river. We've seen it as a resource to be used. It eventually comes back to education and that is changing the way we view, use and perceive our natural environment. We've really got to change the way we look at these things. So the big issue about this water debate is it isn't just sitting in an office and putting a stroke of a pen through megalitres of water and saying, these people get it and these people don't. It really does need to be about the human angle, and offering appropriate compensation if we have to make wide sweeping change. We can't just take people's livelihoods away. Stefano de Pieri: You can't continue to base your food and the food that everyone uses on cheap water. A pool - a swimming pool - an Olympic pool of water, for the price of a packet of cigarettes. Hey, where are we going? So somebody along the line has to readjust this. Dermott: All that food you're talking about from the local area gives you a real chance, now that you've got the wonderful name of the restaurant, to really showcase it all. Stefano de Pieri: Yes, and of course for the cooks, people like myself, the challenge is to reinterpret the food. So I hope that in the end, we will have a Mildura-specific cuisine. Maybe that will take a lot more chefs than me, but in time. Dermott: You'll be able to take the name Mildura like they did with Champagne. Stefano de Pieri: Wouldn't that be good for Australia. Kathy Keeble: We're currently putting in large dams to capture our wastewater and re-treat it, with the use of - back in our processes in our winery, and maybe water our vineyards with it as well. Dermott: For one litre of wine, how much water do you need to produce it? Wayne Folkenberg: At the moment, we produce or use around three to four litres of water for every litre of wine we make, and that is not probably something to be proud of, but it's something we're working towards to reduce. Jim Kirkpatrick: In our wine-making process, we've reduced our water consumption significantly, and in our packaging area where we are now, we've changed our process from rinsing all of the bottles with water to rinsing with a gas. Dermott: Exactly what amount of water savings does that mean? Jim Kirkpatrick: We've actually only used 59 per cent of our allocation. So a significant saving there which is standing us in good stead for the difficult times and for the future. Dermott: Do you think the greater population of Australia really understand this issue? Stefano de Pieri: There has been a situation as I see it in this country, where for too long people have lived in the cities happily without properly realising where their food has come from, at what cost in a total sense, both to the environment and to the farmer. Arron Wood: You know what the quickest way to fix that is? This has been bandied about for some time now and that's an environmental levy. It's the scary word tax... Col Thompson: Arron, I absolutely agree with you. I think we should have an environmental levy, but politically - and if you've only got to ask the last Victorian Government, it was very, very unpalatable. The challenge for society out there today is that we maintain and increase and promote and see development take place in these areas, and yet also do the same for the river. Dermott: The stretch of river between Mildura and Renmark is perhaps the most remote of the river. It's got a real isolated feeling to it. It's quite beautiful just to see nothing but the nature as you go along either side of the boat. The best way to see it is on a boat, and the best boat to get for this type of journey - one of these. A big houseboat. To operate the boat is pretty simple. If I can do it, anyone can do it. You've got all the gear in front of you here, you can even see where everyone is. All people out the back on the swim deck. Wendy Steltzer: This section is just inside of South Australia and another 13 kilometres from the South Australian New South Wales border. As you can see, the river is very, very wide here, so it had easy access for paddle steamers and barges to pass through, and very, very deep. Dermott: Wendy Steltzer and her husband Barry have made the old customs house the base for their houseboat operation. Wendy Steltzer: They had to collect duty only coming into South Australia, so they paid duty on things like Chinese cooks were a lot of money, and contraband of course, alcohol and things like that. Sheep, wool, all sorts of things that were brought into South Australia. Dermott: So we continued downstream to lock six. It's easy to forget that while the river looks full, it's being held up by a series of weirs, with the levels on each side differing by an average of just over three metres. Lock six is where what's known as the Chowilla Flood Plain begins. Nearly 40 years ago, the South Australian government wanted to build a dam here. It would have been extraordinarily destructive. Protests led by fruit grower and hydrologist Jack Seekamp stopped it in what is considered the most important conservation decision made on the Murray. Paul Sinclair: Jack's been a phenomenon for the Murray. He tells stories about people who would cross the street to avoid talking to him because they didn't like the stand he was taking in opposing the Chowilla Dam. Now we know it would have been an absolute bloody disaster, and he's seen as a visionary by those same people who crossed the street. Dermott: Well Jack this peg here, this marker stone, is the boundary end of the Chowilla Dam. Jack Seekamp: Yes, this is the survey mark that was put in way back in the '60s and the line of the dam would have stretched from here to that mast that you can see on the far side of the cliffs over there. Something over four kilometres I think. And from there on down, nearly as far as Renmark would have been a water desert with no water, white salt blistering on the surface of the ground and the dead skeletons sticking up above it. Unfortunately, it's heading in the same direction of desolation now. >From here, it doesn't look too bad, but there are an awful lot of dead trees down there. Dermott: Why? Jack Seekamp: Because we're not allowed to have floods. Not allowed to have floods. Engineers and politicians are absolutely terrified of being seen to make a flood because someone might be inconvenienced and they might be sued. Each time there's a flood or a high river comes down, the engineers boast, we have successfully mitigated the peak... Dermott Brereton: Yeah. Jack Seekamp: ...and I say don't do that. Hold her back. When the dams are full, open the gates and say, look out, here she comes. For sure, some of the shacks at Morgan would get flooded, but a flood through here does nothing but good. Dermott: Had it not been for Jack Seekamp, our houseboat could have been operating on a massive useless salt-filled lake. Can you imagine how it would have devastated the river? That brings us to the problems for boating and the pressure on the river from boating. Things like fuel pollution and wastewater. Barry Steltzer: What they're experimenting with now is catching your grey water and working on a filtration system... Wendy Steltzer: Yeah. Barry Steltzer: ...so that all of the water is collected, filtered and then returned to the river. Dermott: So at the moment that goes straight into the river? Barry Steltzer: At the moment, yes. Dermott: Luxury on the Murray has come at a price, but if all boating industry operators are like Barry and Wendy, they know they have to face the problem head on in order to preserve a leisure lifestyle that's also big business. It will come at a cost, and as with fruit, wool or forests, it will have to be borne by all of us. But then, if being around a healthy river is special, being on it is even more so. The trouble is that in this remote stretch of river especially, it's only occasional patches of old drowned red gums that even remind you the river's health is in limbo. How do we beat the problem of fuel pollution? Barry Steltzer: All our houseboats have got four stroke motors. They're virtually pollution free, very economical and very quiet. Dermott: So where does the responsibility lie? Wendy Steltzer: It starts with the owners, managers, and it goes right down to the people that hire houseboats. >From rubbish to fuel pollution to how much wood they take, and it all boils back to common sense. That can start at school level. Barry Steltzer: I think all houseboat owners and hirers et cetera have tried to do the right thing. The river is our lifeblood... Wendy Steltzer: Yeah. Barry Steltzer: ...It's the lifeblood of three states. We have to protect it. Dermott: The weirs are like a series of steps in the river. Numbers start from the bottom end. So five is downstream from six. Bob Bonner is lockmaster for both. Bob what would we be seeing here if we didn't have a weir? Bob Bonner: Well, at the moment, the way the water's been, this out here would be just a pool of puddles. You wouldn't be able to - the farmers wouldn't be able to water their stock or there wouldn't be any vegetable growing, the pumps would be out of water. This up here, your river traffic wouldn't be able to move. It'd create a bit of havoc I think. Dermott: For over 60 years, lockmasters have been proud of keeping water levels consistent, but variation's just what the river must have. That's been behind the success of Banrock Station a little further downstream. Out of having major problems with salinity in the Riverland are coming some answers, a lot of them, from here. Ten years ago, this was nothing but degraded farmland and trying to change it was considered a radical decision. Now it's the country's largest wine and ecotourism complex. The first step was to restore the wetlands and now, of 1700 hectares, 1400 are devoted to environmental management and 300 are under vines. Tony Sharley: So to learn about the environment... Dermott: The transition is because of this man, Tony Sharley. His energy and passion drive Banrock, and his story is one of the Murray's most impressive. Tony Sharley: ...okay, into a national park. I think the biggest lesson is that, you know, it's very doable. We've got the knowledge out there as to how to restore landscapes. We really just need to apply it. Companies like ours can actually develop state-of-the-art vineyards that use water wisely and it gives us a fantastic point of difference with our wines too, in that, here's a wine company producing a bottled product and giving consumers the opportunity to support something that is restoring the Australian landscape. When the weirs were built on the River Murray in 1925, that first - forced water to flow into our wetland and because it raised the surface water on the floodplain, the water table rose as well, bringing salt up, and it killed many of these box trees that were just around the edge or the margin of the wetland. Today, we've recreated these spring floods so that now every year we get a big pulse of water coming through the wetlands system here. It flushes salt and it creates the ideal environment for the germination of both box and red gum seedlings. The bulrush zone itself is around about 100 metres thick, whereas 10 years ago when we started this project, it was just a very, very narrow band that had been affected severely by grazing and by salt. The boardwalk enables people to get up close and personal with wildlife. We've now got nearly 20,000 people a year who are coming and taking these walks. So while they're actually on the boardwalk, it takes them into, four bird viewing hides. They can actually see birds on the water, as well as seeing this lovely wetland landscape. By giving people access to them, they can start to value them, and that's all part of helping to save the River Murray. This region had a history of very wasteful irrigation practices which led to poor quality in the vineyard. This device here has really revolutionised water use in our vineyards. It's enabled us to know exactly how much moisture is in the soil at any one time, and that's really halved vineyard water use in the Riverland. That's giving us better quality fruit, but it's also protecting the river system, in that there is virtually no drainage going back to the river system today. Dermott: Renmark is the unofficial capital of the Riverland. It's a heavily irrigated stretch of the Murray, about 250 kilometres long from Renmark to Morgan, with places like Berri and Loxton in between. Like Sunraysia, the Riverland's all about irrigation and the magical transformation of parched bushland into a fruit growing bonanza. But a time bomb's been ticking beneath the surface. Peter Forward: This is the now badly degraded Ramco Lagoon area. It's been degraded by the impacts of irrigation just up the hill here, with the consequence that the water in the lagoon here exceeds the salinity of seawater in summertime. This seepage water here is a mixture of ruefully low salinity drainage water from the irrigation district mixed in with deep groundwater. This is quite typical to me, the problems in the Riverland. Dermott: But despite what a lot of people think, salinity in the Murray is at its most acceptable level for years, thanks to salt interception schemes like the one Peter manages. There's 78 pumps like this in the Riverland. They don't look like much, but together they prevent about 3000 tonnes of salt a week from reaching the river. The pumps take the salt water 20 kilometres away to a place called Stockyard Plains. Far enough away to stop leakage back to the river for at least 100 years. Peter Forward: There are literally hundreds of thousands of birds living out there, so the basin's developing its own ecology and it's been quite fantastic to see. We've had the sea grass develop out here, small snail shells. I guess the whole point about this area is that we're taking water from - saltwater from where it's causing most damage, near the river, and putting it inland where it's causing less damage. So while you see dead trees out there, it's all part of this compromise. The other measures such as reducing irrigation drainage, improve the efficiency of irrigation, they will all help, but the benefits of those really won't be seen for quite some decades. In the meantime, these salt interception schemes are the frontline in the war against salinity. Dermott: The river at Morgan 40 kilometres away is seen as a benchmark site for measuring long term salinity, but even though levels have fallen here consistently in recent years, about 300 semitrailer loads of salt flow past the wharf every day. The difficulty is that many of the changes that turn a healthy river into a dying river are imperceptible. They take place over such long spans of time, that few people notice them. It's deceiving and hides the ongoing dilemma. In the early days, Morgan was the key port on the river in South Australia, but almost the only evidence is this stone morgue set up on the riverbank for the easy transferral of bodies from upstream during the paddle steamer era. The plaque outside tells the tale of a Royal Navy surveyor by the name of Harvey. Now Harvey was involved with the construction of the morgue, and on its completion, he joked about who might be the first person to use it. Ironically, Harvey drowned the next day and he, the poor old soul, because the first person. We've been following the river predominantly west, north-west, and it's here at Morgan in the bend in the river behind me where the Murray takes a sharp turn to the south, almost 90 degrees. >From here, she's all downhill to the mouth. It's here you'll find the Murray Princess. She's designed to travel upstream through the locks if the river's high enough, but when I was on board, she couldn't even get through lock one, so additional flows would be good for business. Ray Weedon: There are times where we do actually touch bottom. That's normal for a riverboat. That's why we're flat-bottomed. However, even 1.1 metres is too much at the moment in some regions. Dermott: A stretch of the Murray covered by the Princess through the Nildottie Cliffs region is amongst the most spectacular, but even here there are reminders of how much water is taken for irrigation. Ray Weedon: The Murray-Darling Basin has thousands of kilometres of open canals and channels. We lose too much water in seepage and evaporation. Probably too late for this generation. Hopefully the next generation will do a better job of it. Dermott: As passengers from the Princess find out, life must have been pretty good for the Ngaut Ngaut Aboriginal people in nature's larder. They met on top of the cliffs, then had the plains, the river and even honeybee nests in between providing food. Female: All they had to do was climb up there, stick their hands in there and they've got themselves a feed of honey. Dermott: Rock art shows that even dolphins were found here. Cess Rigney: Dolphins are known to be able to survive hundreds of miles in the freshwater, as long as they can get back to that salt next king or high tide. The river was vital to the Ngaut Ngaut people, the Nagarakee. This end of the river's dying and we've got to have something done pretty quick to make it a bit healthier than what it is nowadays. Dermott: The town of Mannum just over 80 kilometres from Adelaide is the widest part of the river, and known for being home to the Murray Princess, the point of the river from which Adelaide takes its precious water, and the scene of spectacular flooding over the years. In the 1950s, the flooding even became a tourist attraction. The guardian of the bottom end of the river is the delightful heritage town of Goolwa. Goolwa's the easiest stepping off point for Lake Alexandrina, the barrages and the Murray Mouth. Every day for 40 years, I'm going to bring you some bad luck, maybe. The domain of river custodians like fisherman Henry Jones and Aboriginal elder Tom Trevorrow. Tom Trevorrow: Good walk. It's good bush walk through here to look at some of our native bushland. Okay children, as you can see here, one of our big inland lagoons, and it's got... Dermott: Tom runs an interpretive centre called Camp Coorong. According to him, the wetlands have been in drought for almost 60 years. The Coorong is a long narrow waterway east of the Murray Mouth. Along with Lake Alexandrina, it's the end of the line, and where the problems of the river really come into focus. These days, fishermen like Henry have given into the inevitable. Carp have taken over here as well, so that's mainly what this fourth generation fisherman catches, along with golden perch. What's our chance of pulling up a Murray cod? Henry Jones: No chance in the world. I haven't seen a cod in this area for 15 years, but the carp are - blame for everything. However they're actually a symptom of what we're doing to the river. If we can get environmental flows and get the river running again, then there wouldn't be the problem with the carp. Dermott: What's the worst case scenario if you don't get those flows through? Henry Jones: It's major fish kills. We've seen silver perch, catfish, a Congolese, yabbies, blackfish, purple spotted gudgeon, pygmy perch, all gone from the area. The native fish have gone down about 60 per cent. Dermott: Fair gathering of pelicans there Henry. Henry Jones: Whilst they're here, we know there's not much fish anywhere else. Dermott: So if you get here and they're not here... Henry Jones: We know that there's fish somewhere else. So we find the pelicans and then we find the fish. So they use us and we use them. Tom Trevorrow: We bring them all the way down here to the tail end of the Coorong and we're able to bring them over the sand dunes here to the beach, so they can get a full view of the Coorong and understand how everything is connected. With a lot of the children that come, it has an impact on them, to get them out of a city environment and get them out onto the land, and they develop an understanding of what the land is and how important it is to us. Dermott: This goes on for 90 kilometres. Henry Jones: Yeah, it goes on right down here to 90 kilometres and two thirds of it is now dead down at - because we don't get enough water over the barrage and we've got fishermen still alive who can remember when that was the best place to fish, well up the Coorong. Now the only fish you get there are little hardyheads. Tom Trevorrow: For many, many years now, this area has been known as the end of the Coorong, but the Coorong and the waters used to connect right through to the southeast area. Neville Gollan: I remember this as a boy, when there was about five foot of water through here. My mum and some of my aunties have told me when they were catching yabbies - freshwater yabbies - this was all freshwater running all the way down just this side of Kingston. But once they put up the barrage, it took everything away. Henry Jones: It's not only the fish, it's the little crustaceans. Especially over in the freshwater, there's a little spiral snail, and that used to feed the wigeon and the bluegill murloc and the murloc and now they're gone from the area because that food source is gone. We know it's never going to get back to the way it was, to the pristine conditions, but at least we can save something for future generations. Dermott: The barrages were built to prevent seawater from the mouth entering the river, so the Coorong has been deprived of consistent freshwater flows since they were constructed in 1940. The Murray-Darling Basin Commission is exploring options for restoration of the lower lakes, and debate is even centred on removal of the barrages. Henry Jones: Now without the environmental flows coming down and the amount of volume of water coming down, without these barrages, we'd change the environment even more than we have already. Dermott: The colour difference between this side and that side - blue to brown - it's really pronounced. Why is that? Henry Jones: Well you've got the saltwater on the Coorong side, but on the freshwater side, it's full of nutrients and a lot of algae in it and salt, so it's just coloured up into a soup pretty well. The water's got to be allowed to escape and to be able to be cleaned out and freshened up. Neville Gollan: Before the barrages were put up, sharks went up to Mannum, stingray, Mulloway. Tom Trevorrow: Today the pelicans, have to leave their island, fly all the way down the Coorong to the northern lagoon, to try and find a feed of fish and to bring back for their young. Dermott: Only a strong flow can keep the mouth open. Well Henry, what do you think when you see this part of your world? Henry Jones: Oh mate, I'm disgusted and really disappointed. Just to remember what it was just 20 years ago. We're talking 15 metres of water out there. We're talking a mouth that was 200 metres to a half a kilometre wide, and now look at it now. You can drive a vehicle over nearly all of it. Tom Trevorrow: The land is slowly dying. The river is dying. The Coorong is dying, and the Murray Mouth is closing. Henry Jones: You can walk across it every year right about February through to April. Neville Gollan: The best thing that can - I think - that could happen for the river is to let it flow out to the locks, open it out, let out the germs. Dermott: As we come down the river, you see all those people who have a care for the river, that they really want to get their area right first. How do we educate them to what's going on here? Henry Jones: I'd like to think that we could bring a lot of them down here and just show them what's going on down here. Show them the devastation. Neville Gollan: Come and sit down and talk with us and get it firsthand. That would be the best, for the Government to come and talk with us. But they don't. Henry Jones: Show them that if we don't get this mouth open, then the problem is going to work its way up the river. Neville Gollan: It's like the words in the olden times, when our word wasn't good enough. Dermott: As I stand here at the bottom end of the Murray at Lake Alexandrina, I think of the countless dead trees from salinity that I've seen, and wonder if they can ever be regrown. I think about the result of chemicals and wonder if we can ever do without them. I think about the farmers without enough water to purely farm. I think about the fishermen catching feral species out of the water, and it makes me wonder, will the Murray cod ever be king of his domain again? There is only so much we can put into a television program. Please make it your business to go to the website and find out more. But this generous old man River Murray has been giving to us for countless years, most selflessly in the last 100 or so. It's time we gave some water back, but there's no easy solution. It's going to be a long hard slog. In the end, it's the people that'll make a difference. People like you.

Riverboats

Name Description Murray Service Owners Captains Barges Fate/Notes
Adelaide 106 tons 1866–now J. C. Grassey & Partners
Grassey & Officer
Blair & McCrowther 1879
Murray River Sawmills 1901
R. Evans 1915
F. Pullar 1867, 1869–1871, 1875
Adams 1872
C. Schmedje sr, jr. 1879–1889
J. Krause 1881
Hoskins 1881
J. Dorey 1881
J. Newman 1883
W. Thomson 1890–1911
C. Anderson 1912–1939
R. Keir 1916
Echuca 1869
Redgum 1869
Moama 1869
Bendigo 1871
Eclipse 1872–1873
Moira 1873
Heather Bell 1878–1882
Border Chief 1879–1882
Shamrock 1879–1881
Gunbower 1879
Shamrock 1881
Swallow 1881
Pelican 1881
Federation 1881
Alice 1883
Oldest operable wooden hulled paddle steamer anywhere in the world.
She was towing barges for the timber mill in 1947[1]
Taken out of service 1960,[2] then re-commissioned in 1985.[3] Moored at Echuca.
Advance 1906–1909 Shuttled between Bourke and Louth. Was this vessel built from barge Advance?
Agnes 110 tons 85 ft × 10 ft. 1877–1888 Thos. Laing & Co. 1877–1880
J. Randell & D. Luttet 1880–1887
T. Freeman 1887–1888
J. Patterson 1877
D. Sinclair 1878, 1880
T. Laing 1879
T. Freeman 1879–1883
J. Symington 1879
F. C. Hansen 1880
M. Cole 1883, 1884
Rabbie Burns 1878–1881
Native Companion 1879
Darling 1880
Scottish Chief 1880–1883
Sold 1888 to Nagambie Steam Navigation and Saw-Mill Co. and removed to Nagambie on Goulburn River; replaced by Emma.
Albury iron hull 120' × 16'
60/156 tons 40/50 hp.
1855– River Murray Navigation Co.
Wallace & Other 1875
Johnston & Murphy 1880
Kirkpatrick & Harris 1879
Kirkpatrick 1881
E. Robertson 1855
R. Ross 1856
G. B. Johnston 1855–1875
J. Mace 1857
W. Barber 1860
T. Johnston 1864–1866
James Barclay 1870, 1871,
:1874, 1875
W. Dickson 1873
Kopp 1875
J. M. Wallace 1875, 1877, 1878,
:1880
G. Johnson 1881
J. Tait 1881–1883
Murrumbidgee 1855
Wakool 1855–1860
Goolwa 1856
Mitta Mitta 1857, 1859, 1860, 1874
Bogan 1866
Unknown 1866
J & M 1869, 1874, 1875
Menindie 1869
Miriam 1870–1875, 1879–1881[4]
Sister ship to Gundagai. First to reach Town of Albury.[5] Iron hull replaced with timber 1881.
Alert 1879–1937 George Blunt 1882
Blunt & Mason
McCulloch & Co.
Permewan, Wright & Co.
O. Searles 1937
G. Linklater 1879
C. Cowley 1879, 1880
T. Bynon c. 1880[6]
R. Strang 1883–1899
R. F. Lewen 1898
G. Lindqvist 1899
G. Dorward jr. 1901
L. Strom 1905
H. Teschner 1905, 1906
Advance 1879
Willandra 1879
Canally 1880
Maori 1883–1891
Woorooma 1889
Jessie 1889, 1895, 1905, 1910
Nelson 1889, 1892, 1896, 1899
Paroo 1890, 1891
Horace 1891, 1905
Lancashire Witch 1891, 1896
Namoi 1892–1894, 1896–1898, 1905
Eagle 1892–1894, 1898
Tongo 1895
J.L.Roberts 1895, 1897, 1898,
:1905, 1909
Confidence 1895–1896, 1898
Gunbower 1897
Echuca 1905
Moorara 1909
Involved in railway construction Narrandera 1882.
Burnt to the waterline near Morgan 1937.
Alexander Arbuthnot 1923–1947
1990–now
Arbuthnot Sawmills Pty Ltd. H. Hogg 1942 Engaged in hauling redgum timber.
Restored c. 1990 and serves as tourist vessel based at Echuca.
Alexandra 1904–1906 James Bell & Co. 1903
G. Ritchie
G. Ritchie 1904, 1906 Excursions out of Murray Bridge 1904–1906.
Originally steamer Bantam; machinery and boiler incorporated into steamer Venus.[7]
Alfred

(see also Prince Alfred)
Iron side-wheeler 116 tons 1867–1917 A. Johnson 1869
A. Locke 1869
Risby 1890
Lush
Knox & Downs 1916
Reis 1867
M. Mack 1869–1876
Thomson 1876
J. Dorey 1877, 1880, 1881
J. Lawson 1878, 1879
O. Kenrick 1879
J. Krause 1881–1883
L. Searles 1890
R. Ransom 1912, 1913, 1915
G. M. Mumby 1917
Alice 1869–1872
Pocahontas 1878
Darling 1878–1879, 1881
Pelican 1878, 1881
Paroo 1879
Swallow 1879, 1884
Willandra 1879
Advance 1880–1881
Border Chief 1881
Pimpampa 1881
Swallow 1884
Uranus 1916, 1917
Sister ship to J.H.P. but side-wheeler.
Had major refit 1890.
Sank May 1917; crewman Thorn drowned; Mumby and mate charged with manslaughter, acquitted
Later houseboat for W. Dodd.
Alma 1900– SA Govt. Irrigation Dept. Originally missionary boat Etona
Alpha
"Murray Marvel"
50 tons 1899– A. Francis
W. Collins 1908, 1923
H. Brennan −1911
S.A. Import Co. 1911–
A. Francis 1900–1902
H. Brennan 1911
W. Collins 1918–1923
Annie 1918
Emerald 1919
Light draught trading steamer[8] with a reputation for sailing when no other could get through,[9] she was largely built from wreck of Nil Desperandum.
Mrs. Collins was engineer in 1918[10]
In 1950 the Alpha was serving as a family home at Mannum.[11]
Amphibious 60' × 18' iron hull 16 hp. twin screw, 49 tons 1876–1926 W. Warren 1876
D. McBeath 1879–
Richard Craig 1902
W. Warren 1876
D. McBeath 1879
J. McBeath 1893
propelled by large Archimedean screws only part-submerged so they did not protrude below hull.
Later converted to ketch.[12][13]
Arbuthnot 100 hp. 1912–1913 Arbuthnot & Sons 1912–1913 W. F. Bailey
C. Johnson 1913
Koondrook 1913 Raced Canally 1913.[14] Destroyed by fire.[15]
Raised and rebuilt by Capt. Arnold in 1916 and renamed J. G. Arnold.[16] (see below.)
Arcadia 85' × 12' 1904– W. Wolter 1904–1917 W. Wolter 1904–1917 Served as excursion steamer on lower Murray and lakes Albert and Alexandria.
Ariel 83 tons 1868[17]–1899? Hardman & Lester 1876
Herbert Lester 1877
W. R. Randell 1878
R. Anderson 1868–1875
Parker 1869
Wallace 1876
C. Bock 1876–1879, 1892, 1896
E. H. Randell 1880–1882
F. C. Hansen 1881
Anderson 1893, 1894
W. Porter 1896
Ariel 1868–1876
Bogan 1873
Goolwa 1874–1875
Hartley 1879–1892
Alice 1882
Rosa 1896
Trading steamer purchased with barge Ariel by Hardman & Lester 1876;[18] William Frank Hardman became insolvent 1877 and was bought out by Herbert Lester.[19]
Rebuilt as steamer Kelvin 1912.[20]
Australien 1897–1926 W. Wilson 1897–1905
F. O. Wallin 1906–1933
King & Jones 1934–[21]
W. Wilson 1897–1904
W. Carlyon 1901
W. Knight 1902
Fordyce 1905
F. O. Wallin 1905, 1906, 1908
T. Kelly 1910–1912, 1918
Vega 1911, 1918, 1932
Federal 1920
Zulu 1906, 1918, 1920
J.L. Roberts 1933
Chinese cook Jimmy Ah Kee drowned 1901.[22]
Last served as logging steamer above Yarrawonga weir. (Mudie p. 164)
In 1934 she brought construction materials to Yarrawonga, the first boat from South Australia in 20 years.[23] She was there purchased for King Bros. of Mulwala for carrying timber.[24]
<i>Avoca</i> 148 tons 1877– Oliver & Thomson 1877
Alec Thomson 1886[25]
J. G. Arnold c. 1920–[26]
D. Treacy 1939, 1947
Collins Bros. 1950
W. Miers 1879–1882
D. Treacy 1939, 1948
Sunk near Wilcannia 1878.
Left river for Spencer Gulf trade c. 1890 for J. Darling & Co.
Returned to Murray c. 1920 to cart stone (Mudie p. 191) and occasional "rough" tourist trips.[27]
Sunk at Mildura in 2014.[28]
Bantam 1883– R. F. Lewen 1883–1901
G. Ritchie 1903
R. F. Lewen 1883–1901 Paragon 1883–1896, 1903 First on upper Murray to employ electric light.[29]
Converted to barge Alexandra 1903
Became steamer Alexandra (see above)
Barwon 1886– Permewan, Wright and Co.
Gem Navigation Co. 1909–[30]
A. De Forest 1886
P. Westergaard 1887–1893
J. Innes c. 1888 (Mudie p. 179)
C. Johnson 1888, 1899
W. Carlyon 1897
G. Robson 1898, 1904, 1906
D. Nutchey 1905, 1906
A. Dusting 1908[31]
H. Teschner 1908
G. McLean 1909
B. Atkins 1910
W. F. Bailey 1910
P. Sandford 1910
W. R. F. Hanckel 1910
R. Potter 1911
Haines 1912, 1913
Rice 1914
J. Nutchey 1916
H. McLean 1912, 1916
H. Treacy 1924
Victory 1886, 1894
Sprite 1886–1890, 1892
Horace 1886–1888, 1892, 1897–1898
Jessie 1887–1889, 1891–1894, 1897
Nelson 1888–1892, 1894, 1898
Maori 1889, 1893, 1896, 1901,
:1907, 1908
Blue Bell 1890, 1898
Woorooma 1891–1892, 1896
Lancashire Witch 1892, 1897, 1898
Diamantina 1892
Paroo 1893, 1894, 1897, 1898
Confidence 1896
J.L. Roberts 1898
Pimpampa 1901
Sarah Jane 1901
Ormond 1907
Mary 1908
Emily 1909, 1913
Nonpareil 1909
Hartley 1910
Mallara 1910
Alice 1910
Moorara 1913
Florence Annie 1913
Emerald 1912;1914, 1916, 1920
Barwon was originally barge White Rose (consort of Riverina) sunk in 1884, lengthened and renamed 1886.[32] Barge Blue Bell destroyed by fire January 1898
Barge Maori sunk near Hay 1907
Still in service 1924, carrying gravel.

(Barwon was also the name of the interstate coastal freighter[33] at the centre of the 1928 seamen's strike.)[34]
Beechworth 105' 2 × 85 hp 1865–1867 Smith & Banks 1865–1867 Reis 1866
J. Smith 1865–1867
Wangaratta 1866 Sunk 1866, destroyed by fire January 1867 while moored at Echuca.[35] Harry Payne bought the wreck and much of her structure was incorporated into the Corowa or Jane Eliza. (Mudie p. 223)
Replaced by Jane Eliza.
Bejo
perhaps "B.J.O."
1953 see Eric
Black Swan see Nil Desperandum
Blanche 48 tons 1869–1887 Swannell & Wallace
Whyte, Counsell & Co. 1875, 1879
W. Bowring 1908
P. McLaren 1908
J. Wallace 1869–1875
J. Grundy 1877
W. Stewart 1875–1877
G. Pybus 1880
Morning Star 1874–1876
Livingstone 1875
Howlong 1876–1877
mail steamer
Bogan wood hull, 53 tons 1860–1869 W. R. Randell J. Johnstone
D. Bower 1861
J. Wallace 1864
W. R. Randell 1864–1869
R. Anderson possibly 1868, 1869 (Mudie p. 80)
Goolwa 1864, 1866 Originally barge, converted back to barge c. 1870.
Bourke 110' × 20' 6" 153 tons 1876–1896 A. H. Landseer 1876–1881 J. Wallace
G. Pickhills 1876–1878, 1880
J. Grundy 1891–1896
Empress 1877, 1879, 1881, 1882,
:1887, 1893
Hilda 1893
McIntyre 1894
Raced against rowing four 1880[36]
Last used as excursion steamer. Perhaps converted to barge Bourke c. 1898, (there was an earlier barge of that name or perhaps "Burke"), escort of Tarella, then successively a floating cold storage[37] and butcher's shop behind Queen based in Renmark.[38]
Brewarrina 28 tons 50 ft. × 12 ft. 1877–1908 Thomson & Ritchie
Thompson, Vaughan & Co. 1879
W. M. Fehon
G. White 1890
E. Rich & Co. –1907
Permewan, Wright 1907–
J. Gribble 1877–1880,1886 (Mudie p. 92)
G. White 1890–1897
G. Grundy 1893
C. Cowley 1893
Olsen 1903?
H. Payne 1904
Walgett 1877, 1878, 1885, 1887,
:1896, 1897
Darling 1891
Golconda 1896–1897
Trader 1908
Centre of riot when carrying strike-breakers during shearers' strike 1891.[39]
Stuck on the Bundabareena rocks 1903. Reached Mungindi in July 1893 (Mudie).
Britannia 125' × 24' 1884–1888 Tonkin, Fuller & Martin L. Searles 1888 Converted from barge Britannia with boiler and machinery from steamer Queen. Burnt at Craigie's Creek near Bookmark and Bookpurnong stations.[40] Crewman John McKenny was badly burned.
Bunyip (1) 106' 14 tons 1858–1863 W. R. Randell
Randell & Scott
Robs & Purchas 1879
J. Lindsay 1858 (Mudie p. 199)
W. R. Randell 1858, 1859,
:1861–1863
E. H. Randell 1859–1861
Bunyip originally had twin hulls, with the paddle-wheel amidships, and an auxiliary screw at the bow for steering.[41]
The ship's cook[42] and a passenger[43] were lost overboard 1860. Bunyip was converted to a single-hull stern-wheeler around this time, and rated 200 tons.[44]
She was destroyed by fire near Chambers's station at Chowilla,[45] Five died in the fire or were drowned.[46] The spot was later named Bunyip Reach.
Bunyip (2) 46' 10 ton 1877–1889 H. Dewing 1878
J. Symington 1880
J. Nash 1882, 1883
Davis 1885–1886
S. McBurney 1889
Reached Seymour, Victoria, on the Upper Goulburn, in 1878. (Mudie p. 90)
Stuck in Darling 1885–1886[47]
Burrabogie 80/95 tons 110 ft. × 16' 6". 1874–1885 Hay Steam Navigation Co. 1874–1878
McCulloch & Co. 1879–
E. Fowler 1874
J. Ritchie 1874–1877
G. Lindqvist 1877–1884
Pimpampa 1874, 1875, 1882
Willandra 1875–1879, 1882
Tongo 1879–1880
Darling 1880, 1881
Gwydir 1881
Namoi 1881, 1883
Federation 1881
Border Chief 1882
Eagle 1884
Paroo 1885
Sunk at Hay 1880; left for Gippsland Lakes 1885. Sister ship to Corrong.[48]
The name "Burrabogie" was applied to a barge c. 1889.
Cadell

See also steamer Francis Cadell below.
126' × 20' 1876– G. B. Johnston 1876
G. Johnston & Co. 1883
D. Ritchie 1922
G. B. Johnston 1878
W. Dickson 1879, 1880,
:1883, 1884
R. Johnson 1880
J. Ritchie 1923, 1925
Isabel 1878
Monarch 1879–1881, 1886, 1887
Granite 1923–1924
Her hull was launched 1876[49] and she was used as a barge until 1878 when her engine was fitted.[50]
Johnston's brother Peter died after falling into paddlebox 1881.
Frequently crossed Murray mouth.
She lay derelict on a Port Pirie beach until purchased by D. Ritchie[51] and returned to the Murray. (Mudie p. 194) by 1925 she was described as J. Ritchie's "flagship".[52]
Canally 92' 100 hp. Tinks 1919–1925[53]
T. Freeman −1920
(S.A. buyer) 1920–
Francis & Tinks 1924
T. Freeman 1912–1916, 1918
F. Weaver 1924
T. F. 1918, 1920 Dubbed "Greyhound of the Rivers", she raced Arbuthnot 1913.[14] Made record time Balranald to Echuca 1915[54] sold 1934[55] then 1941.[56] Converted to barge; carried wood blocks from Yielima.
Now undergoing restoration at Mannum
Her four-tone steam whistle was later used at the Mildura packing shed.[57]
Canberra 1916– Refurbished by Hilary Hogg in 1953 as a tourist vessel out of Renmark.[58] Restored in 2003 and serves as tourist vessel out of Echuca, Victoria.[59]
Captain Sturt Iron hull 1916–1938 River Murray Commission G. Johnston 1916, 1919,
:1923, 1925
E. Orchard 1926
Built by Washington Meredith, an American.
Unique in pushing barges (four or more, loaded with stone from quarry at Mannum) ahead of her.[60] Used for Lock 8 in 1932.
Became houseboat at Goolwa[1] in 1946. In 1997 the upper decks were removed and the hull used at the centre of Goolwa's Captain Sturt Marina, where the paddle wheel is still visible.[61]
Cato iron hull[62][63] 1883– J. Nash & G. Curson 1883–
E. Rich & Co. –1907
Permewan, Wright 1907–
J. Nash 1883–1889
D. Cremer 1896, 1897
E. E. Dodd 1897, 1898
Albemarle 1896–1908
Livingstone 1897
Trader 1898
Helped rescue people stranded by floods at Bourke 1890.[64]
Charlotte Henry Butler
Rhoda Singh
Hawking steamer[65]
City of Oxford 70' × 11' 1890–1915 C. Cantwell 1890–
T. Goode 1903
R. Singh 1909
H. Mackenzie 1909[66]
R. Singh 1910 (again!)
C. Cantwell 1890
C. Johnson 1890, 1894
J. Lyons 1891
D. Sinclair 1894
R. Singh 1909
Union 1898
Undaunted 1904
Originally L'Orient, lengthened by 22', she was designed to operate in shallow waters.[67] Became a hawking steamer operating between Morgan and Renmark. Struck cliff and sank 1909 at Qualco,[68] and again in 1911. She struck a snag near the S.A. border in 1915, and though refloated and repaired did little subsequent work.
Clara 79 tons 1876–1880 W. Beams & Co. 1879
James Johnston 1880
L. Searles 1877, 1878
Collided with Despatch 1878
Burnt to the waterline 1880 while laid up and being advertised for sale; she was insured for more than the asking price.
Clyde Permewan, Wright & Co.
W. Wilson
F. O. Wallin 1909–
W. Wilson 1888–1895
W. F. Bailey 1897
Johnson 1899
Olson 1901, 1902
Permewan, Wright & Co. –1909
F. O. Wallin 1909–
Annie 1890
Zulu 1890, 1895
Built from barge Result (Mudie p. 160)
Engineer James Quinn died September 1907 from injuries after getting clothing caught by the engine shaft.
Acquired by Wallin 1909 in exchange for Oscar W.[69]
Colonel 1894?– F. O. Wallin 1918 J. Innes 1896–1899
H. Teschner 1903–1906
W. F. Bailey 1905
E. Orchard 1923
G. Alexander 1924
A. E. Workman 1924, 1925
C. Cantwell 1924
W. Henderson 1926
L. McLean 1927
C. Haines 1933
Jessie 1895, 1906, 1908, 1910, 1911
Maori 1895–1899, 1903, 1905
Woorooma 1896
Sarah Jane 1900
T.P. 1901
Lancashire Witch 1905
Gunbower 1906
J.L. Roberts 1906, 1910–1912
Echuca 1907
Namoi 1908, 1912
Vega 1918
Uranus 1920
Emerald 1923
Hartley 1924
Loxton 1924
Ukee 1925
Kulnine 1926–1927
Crowie 1928
Moorabin 1928, 1929
Barge Maori sunk 1897 near Yarrawonga, blocking the river.
Colonel Light 1922– Weekly run for Renmark fruit growers
Colonial Delivered boiler 1926[70] Perhaps typo for Colonel.
Coonawarra 110', 225 ton 1950– Murray Valley Coaches Ltd. H. Hogg 1950[71]
L. Telley 1951
R. McGraw 1952
L. Wagner
Conversion by Charles Felshaw from barge J.L. Roberts (built 1911 in Echuca) as Murrumbidgee II.[72] Incorporated shaft from Murrumbidgee and paddlewheels from Excelsior.[73]
Subject of Judith Crossley song Coonawarra has three shadows.
Corio 83 tons 1857 River Murray Steam Navigation Ltd. B. Germein 1857 "The screw steamer Corio was bought for £4,200, to run from Port Adelaide to Goolwa, but after a number of trips she was stranded inside the mouth, and was abandoned."[74]
Corowa composite hull[62] stern-wheeler, 98' × 19' 8" 182 tons 1868– Smith & Banks 1868
Murray & Jackson
E. H. Randell 1871–
Chaffey Brothers
J. Tait 1892–

Gem Navigation Co. 1909–
A. Peirce 1868, 1869
J. Thompson 1870
E. H. Randell 1871
E. C. Randell 1873–1876, 1880
W. R. Randell 1876
A. E. Randell 1885, 1886
J. Tait 1890–1895
Hart 1895[75]
H. W. King 1897
J. Nutchey 1899, 1907, 1909, 1912
Tinks 1905, 1908
G. McLean 1907
G. Alexander 1911–1913, 1919
E. Orchard 1912, 1921
G. A. Thamm 1913
S. Rossiter 1914
W. Freeman 1923
L. Mewett 1923, 1924
Paika 1871, 1912
Eclipse 1875
Mary Ann 1884
Emerald 1901, 1907, 1921
Paragon 1905
Susan 1907
Empress 1907, 1910, 1912
Isabel 1907
Pearl 1907
Nonpareil 1907, 1908
Myee 1910
Alice 1910
Radia 1912
Emily 1914
Moorara 1914
Crowie 1919
Ukee 1919
Hartley 1919
Loxton 1921
Wollara 1921
Uranus 1922
Replacement for Lady Darling, and using some of her materials.(Mudie p. 73)
Randell disposed of her in Adelaide 1876[76]
Stuck in upper reaches of Darling 1880, 1881.[77] and 1885, 1886[47]
Corrong 30 hp 60/87 tons 1874[78] Hay Steam Navigation Co. 1874–1879
McCulloch & Co. 1879–
J. W. Ritchie 1874, 1876
H. Theisz 1875–1879
W. Pullar 1880–1882
Johnson 1882, 1883
M. Cole 1883, 1884
T. Freeman 1884–1886
J. Page 1885
J. Patterson 1887
G. Lindqvist 1887–1888,
:1890–1892,1894 (Mudie p, 139),1896
J. Dickson 1888, 1889
J. Innes 1888
A. Dusting 1896
H. Teschner 1897, 1898
Moira 1870, 1874
Willandra 1875
Pimpampa 1875, 1876, 1878, 1879
Swallow 1879–1881
Pelican 1879
Federation 1880–1881
Namoi 1881, 1889, 1890
Advance 1882
Shamrock 1882
Horace 1882, 1885–1886, 1891
Jessie 1883–1884, 1897
Victory 1886, 1887
Nelson 1886
Paroo 1888, 1891
Confidence 1888, 1891, 1897
Gunbower 1890
Eagle 1891
Perhaps named for Corrong station on the Lachlan; she was sister ship to the Burrabogie.[48]
Bargehand William England lost overboard 1874.
Culgoa composite stern-wheeler 30 hp, 79 tons 1865–1868
:1871–1872
Acraman, Main, Lindsay, & Co.[79]
Murray & Jackson
A. Sunman 1865–1871
W. Parker 1870, 1871
W. Barber 1872
Darling 1865–1866
Hume 1869, 1871–1872, 1878
Snagged and sunk 1865.
A. Sunman and Culgoa also worked between Gulf St Vincent ports out of Port Wakefield 1869–1871.
Cumberoona (1) 108' × 20' 142 tons 60 hp. 1866– J. Whyte 1866
Whyte, Counsell & Co. 1879
J. Mace 1866–1869
C. Hill 1869
Adamson 1870
E. Barnes 1870–1872, 1876
W. Barber 1873–1875
G. Pybus 1881, 1883–1887
Adams 1879
Howlong 1868–1874, 1883
Livingstone 1874, 1879
Stanley 1876, 1881
Morning Star 1876
Goolwa 1879
Snagged and sunk on maiden voyage.[80]
Stuck in Darling 1885–1886[47]
Collided with Wahgunyah 1869; Mace was found culpable and had his master's certificate suspended for 12 months.
Cumberoona (2) steel hull side-paddles 25m. 1986– 3/4 replica built at Albury 1985 as Bicentennial project[81] designed by Warwick Hood.
Daisy 52' × 11' 20 tons 1896–1906 R. S. McLeod 1905 Wilson 1904
T. Edwards 1912
Mine Family 1945 1948 when sunk.[82]
Hawking steamer, still afloat in 1942.[83]
Davis W. O. Searles 1926
Decoy 93' × 18' 1878–1902
:1911–
H. B. Hughes 1878–
G. Ritchie
J. Whyte
Murray Shipping Ltd.
John Darling & Son 1902
Gem Navigation Co. 1909–
E. Fowler 1878
E. Baron 1878, 1881, 1885, 1886
T. Johnston 1881
J. Kerr 1889, 1898
W. Sandey 1892–1894
G. Grundy 1900
R. Potter 1912
E. Orchard 1923
V. Byrne 1924
W. Henderson 1924
L. Mewett 1924–1927
A. Price 1926
W. H. Drage 1928
Reliance 1879–1881, 1883,
:1890–1893, 1897, 1902
Croupier 1881, 1884, 1889, 1895, 1899
Uranus 1890, 1896
Bourke 1898
Mallara 1910, 1911, 1927
Murchison 1911
Hartley 1911
Nonpareil 1911
Ukee 1912
Cobar 1918
Emerald 1921
Moorabin 1921, 1923
Loxton 1924
Crowie 1924, 1925, 1927
Kulnine 1926
Brought out from Scotland in sections and built in Melbourne,[84] originally designed to burn coal, modified for wood 1878.
Later owned by John Whyte[85]
Purchased by John Darling 1902 to work Gulf St Vincent with barge Reliance.[86] then served as passenger vessel on Swan River 1905–1909[87] then purchased by George Ritchie and returned to the Murray.[88]
In 1925 the barge Crowie towed by Decoy carried a record 2,493 bales of wool.
Became a houseboat.[1]
Dione 1894, 1895 W. C. Butler Twin screw steamer built for N.S.W. Government and bought by Rev. Butler for missionary work among Village Settlements;[89] renamed Glad Tidings.
Dispatch[90] 117 tons 111' long 1877– A. H. Landseer 1877
T. C. Goode –1909[91]
J. Tait 1877
J. Wallace 1879, 1882, 1885
T. C. Goode 1908
Built as mail steamer on the Lower Lakes.
Snagging duties 1910
Despatch G. Grundy 1910
W. R. F. Hanckel 1911
Dora 29' × 10', 5.6 tons, 2 hp. 1884– J. Wrench & Macpherson 1884
Matthews 1886
John Ware 1890
Hawking vessel
Duke of Edinburgh 1868– Tonkin & Fuller B. M. Fuller 1868–1874
Bruce 1870–1872
Light draught steamer worked between Milang and Wentworth.
E.R.O. Renmark Irrigation Trust
Cuttle & Ogilvy 1918
W. Collins 1923
Randell 1917
J. Nutchey 1917–1921
Alice 1917–1925 named for E. R. Olorenshaw, founding chairman of the Renmark Irrigation Trust. Delivered Renmark punt (Captains Randell and Nutchey) 1917.
Echuca iron hull 1865–
Edwards 85' × 16', 78 tons 1875 J. Laing 1875–1879
J. Lawrence & Son 1888–
J. Webb 1903
R. J. Evans (Evans Brothers) 1907
S. Williams 1875–1883
J. Laing 1875–1879
W. Sugden 1881
A. Dusting 1882
J. Newman 1882
A. Ebery 1882, 1883
C. Morton 1886
J. Lyons 1887
G. Cole 1888, 1889
J. Webb 1903, 1905
R. Keir 1911
P. Evans 1918
Dean 1932
J. Foster 1939
R. McGraw 1950
Rabbie Burns 1875–1877
Federation 1876
Blue Bells 1878–1883, 1887
Benduck 1879
Whaler 1921
Impulse 1950
Barge sunk 1883
Converted for irrigation purposes 1888[92]
Idle 1902, then restored for general cargo 1903
Associated with Barmah sawmill, 80 km upstream from Echuca, carrying logs and sawn timber from 1907.
Elfie 1880– Perry 1892
Gribble 1892
L. Searles 1894
C. Payne 1896
F. Wolter 1897, 1898
Cutty Sark 1896–1897 Originally a barge behind Kelpie, then set up for scouring wool.
Deckhand Alfred Salmon burned to death when deck caught fire 1892
Captain Perry mysteriously disappeared 1892, found dead.
Chinese cook murdered deckhand 1894[93]
Elizabeth 90 tons 1872– J. Mackintosh
Mackintosh Sawmill Co. 1888
Murray River Sawmill Co.
E. Fowler 1873, 1874
D. Bower 1874–1876
C. Hill 1878, 1879
C. King 1879
L. Strom 1883, 1885, 1886, 1888,
:1892, 1893, 1899–1901, 1908
W. Carlyon 1893
John Campbell 1878, 1885
Tongo 1878
Scottish Chief 1876, 1878–1879
Premier 1886
Confidence 1893
Ellen 134 tons 125 ft. × 19' 6 in. 1877–1930 Shetliff & Co.
H. King & Co. 1909
Gem Navigation Co. 1909–
Murray Shipping Ltd. 1919, 1923
S. Shetliff jr. 1883–1886
A. Matulick 1885
W. Miers 1890, 1891
Hart 1895, 1896
H. W. King 1905
W. Tinks 1906, 1909
C. Payne c. 1910
Bob Smith 1910, 1911
G. McLean 1911
G. Alexander 1912
E. Orchard 1913
V. Byrne 1920
C. Cantwell 1921
J. Haynes 1923
L. McLean 1923
Paragon 1905, 1906
Pearl 1906
Isabel 1906, 1909, 1912
Empress 1909, 1910
Queen 1910
Hartley 1910
Susan 1917
Albemarle 1917
Ukee 1917
Paika 1917
Cobar 1918
Originally barge Ellen, launched 1876.[94]
Stuck in Darling 1885–1886[47]
Sold to Joseph Johnson of Port Wakefield in 1887, but returned to Mildura with George Chaffey's pumps in December 1888.
Sank near Euston in 1923
Destroyed by fire 1930.[95]
Emily Jane (1) 58 tons 70' 9" × 13' 2" 1875–1882 T. Buzza 1875–1882 E. Fowler 1875, 1876
T. Buzza 1877, 1880
S. Fowler 1878 (Mudie p. 91)
J. Dickson 1878–1880
J. Lyons 1881
C. Evans 1881
F. C. Hansen 1881
E. Barnes 1882
Energetic 1876
Wyuna 1878–1882, 1886, 1887
Goulburn 1879–1882
Gunbower 1881
Native Companion 1883
Named for Buzza's daughter. First steamer to reach Shepparton, Murchison;[96] and Seymour[97]
In 1882 Buzza announced his intention to convert her to log barge and her engine to be installed in White Swan.[98]
Emily Jane (2) 1882–1899 T. Buzza 1882–1893
W. Bowring −1899
T. Buzza 1882–1887
S. Williams 1891
W. Bowring 1894, 1899
Wyuna 1887
Paika 1899
Possibly the White Swan renamed (see below).
Destroyed by fire with huge losses Christmas 1899 then broken up.
Emma iron hull, 25 hp. 1885– T. Freeman 1885–
W. Keir 1887, 1888
Davie, Price & Co.
T. Freeman 1885, 1886
A. De Forest 1886
W. Keir 1887, 1888
F. Kerridge 1890–1892
Sarah Francis 1886
Union 1899
Eagle 1930
Chime 1912
Annie 1903, 1906, 1912–1913,
:1916, 1918
Light draught steamer built after style of Ferret. (Mudie p. 159)
Emu (1) 19/41 tons orig. stern-wheeler H. Williams 1879 Sheridan 1867, 1872
W. Smith 1871–1873
F. Gurney 1872–1874
Wilkes (Wilks ?) 1874
Freeherne 1876
Converted to side-wheeler 1872
Emu (2) 1888– Sleigh & Coombes 1891[99]–1896[100] E. Fowler 1893
Duffy 1893, 1894
T. Davis 1895
Diamentina [sic] 1891 H. C. Sleigh later shipping and "Golden Fleece" petroleum magnate
Emmylou 1908– Murray River Paddlesteamers Built as tourist vessel. Featured in TV series All the Rivers Run as "PS Providence".
Endeavour iron hull 1866–1879 J. Egge 1868 J. Egge 1868–1874
J. S. Upton 1876[62]
E. W. Randell (when?)
Hawking steamer
Endeavour M. Gabb 1908[101] Missionary steamer
Enterprise (1) 1868–1874 J. Mackintosh 1868
J. Maultby 1871–
R. Davey 1869
C. Berthon 1875
Church 1876
E. Cremer 1877
W. Keir 1873
Moama 1870 Built specifically to cart redgum timber from Bamah forest.[102] Became trading steamer for Joseph Maultby, purchased by S.A. Government c. 1874 and fitted with (coal-burning) boiler; sent to Top End for construction phase of the Australian Overland Telegraph Line. Returned to Murray 1878. Later renamed Rita
Enterprise (2) 1878– R. Keir 1878–1889
C. Hunt 1889
T. H. Freeman 1894
Gem Navigation Co. 1909–
W. Keir 1878–1889
R. Keir 1887–1889
Johnson 1882
M.Cole 1882
A. De Forest 1887
F. Toomer 1891
D. Sinclair 1892
L. Strom 1894
J. Newman 1908, 1909
W. F. Bailey 1910
Energetic 1878–1879
Border Chief 1879
Reliance 1879
Belubla 1879–1882, 1887–1889
Gunbower 1882
Benduck 1882
Annie 1884–1889
Maori 1890
Snagging duties 1887. Barge sank in Lake Alexandrina 1887; Capt. Keir was criticized for lack of judgment. In 1889 the barge was snagged near Balranald and sunk.[103]
Barge Annie sunk 1889
Phillips recounts a 1973 race between Enterprise and Etona.
Became houseboat at Mannum.[1]
In 1988 Enterprise was restored to run on Lake Burley Griffin as a working museum piece.[104]
Era J. Krause 1903 Columbia 1903
Eric 1913–1918 later named W.F.B. then Bejo (Mudie p. 183) perhaps "B.J.O."
Esmeralda 140' × 32' side-wheeler 1919 Murray Shipping Co. 1919 largest boat on the Murray; built at Arnold's shipyards, Mannum, by Capt. P. J. Sandford.
Ethel Jackson
"The Jackson"
266 tons 115' long, 62 hp. 1876[105] McCulloch & Co.
H. C. Sleigh c. 1892–1896[100]
M. Mack 1876–1879
J. Lawson 1880, 1881
J. Dorey 1880, 1881
Namoi 1877, 1878–1880
Eagle 1878, 1880
Swallow 1878–1880
Border Chief 1881
Largest boat on the Murray,[106] flagship of the McCulloch Company.[107]
Etona (1) 1892–1900 Church of England Rev. J. F. K. McKenzie 1892
Rev. W. J. Bussell 1894–1900
Missionary boat, named for Eton school.[108] Purchased by SA Govt. 1900, renamed Alma[109]
Etona (2) 1900–1912 Church of England Rev. W. J. Bussell 1900–1912
Rev. H. F. Severn 1902–1909
Rev. F. W. Wilkinson 1910
The Etona was originally built in 1898 in Milang, SA by John McLellan, with assistance from his brother James McLellan, who stayed on to become the vessels engineer.[110]

Sold 1912, became fishing launch; replaced with motor boat[111]
Restored by P & R. Symonds of Echuca
Phillips recounts 1973 race between Enterprise and Etona.
model, display at Cobdogla Steam Museum.

Eureka 80' × 25' flat-bottomed 1881– J. H. Brown 1881– A steamer Eureka was built by William Gordon c. 1850[112]
Eva Govt. marine underwriter surveyor Earnshaw 1898
Eva Millicent 1894–1903 E. Diener 1893–1903 E. Diener 1893–1903 Hawking steamer and residence; converted to barge behind Merle until replaced by Flo.
Excelsior 120' × 20' 142 tons 24 hp. 1873– T. Brakenridge 1873
W. Anderson 1879
W. Hart 1889
E. Rich & Co. –1907
Permewan, Wright & Co. 1907–
Gem Navigation Co. 1912
W. Bowring & Co. 1909–1930
Collins
T. Brakenridge 1873–1876
W. Mathews 1873–1875
Blake 1879
W. Thompson 1882, 1894–1897
W. Hart 1889
J. Newman 1910
G. McLean 1912
J. Hemfield 1912
H. Hart 1913, 1914
E. Orchard 1912–1914
R. Potter 1913, 1917
J. Nutchey 1916
G. Dorward jr. 1916
E. R. Randell 1923, 1925
Morning Star 1876
Paika 1881
Border Chief 1896–1897
Howlong 1896–1897, 1883
Florence Annie 1909, 1912
Annie 1909, 1925
Empress 1912
Maori 1913
Ukee 1913, 1914
Moorara 1913–1914, 1917
Hartley 1914
Emerald 1916
Mallara 1917
Hawking steamer, sunk near Netley station in 1886 when overloaded with grog for Wilcannia; riot by 150 striking shearers ensued.[113]
Her paddlewheels were incorporated into M.V. Coonawarra 1950.
Express 17 tons 70' long, 8 hp. 1868[62]–1878 T. Dowland snr. 1869–1870
Parker & Hilton 1870–
Fallow 1877
F. Payne 1878
E. Dutton 1879
T. Dowland snr. 1869, 1870
H. Parker 1870, 1871
R. Hilton 1871, 1872
T. Saunier 1871, 1872
W. Kerr 1873, 1874
Fredericks 1878
Destroyed by fire 1878.
Fairy H. Brennan 1892
Johnson & Dodd 1898
E. Fowler 1881
W. Collins 1893, 1894
E. H. Dodd jr. 1898
Sprite 1883, 1884 Small trading steamer
Federal Taylor 1903 J. Gibbs 1905–1908 Pearl 1902
Emerald 1903
Light draught steamer like Alpha and Mannum.[114] Served as mail steamer between Morgan and Mannum 1903–1909.
Became houseboat, perhaps at Morgan.[1]
Ferret
(Ferrett?)
57' × 14' 1883– Wilson & Glew 1883 D. Sinclair 1884
W. Porter 1884
J. Fyfe 1884
W. Wilson 1884–1888
Pearson 1890
F. Salmon 1892, 1896
Result 1884, 1886
Annie 1890
Light draught steamer.
Documentation or photograph needed to prove whether her name was "Ferrett" (surname) or "Ferret" (animal).
Firefly 5 tons 1864–1867 W. Pullar First steamer to work from Echuca. Previously on Yarra and later purchased by South Australian government for Cadell's Northern Territory explorations.[115]
Florence Annie 110' × 25' 100 tons 1882–1908 Brown 1882
Goode & Goode 1907
J. McMillan 1882–1884
D. Cremer (when?)
Merton 1891
C. Westin 1892, 1896
T. C. Goode
Cutty Sark 1882
Emily 1885
Hawking steamer or floating store, based at Bourke then Goolwa.
Stuck at Louth during drought 1885–1886[47]
Converted to barge Florence Annie 1909.
Forester stern-wheeler 55' × 12' 1891–1901 N.S.W. Govt. Forestry Department After serving for a few high-level tours of inspection, she was moored at Tocumwal and sank at her moorings 1901, was raised at great expense and promptly sank again. She was advertised for sale that same year and may have been broken up.
Fort Bourke see Lady Daly
Francis Cadell
See also steamer Cadell above.
iron side-paddles 60 hp., 110 ft × 16 ft. 140 tons. Built by J & W Dudgeon, Cubitt Town and shipped in sections[116] 1866–1868 J. King 1866
Murray & Jackson
J. King 1866
Grundy 1892?
Sent to Brisbane; A. T. Saunders suggests she drew too much water for Murray navigation.[117]
Fraser 1873– Public Works department
(Vic. govt.)
snagging steamer named for Alexander Fraser, Public Works commissioner
decommissioned before Wardell and Melbourne
Freetrader side-paddles 93 tons 98' long 1872[118]–1888 McCulloch & Co. F. Toomer 1872, 1874
C. Hill 1873
S. Williams 1874
W. Porter 1875, 1876
J. Lawson 1877
J. Dorey 1878–1881
J. Tait 1881
G. Jolly 1883
W. J. Carlyon 1888
Advance 1872
Swallow 1874, 1879
Alice 1878
Gwydir 1878–1879, 1882–1886
Paroo 1879
Pelican 1879
Gunbower 1880
Pimpampa 1881
Namoi
Lay idle in Darling with barges 1882–1886 due to low river levels, silted up irretrievably. Purchased by Charles Hunt and her copper sheathing and machinery salvaged. He was subsequently called on to clear the derelict.[119]
Gem 96' × 20' 143 tons 1876– Reid & King[62]
Sabine 1878
E. Randell 1877–1879
Chaffey

Gem Navigation Co. 1909–
Murray Shipping Ltd. 1919
Sold 1952[120]
H. W. King 1889–1908
J. Nutchey 1903–1915
Dubois 1915
H. McLean 1917, 1942, 1943
V. Byrne 1921, 1923
G. H. Alexander 1924
W. O. Searles 1925–1928
H. Payne 1939
G. Makin 1948
Pearl 1907 Built by Air & Westergaard
Lengthened by 40' c. 1882
First to employ electric light.[29]
Sank 1948; one frail passenger died.
In 1949 described as three-decker passenger boat[121]
Gemini twin hull 1855–1863 W. R. Randell W. R. Randell 1855–1859
C. Stilton 1860
E. Randell 1860, 1861
Goolwa 1860, 1861 One hull was originally Mary Ann.
Reached Bourke, Brewarrina 1857.(Mudie p. 70)
Reached Walgett in floods of 1861.(Mudie p. 78)
Gertrude
"Gerty"
34 tons, 60 ft. × 10 ft. 1873– Swannell & Wallace 1873
A. H. Landseer
J. Wallace 1873, 1874
Swannell 1875
Kopp 1875, 1876
Replaced Blanche as mail steamer on Lakes Alexandra and Albert. Converted from screw to paddles 1875.
Glad Tidings 1894, 1895 Rev. W. C. Butler Rev. W. C. Butler see Dione above
Glimpse (1) 48' long 1884–1886 Wilson Brothers, B.R. & C.J. Master Craik 1884
R. Keir 1884
D. Sinclair 1884
W. Porter 1885
C. P. Johnson 1885 (Mudie p. 121)
C. Wilson 1885
Impulse 1885 Built on the banks of the Murray River at Koondrook by B. R. Wilson.
Light draught steamer with Altlas 10 hp engine, first trialled 21 March 1884
Destroyed by fire at Koondrook 25 January 1886.[122]
Raised from 20' of water and slipped at Koondrook for rebuild 24 June 1886
Glimpse (2) 60' long 1887– Wilson Brothers, B.R. & C.J.
A. Arbuthnot & Sons 1913–
C. Wilson 1886–1888
A. De Forest 1897
W. Johnson 1899
Impulse 1887 Light draught steamer rebuilt from Glimpse (1).[123]
Trialled 3 February 1887
Golconda 78' × 16' 97 tons 1877– R.F. Williamson, C. Hansen, J.L. Simpson 1877–[124]
J. H. Brown
F. E. Schuetze
J. G. Arnold
F. C. Hansen 1877–1880
D. Sinclair 1879?
A. Dusting 1880, 1881
J. McMillan 1881, 1882
C. Cowley 1882
C. Bock 1887
J. G. Arnold
Leviathan 1877–1883, 1885, 1887,
1889, 1891
Woorooma(?) 1879
Converted from barge Golconda.
Another barge Golconda was owned by W. T. Tutcher in May 1881, at which time steamer Golconda, involved in collision with Moira, was owned by J. H. Brown.
Her barge Leviathan sunk 1881, again in 1891.
Goldsbrough 84' × 15' 1875– L. McBean 1875
Cramsie, Bowden & Co. 1882
Permewan, Wright & Co.
H. Palmer 1910
Church 1876
J. Christy 1877, 1878
J. Page 1888–1890
John James 1878
J. Innes 1878, 1887
J. Dorey 1878
D. Sinclair 1879
C. Cowley 1880
E. Crowle 1880
W. Bulled 1880
J. Fyfe 1880
W. Sugden 1881
H. Theisz 1881
W. Keir 1882
M. Cole 1882, 1883
P. Westergaard 1883–1886
A. Nutchey 1890–1899, 1901
G. Thomson 1897
W. Knight 1905
J. Gibbs 1910, 1911
Dubois 1915
Woorooma 1876, 1878, 1880–1881,
:1886
Jessie 1883, 1888, 1908
Pimpampa 1883, 1885, 1889
Horace 1883–1886, 1888, 1905
Victory 1886
Tongo 1887–1894, 1898–1900
Paroo 1888, 1891
Namoi 1888
Confidence 1889, 1890, 1897
Eagle 1890, 1892
Sprite 1899
Nelson 1892, 1893, 1896, 1899, 1900,
1905, 1908
Gunbower 1896–1897, 1915
J.L. Roberts 1897, 1898
Lancashire Witch 1897, 1905
Maori 1905, 1915
Uranus 1910
Crowie 1914
Goolwa (1) Iron hull, twin screw 30 tons 1866–1872 Johnston & Murphy J. Gillon 1867–1871
J. Morris 1870
C. Murphy 1870
W. Dickson 1871
Very shallow draught, intended to carry small loads in the dry season
Sold to J. Becker for use on Gippsland Lakes.
Goolwa (2) Iron hull 31 tons 1873– A. Ross & Co. 1875
Johnston & Murphy 1879
B. Atkins 1874
M. Mack 1875
J. Nash 1875, 1876, 1879
Bogan 1873
Grappler
"The White Elephant"
snag steamer 1858– S.A. Government Williams
G. W. Brown 1867–1872
J. Lindsay 1872–1875
Built in Echuca at Cadell's suggestion, to clear "snags" (underwater obstructions)[125] but was largely ineffective (Mudie p. 46). Other reports were far more favourable.[126]
Sent up-stream 1878 for use as police station. Converted to dredge 1880.
Gundagai iron hull 96 tons, 40 hp. 1855–1866 River Murray Navigation Co. E. Robertson 1855
G. B. Johnston 1856
J. Mace 1856
H. Mennie 1856
John Barclay 1857–1864
H. King 1862–1865
W. Barber 1862
Wakool 1855–1857
Eureka 1856
Murrumbidgee 1855–1857
Darling 1857–1858
She was sent to New Zealand 1865 and totally wrecked 1866 on the Pātea River.[127]
Hero 92 ft × 17 ft 63/137 tons 45 hp 1874[128]–1957
2000–now
J. Maultby 1874–
W. Keir 1882
D. Stratton & Co. 1890
Donaldson, Coburn & Knox 1901
Permewan, Wright & Co.[129]
J. C. Grassey & Partners
Collins Bros. c. 1942
Forestry Commission
Collins Bros. 1950–1954
J. Maultby 1874–1890
A. Dusting 1891, 1893–1897
E. Fowler 1892
G. Robson 1905
D. Nutchey 1906
W. Knight 1906
H. Hogg 1942–1944
S. Clarke 1943–1949[130]
Queen 1878–1882
Echuca 1883, 1885, 1887, 1890, 1908
Eagle 1896, 1901
Jessie 1897, 1907, 1908, 1911
Nelson 1905
Ada 1906
J.L. Roberts 1908
Albemarle 1909
Namoi 1910
John Campbell 1943, 1950
Canally 1950
Restored c. 2000; based at Echuca, used for private charters.
Industry (1) 98' × 11', 15 hp. 1878– J. & K. Nutchey
A. H. Landseer
J. Nutchey 1880
E. Fitzgerald 1887
M. Barber 1885–1905
G. Grundy jr. 1909[131] 1905, 1909
Mary Ann 1887 Oniginally barge, built 1876; converted to steamer 1878.
Industry (2) 112' × 19.3' 1911– G. Grundy jr. 1912,
:1916, 1919, 1920, 1922
H. Brand 1923–1928, 1930
D. Burns 1941
Snagging operations for SA Government.
Delivering pile timber in 1926.[70]
Invincible (1) 92' × 16' 3", 140 tons 1878–1889 F. Payne 1877–1879
Echuca Steamship Co. 1879–1882
C. Hunt
Wm. McCulloch
W. Carlyon 1886
C. Hunt 1887, 1890
W. Miers & Co. 1899
J. Innes 1878
J. Morris 1878, 1879
W. Hampson 1879–1881
R. Lewen 1880
A. Manning 1881
C. Johnson 1881
C. Hill 1882
W. Porter 1884
J. Newman 1886
W. Carlyon 1886
C. Hunt 1887–1889
D. Bower 1888
G. Jolly 1887
J. Burgess 1888
Goolwa 1878
Energetic 1878
Confidence 1878
Gunbower 1878–1879
Reliance 1878–1879, 1881
Eagle 1886
Federation 1887
Pelican 1887, 1890
Nelson 1890
McCulloch & Co. sold their Echuca fleet 1887
Invincible (2) 91 ft × 20 ft 1889[132] C. Hunt 1889–1917
Murray Shipping Ltd.
Koondrook sawmills 1937
C. Hunt 1889–1892
W. Miers 1897–1900
H. Kelly 1922, 1925, 1932, 1934
J.L. Roberts 1934
Vega 1931, 1936, 1949[133]

Fred Agars (a Cudmore descendant) drowned August 1896 after falling from the Invincible
1936 carried last bales of wool handled at Echuca wharf.[71]
J. G. Arnold Sidewheeler 1916– J. G. Arnold W. Bailey 1917, 1918, 1921
L. Mewett 1923
C. Cantwell 1925
L. McLean 1927–1929
Crowie 1917, 1918, 1922
Ukee 1919–1921, 1932
Loxton 1923
Kulnine 1923, 1928
Built from wreck of Arbuthnot. Image at State Library of New South Wales
In 1917 her barge Crowie carried record 2000 bales of wool; in 1925 the same barge towed by Decoy carried 2,493 bales.
Towing barges with stone for construction of Lock 8 in 1932.
J. H. P.
"The Coffin"
"Darning Needle"
steel stern-wheeler, 30 ton[134] 1866–1872 Pollard & Saunders 1868
J. Warby 1869–1870
Wallace & Dawson 1871–1872
H. King 1872–1873
T. Connell 1866–1870
Adamson 1870
J. M. Wallace 1871
Parker 1872
Barrenger 1872
H. King 1872
Named for J. H. Pollard. Steamer Alfred was sister ship, but side-wheeler.[135] Capsized near Echuca 1869; one man drowned.[136] Dubbed "The Coffin", and the "Darning Needle" on account of her narrow beam,[137] she had more than her share of capsizings.
Converted to barge for Princess Royal 1873.
Jandra 1894–1921 A. Senior &
W. & H. Brown 1894–
W. Brown 1912
G. Pickhills
Converted to barge 1921. Subject (as "Yanda") of C. E. W. Bean's book Dreadnought of the Darling
Jane Eliza
"Jane"
98/120 tons 1867– Smith & Banks 1867–
Davies & Dorward
H. King with
W.L & H. T. Reid 1875–
H. King 1879
Chaffey brothers
G. Smith 1867–1870
J. Banks 1869, 1870, 1872
W. Thompson c. 1871
A. Peirce 1871
F. Foord 1872
G. Dorward 1874
H. King 1875, 1878
T. Saunier 1879
W. Porter 1883
A. Dusting 1883–1886
Only Son 1869
Wangaratta 1869–1872,1883
Reliance 1876
Goolwa 1878
Isabel 1879–1880,1883
Built from wreck of Beechworth (Mudie p. 223)
Stuck in Darling 1883–1886 with building materials for hotel (Mudie p. 229–233)
Sunk after collision with Paringa 1883; may have had more collisions than any other steamer on the Murray.(Mudie p. 228)
Jolly Miller iron hull length 90' 92 tons 1866– T. Johnston 1866
J. Wallace 1867
F. Johnstone 1873
W. Collins 1908–[138]
Gem Navigation Co. 1914
J. Wallace 1866–1868
J. Ritchie 1868
W. Barber 1868, 1869
T. Johnston 1870, 1872,
:1874, 1875
Waters 1871
J. Johnston 1875
J. Shetliff 1893–1895
W. Collins 1908–1910
Emily
Maid of the Murray 1874, 1875
Murrumbidgee 1872, 1874, 1875
First iron-hulled vessel to be built in South Australia.[18]
Julia
"Mayho"
39 tons J. Mackintosh 1871–1879
Mackintosh Sawmill Co. 1888
W. Wilson 1894–1899
F. O. Wallin 1899–1906
Lewen 1870
C. Hill 1871
J. Gribble 1874
G. Jolly 1878
J. Patterson 1882, 1884
F. O. Wallin 1898–1906
In Renmark nicknamed "Mayho" or "Mayo" (Mudie p. 129)
Jupiter iron hull, 119 tons 1868–1933[139] King & Reid
J. King −1875
W & H Dunk 1921, 1928
A. H. Landseer 1929–
J. King 1869–1874
J. Tait 1871, 1875, 1876
T. Saunier 1874, 1875
G. Pickhills 1875
A. Tait 1876
E. Cremer 1876
Ritchie 1892–1893
D. Cremer 1902, 1907, 1908
:1921, 1922, 1928
Venus 1875, 1893
Isabel 1876
Jupiter built as a barge from imported sections in 1866; rebuilt and fitted with engine from Lady Augusta in 1868.[139]
Barge Venus sunk 1893.
Kelpie 45 tons length 82' 1864– J. Symington
W. & A. Sugden
Cramsie, Bowden, & Co. 1879
Permewan Wright & Co.
J. Symington 1864–1873
H. Dewing 1869
R. Davey 1872
R. G. Lewen 1874, 18875
W. Sugden 1875, 1876
W. Rowlands 1876
G. Dorward jr. 1877, 1878
J. Innes 1879–1893
D. Sinclair 1887
Johnson 1888
G. Lindqvist 1895
Redgum 1869
Waterwitch 1869, 1871
Lancashire Witch 1876
Horace 1878–1883, 1893
Jessie 1878–1884, 1889, 1891–1894
Belubla 1882
Woorooma 1885, 1886
Pimpampa 1885–1888
Nelson 1886, 1890–1892, 1894
Paroo 1889, 1891–1893
Tongo 1889
Maori 1889
Originally a stern-wheel boat but rebuilt with side-paddles.
Engineer John Ayre lost overboard 1872.
Kelvin 1912– D. J. Ritchie 1912–
S.A. Irrigation Department 1919
R. Reed 1937
D. J. Ritchie 1912–
J. Grundy 1920
C. Payne 1932
R. Reed 1934, 1935
Built from wreck of steamer Ariel;[20][140] replaced Dispatch as passenger and mail steamer between Morgan and Murray Bridge 1912.
Kennedy 109' 114 tons 1864– J. Cornish
A. Sunman
Acraman, Main, & Co. 1875
E. Main 1879
J. Cornish 1864–1867
W. Parker 1866, 1867,
:1871, 1872
J. Lindsay 1869
A. Sunman 1870–1876,
:1878, 1880
C. Bock 1883
Darling 1864–1865, 1872–1873
Hume 1870, 1873, 1875–1876
Kingfisher −1893 S. Williams 1877
C. Roberts 1881
Church 1874
F. C. Hansen 1875–1878
E. Crowle 1878
W. Bulled 1879, 1880
D. Sinclair 1880
W. Stone 1881, 1882
P. Westergaard 1882
A. McPherson 1884
C. Johnson 1884–1886
J. Patterson 1890
G. Lindqvist 1892
E. Golding 1892
Leviathan 1878
Canally 1878
Reliance 1878, 1879
Benduck 1878–1879
Willandra 1879
Darling 1880
Goulburn 1881–1882
Pimpampa 1888
Horace 1888–1890
Maori 1891
Kookaburra 1917 E. Diener E. Diener 1917–1923
J. Nutchey 1924–1926
H. Hogg 1952
E. Diener 1918–1923 Hawking steamer and residence; converted from Diener's barge Flo.[141] Phillips recounts race between Kookaburra and Coonawarra.
Became houseboat at Mildura.[1] Restored by Hilary Hogg 1953,[58]
Lady Augusta wood hull, 105' × 12'
2 × 22 hp. 90 tons[142]
1853– River Murray Navigation Co.
G. Young 1859
W. Barber 1879
W. Davidson 1853
F. Cadell 1853
W. Webb 1854
E. Robertson 1854, 1855,
:1857–1859
T. Johnstone 1856
H. King 1861
W. Barber 1862–1866
F. Foord 1870
Murrumbidgee 1853, 1858, 1859,
:1864, 1865
Eureka 1853, 1854, 1857, 1858
Wakool 1855
Named for the wife of Sir Henry Young,[143] but inadvertently registered as "Lady Agusta".[144]
She was entirely built in Sydney,[144] winner of S.A. Govt.'s £2,000 prize (and £2,000 bonus) as first commercial steamer on Murray.
Samuel Darby (engineer) and Francis Clems (stoker) were scalded to death when a flue ruptured October 1856.[145] Subject of interstate customs squabble.[146]
Lady Daly stern-wheeler 300 tons, 114 ft × 25 ft 6 in. 1862–1867, 1876–1878 Murray & Jackson
Gunn & Co. 1869
McCulloch & Co.
W. Luxon 1862, 1864, 1865
J. Mace 1864, 1865
Blake 1864, 1868
P. Jackson 1865
J. Lindsay 1866, 1867
A. Peirce
G. Pickhills 1869–1875
J. Burgess 1875
F. Toomer 1871–1876
W. Barber 1876
W. Pullar 1878
Mitta Mitta 1864
Paika 1870
Advance 1872
Waterwitch 1874
Federation 1874, 1876
Vanguard 1874
Empress 1876
Waterwitch 1876
Provisionally named Fort Bourke,[147] she was at the time one of the largest on the river, second only to Ethel Jackson.[106] Converted to log barge 1878.
Lady Darling stern-wheeler 1864–1867 Murray & Jackson 1865
Smith & Banks 1865
G. Smith 1867
Blake 1864
H. King 1864
J. Mace 1865
Reis 1866
Scott 1867
Destroyed by fire 1867.[148]
She was rebuilt as the Corowa. (Mudie p. 173)
Name changed "for good luck"[149]
Lady of the Lake 60' × 20' 6" 1880[150] F. Payne 1880– R. G. Lewen 1880, 1881
F. Boxall 1882, 1885
F. Payne 1884, 1887, 1896–1898
J. Egge 1896
H. Payne 1896
Robbie Burns 1880, 1882, 1884,
:1890, 1896–1897, 1899
Leichardt's barge of the same name abandoned off Middleton 1866.
Noted for her shallow draught, she sank 1890 after striking submerged barge.
Lancashire Lass 92' × 17' 1878– E. Whiteley 1878
J. S. Wilson 1888
B. R. Wilson 1894
Edward Rich 1896
E. Rich & Co. –1907
Permewan, Wright 1907–
Knox & Downs 1917–
C. Cowley 1878
J. Christy 1879–1881
E. Barnes 1881
R. Hanson 1881
J. Dickson 1882–1888
D. Sinclair 1887, 1896–1898
C. J. Wilson 1888–1894
B. R. Wilson 1894–1895
A. De Forest 1895
Hart 1905
W. Thompson 1906
D. Nutchey 1908
E. Orchard 1911
Namoi 1878, 1892
Victory 1879–1883, 1885, 1887–1897,
:1906, 1909, 1912
Belubla 1882
Confidence 1886–1887
Jessie 1886
Nelson 1886, 1887, 1911, 1915, 1917
Gwydir 1887
Paragon 1896
J.L. Roberts 1908
Horace 1910–1911, 1917
Gunbower 1911
Loxton 1914
Koondrook 1920
Leichardt iron hull, side paddles, 120' × 23' 60 hp. 97 tons 1856–1858 Chubb, Hill & Co,
Acraman, Main, Lindsay, and Co.
A. McCoy 1856–1858
Davidson 1856, 1857
Lady of the Lake 1856–1857 Sister to steamer Sturt. Sailed to Batavia 1859, for use as river transport for troops at Bangor Massam, Borneo during the Banjarmasin War. Leichardt was the name of the steamer,[151] although Ludwig Leichhardt was the name of the explorer for whom, no doubt, she was named.
Lioness Iron hulled paddle steamer 1853 H. F. Cadell
R. Kay 1853 Sailed from Liverpool jury-rigged as schooner, with Robert Ross mate; George Gibson engineer; Avery was cook and crewed by George Johnston, James Ritchie, John Barclay and William Barber. She was sold to G. W. Cole of Melbourne for £21,000 (cost £5,500 in Scotland).[152] There are reports that she was destined for Murray but somehow proved unsuitable without actually getting there.
Little Wonder 32 tons 1875– McCulloch & Co. J. Patterson 1876
J. Krause 1879, 1880
C. Schmedje sr. 1881, 1882
S. Cowley 1898
Swan 1876
Alice 1879–1880
Pimpampa 1880
Pocohontas 1882
Confidence
Maggie 75 ft × 20 ft 4in. 1881– R. S. Foley 1881–
Paul Fischer 1909–
H. Theisz 1881–1883
Lewis 1883, 1884
J. Burgess 1885
F. C. Hansen 1885–1897
G. Lindqvist 1891, 1898, 1899
W. F. Bailey 1899
R. Strang 1904, 1905
Lewen 1905
W. Knight 1905
H. Teschner 1905
Energetic 1881–1882
Alice 1881, 1908
Advance 1882–1883, 1886
Native Companion 1884–1886
Tongo 1886–1889, 1895
Jessie 1888–1890, 1892, 1896,
:1903, 1905–1906
Confidence 1889–1892, 1894–1896
Paroo 1890
Moira 1890
Maori 1890, 1892, 1895, 1903
Namoi 1893, 1895
Eagle 1894, 1896
Horace 1892, 1895
J.L. Roberts 1895, 1897, 1905
Echuca 1896, 1897, 1939
Lancashire Witch 1898
Nelson 1898, 1906, 1907
Ormond 1899, 1904
Goldsbrough 1901
Sarah Jane 1901
Paragon 1901
Ada 1902
Gunbower 1907
Sprite 1908
Refurbished as tourist vessel by Fischer.[153] Used for tourist accommodation at Waikerie in 1910.
Mannum (1) 600 tons Gem Navigation Co. 1909– W. Tinks 1902
Smith 1913, 1914
S. Rossiter 1914
E. Orchard 1914, 1924
C. Payne 1920
T. C. Goode 1926
Emerald 1901, 1906
Susan 1903
Queen 1910
Pearl 1912
Florence Annie 1913
Moorara 1915
The largest boat on the Murray, she was largely destroyed by fire and scuttled at Mannum in 1920; raised by J. G. Arnold and P. Sandford in 1921.[154] and rebuilt by Arnold.
Mannum (2) River Navigation Co. 1920 J. Payne 1920 Possibly largest boat on the Murray[155]
Maori L. Searles 1907, 1908 Carrying firewood. Was she converted from barge Maori?
Maranoa stern-wheeler length 117' 89 tons 1864– Johnston & Murphy 1864–
G. Johnston & Co. 1875
Peter Johnstone (Johnston?) 1866
T. Johnston 1868–1872
G. B. Johnston 1869–1872,
:1874
James Barclay 1870–1875, 1879
J. Gillon 1870, 1872
W. Dickson 1871
C. Murphy 1871
W. Luxon 1871
E. Cremer 1873
Mitta Mitta 1865
Goolwa 1866
J & M 1867, 1872, 1874
Unknown 1874, 1875
Menindie 1878
Monarch 1879, 1884
Originally barge Maranoa.
Marion 110' × 23' 1900– W. Bowring & Co. 1900–
Ben Chaffey Steamboat Co. 1908–1909

Gem Navigation Co. 1909–
Murray Shipping Co. 1920
A. Hart 1900–1908
G. McLean 1909, 1912
B. Atkins 1910
W. Tinks 1910
J. Nutchey 1911
G. Alexander 1911, 1914
C. Payne 1911, 1921–1931
H. Payne 1912
Smith 1913–1917
S. Rossiter 1914
R. Ransom 1916
H. McLean 1917
Morrison 1920, 1921
G. Makin 1924, 1944
W. H. Drage 1928, 1931–1942
L. McLean 1941, 1942, 1949
Paika 1906, 1914
Queen 1908, 1910
Emerald 1909
Ukee 1909
Pearl 1909
Cobar 1914
Mary Ann 1914
Originally barge Marion, purchased by George Fowler for conversion to pleasure vessel but after Fowler's death was bought by W. Bowring & Co., of Mildura and Wentworth, to replace their trading vessel Emily Jane.[156] Converted to passenger boat 1914 with superstructure from Pearl.[95] Extensively damaged by fire 1926[157]
Operated as tourist vessel between Morgan and Mildura in the 1930s.[158]
In 1949 described as three-decker passenger boat[121]
Mary Ann 1853–1855 W. R. Randell 1853–1855 W. R. Randell 1853–1855 Named for mother of Wm., Tom, Elliott and Eb. Randell
Became one of Gemini's twin hulls.
The first paddle steamer to successfully traverse the Murray-Darling river system.[159]
Mascotte 1911 Permewan, Wright & Co. A. Nutchey 1911 Built as a barge in 1910; converted to steamer 1911.
Maude 300 tons 1885– J. Lamby 1885
Sawers & Wilson
E. Rich & Co. –1907
Permewan, Wright 1907–
H. Theisz 1885–1887
W. Payne 1896–1898
H. Payne 1896–1898
Probably named for the Murrumbidgee town
Engineer Wilcox lost both arms 1885.[160]
Capt. Theisz fell overboard and drowned 1887[161]
Snagging duties 1898
Mayflower 50' × 12' 9" 14 tons 1884– D. Alexander 1884–1890
Butterworth & Co. 1890
D. Alexander 1884–1890 Light draught steamer built after style of Ferret. (Mudie p. 159)
Repossessed by bank 1890[162]
PS Mayflower, stationed at Morgan is the oldest operating paddle steamer in South Australia.[163]
Mayho see Julia
Melbourne (1) iron hull, 60 hp. 84 tons 1855–1859 River Murray Navigation Co. F. Cadell
G. B. Johnston 1856
E. Robertson 1856
J. King
W. Barber 1859
Eureka 1856, 1859
Kennedy 1859
Broke up crossing the Murray mouth November 1859. No casualties.[164]
Melbourne (2) 1872?– Public Works department
(Vic. govt.)
Evans Bros. 1950
R. Shelley 1870, 1872
C. Hill 1872, 1873, 1875, 1878,
:1882, 1884, 1887, 1888, 1890
G. Jansen 1902
Snagging steamer
operations on upper Goulburn 1878.[165]
Laid up during 1902–1905 drought. (Mudie p. 234)
Menindie 106' × 16'; 93 tons 1875– Heseltine & Reid 1875–
R. M. Randell c. 1910–
Adam Johnstone (Mudie p. 116)
C. Bock 1875
S. Heseltine 1875, 1876, 1879
R. Grundy 1893
Bourke 1876, 1877, 1879, 1881
Croupier 1895
Queen 1897
Almost certainly named for the town now spelled "Menindee".[166]
R. M. Randell changed name to Murrundi 1912;[20] it became his houseboat.[167] Frequently misnamed as "Murrurundi"
There was an iron barge Mennindie built 1866 for Johnston & Murphy[168] or A.A.Scott & A. Kirkpatrick.[63]
Merir 58 ft × 12 ft 6 in. 1890– built for NSW Forest Dept.
Merle (1) stern wheeler 82' 9" × 15' 1903– E. Diener 1903–1917 E. Diener 1903–1917 Flo 1911–1916 Hawking steamer, named for Diener's eldest daughter (barge Flo was named for the younger daughter).
Sunk in Lake Alexandrina 1917.[141]
Merle (2) twin screw, 110 ton 1943– G. H. Griffin 1941–1945
E. Griffin 1945–1952
C. Payne 1946, 1947
W. Bowhey 1952–
G. H. Griffin 1941–1943
E. Griffin
C. Payne 1945
V. Byrne 1953[169]
Two-decker motor vessel[121] offering regular cruises between Murray Bridge and Morgan.
Milang 1878– A. H. Landseer 1878
H. Dunk 1891
W. & H. Dunk 1904
T. Goode 1909–
Hume Bros 1920
Eudunda Farmers Coop. Society 1931–
G. Rogers 1893, 1894, 1900, 1902
T. C. Goode 1909
McDonald 1913, 1917
S. Rossiter 1928
J. Grundy (when?)
Empress 1881, 1910
Unknown 1909, 1910
Rosa 1909, 1910
Pearl 1913
Horace 1917
Alfred 1920
Jessie 1924
Described as mail steamer 1891
Moira (1) 1865–1869 H. King 1865– H. King 1865–1869
Smith 1867
Lewen 1868
Described as a "little steamer",[170] it is likely that the barge Moira (which became the second steamer Moira) was not the same hull.
Moira (2) 83 ft. × 17 ft. 90 tons 1875–1904 H. Luth 1875
J. Christy 1878
Seward 1881
W. Dickson
John O'Connell 1893–1904
C. Hill 1876, 1881–1883
J. Christy 1878
F. C. Hansen 1881–1883
W. Dickson 1889, 1892–1898
Gunbower 1881
Golconda 1881
Emily 1896–1897
Moira was a barge until c. 1875, and converted for Luth & Riddell's sawmills.
Her barge Golconda sank 1881, later used for irrigation pumping.
Destroyed by fire 1904.
Monada D. Treacy 1926, 1939
L. Mewett 1944
D. Treacy 1937
L. Mewett 1944
Emerald Originally steamer Princess Royal (see below), she was based in Mildura.
Moolara 110' × 20' 6" 1909– B. Chaffey Steamer, twin of barge Mallara.
Moolgewanke iron hull 103' × 10' 60 tons 1856– Webb & Napier 1856
Johnston & Murphy 1860– (Mudie p. 74)
E. H. Randell −1871
W. Luxmoore
S. Wilson
Tonkin & Fuller 1879
Tonkin, Fuller & Martin[166]
W. Webb 1856–1859
G. B. Johnston 1860
E. H. Randell 1863–1865, 1867,
:1868, 1870, 1871, 1874
S. Wilson 1871
B. M. Fuller 1874–1877
F. Blake 1875
Unknown 1858–1862
Morning Star 1863
Kulnine 1865, 1870
Perhaps a native name for "devil".[171]
First to reach Deniliquin 1860 (Mudie p. 75)
Left for Melbourne November 1862, intended for New Zealand but returned to Murray 1863
James Long (boundary rider), Sam Son (cook) killed 1874 when boiler exploded near Swan Reach[172]
Left Murray for Gulf trade 1871
Mosquito 50' 20 tons 1857–1858 A. Landseer W. Masson 1857 Transported overland, launched at Milang[173] Reached Balranald 1857.
Converted to schooner 1860.(Mudie p. 64)
Mundoo 22 tons 1875– E. H. Dodd 1879
Spry Bros.
E. Rich & Co. –1907
Permewan, Wright 1907–
J. G. Arnold 1911
D. McBeath 1875, 1876
Walter 1877
E. H. Dodd 1878, 1890,1893,1896
G. Pickhills 1895, 1896
G. Merrett 1896
C. Westin 1897, 1898
S. Watson 1912
Dubois 1914
Isabel 1879
Duck 1879, 1884, 1886–1887, 1910
:1895–1899
Hartley 1909
Rabbie Burns 1910
Gunbower 1914
Livingstone 1914
Maori 1916
Caught fire and sank 1876 while carrying railway iron; back in operation, perhaps enlarged, by 1878[174]
Barge Hartley sunk 1909.[175]
Barge Livingstone sunk 1914.
Murrabit 112 ft × 23 ft, 90 hp. 1914– Arbuthnot & Sons
Budarick Bros 1917–
A. H. Landseer 1922
L. M. Arnold 1948
P. Johnson 1914
W. Budarick 1919
A. Price 1921
F. Weaver c. 1930
T. C. Goode 1939
P. Treleaven 1948
Koondrook 1917, 1921
Nelson 1919
Crowie 1939
Replacement for Arbuthnot, which was destroyed by fire.
Crewman Olaf Olsen was murdered with axe 1921 in her barge Koondrook. Albert Smith given life sentence.
1927–1933 towing barges with stone from Mannum for lock construction.
Murray (1) screw steamer 1861–1862 D. Napier 1861
W. Barber 1862
sold to Australian Steam Navigation Co. of Sydney.[176][177]
Murray (2) paddle steamer 135' × 22', 313 ton 1866 only Johnston & Murphy Ritchie Built in Scotland and sailed to SA as schooner by Richard Berry.[178] travelled no higher than Goolwa; almost immediately sold to Captain Dove of Melbourne for trading on the Gippsland Lakes.
Murray Explorer Murray River Developments
Murray River Cruises
Diesel-powered tourist vessel.
Murray Princess 70m. length; 120 passengers July 1986 Murray River Developments (1986-1988)
Captain Cook Cruises (1988-2011)
Sealink Travel Group (2011-2021)
Kelsian Group (2021-)
Hutton Diesel-powered tourist vessel operated out of Mannum, South Australia.[179] Owned and Operated by Kelsian Group.[180]
Murray River Queen 1979– Murray River Developments (1979-1988)
Captain Cook Cruises <1988-1993)
Murray River Queen Pty Ltd.(2022-)
Decommissioned in 1993. Moored in Goolwa as a floating hotel until 2003. [181] Moved to Waikerie. Permanently moored in Renmark since 2017.[182]
Murrumbidgee
:"'Bidgee"
82' × 16' 6", 108 tons 14 hp. 1865–1949 Duncan & Bower 1867
McCulloch & Co.
J. Egge 1887
Gem Navigation Co. 1909–
A. H. Landseer 1913
S. Clarke 1923–1946
Murray Valley Coaches Ltd.
J. Duncan 1867
D. Bower 1869–1873
R. Davey 1874
J. Patterson 1874, 1875
J. Gribble 1875, 1876
J. Christy 1876
J. Burgess 1877–1880
W. Pullar 1878
J. Page 1880
J. Krause 1880
J. Dorey 1880–1885
J. Lawson 1880–1883
F. Toomer 1883, 1884
C. Cantwell 1884
J. Egge 1896
E. Egge 1898
S. Armfield 1898, 1907, 1908
G. Grundy 1902–1904
H. W. King 1909
S. Rossiter 1914
S. Clarke 1923–1946
T. Bynon (when?)
Minnie Watt 1874
Namoi 1876
Alice 1876, 1878
Paroo 1877
Federation 1878
Advance 1879
Swallow 1879
Pimpampa 1879–1882
Gwydir 1881
Swallow 1881
Willandra 1882, 1883
Pelican 1884
Swan 1888
Susan 1888, 1896, 1897, 1901
Hilda 1901
Croupier 1903
Empress 1903
Cobar 1904
Queen 1907
Ormond 1909
Nelson 1923
J.L. Roberts 1943–1946
Engineer Robert Ware lost overboard 1871 when steam valve failed.
In 1942 the vessel and barge J.L. Roberts were commandeered by the army for use by the Hay internment camp.[183]
Fireman Job Eastwood died from infection following laceration.[184]
Paddlewheel shaft used for M.V. Coonawarra 1950
Murrumbidgee II see Coonawarra
Murrundi 1912–1950 Originally Menindie (see above).
Napier 93 tons screw steamer 1874– A. Graham 1874
G. Johnston & Co. 1875
G. B. Johnston 1875 Left for Melbourne 1876
Nellie 85' × 20' 1882–1930 W. Hampson 1882
Chaffey Bros.
King & Co.
M. C. Crane & Co. 1903–
W. Hampson 1882, 1883
Hart 1898, 1899
M. Crane 1906, 1907, 1909,
:1911–1915, 1919–1921
Horace 1882
Isabel 1893
Hartley 1906
Saddler 1909
Union 1919
Originally hawking steamer,[185] converted to mail and passenger boat 1912.[20]
Replaced Kelvin as passenger and mail steamer between Morgan and Murray Bridge or Morgan and Mannum.
Destroyed by fire 1930.[95]
Nil Desperandum
"Black Swan"
length 110' 106 tons 1865– W. R. Randell 1865– W. R. Randell 1870–1874
R. Anderson 1873, 1877
John Anderson 1880
Bogan 1872–1874
Eclipse 1879–1880, 1884
Originally a barge built from half of Gemini then converted to steamer c. 1870
Nile 70'. × 16' 50 tons 1885– W. J. & W. E. Davies
Permewan Wright & Co.
Brown Bros. 1911–1926
W. J. Davies 1885
W. E. Davies 1887
F. Tucker 1888–1891, 1893
P. Westergaard 1891
D. Bower 1886, 1892, 1893,
:1895, 1897–1899
C. Cantwell 1887, 1896
J. Innes 1898
G. Robson 1905
Lancashire Witch 1887, 1888, 1897,
:1890, 1891, 1897, 1907
Sarah Jane 1890, 1894, 1897
Annie 1890
Zulu 1890
Maori 1891, 1897, 1902
Pimpampa 1897
Sprite 1896, 1898, 1901
Ormond 1907
Light draught steamer built after style of Ferret. (Mudie p. 159)
Caught fire 1895
North Star H. Hogg 1950
L'Orient R. Isherwood 1889 see City of Oxford
Oscar /
Oscar W.
iron hull 105' × 21' 1908– F. O. Wallin 1908–1909
Permewan, Wright & Co. 1909–
Highways and Local Government Department 1953
D. Nutchey 1911, 1914, 1918, 1930
C. F. Haynes 1925
L. McLean 1930–1934
R. J. Johnson 1935
F. O. Wallin 1908
Jessie 1909, 1912–1913
Maori 1909
Ormond 1909
J.L. Roberts 1909, 1911–1915
Ulonga 1910
Ada 1910, 1918, 1925, 1927
Namoi 1912
Mallara 1920
Moorara 1921, 1923, 1924
Echuca 1923
Kulnine 1934
Australia's Wealth 1934
Built at Echuca; originally Oscar; renamed Oscar W. in 1909 for Wallin's son, who was later killed in World War I. Old name continued to be used as often as not.
Exchanged by Wallin for Clyde in 1909.[69]
Ship's cook J. "Tassy" Russell drowned 1925.
Later operated as a tourist attraction at Goolwa.
Osprey 1882– J. Robson Used for towing redgum logs
Paringa 106' × 20' 148 tons 1878– Tonkin, Fuller & Martin
Fuller
Andrew Martin
B. M. Fuller 1883
Hawking steamer, burnt at Renmark[131] Sunk after collision with Jane Eliza 1883
Pearl (1) stern-wheeler 77 tons 75 ft. × 15 ft. 1866[186] E. C. Randell
Davies & Dorward 1878
E. C. Randell 1866–1872, 1875, 1876
Adams 1872
W. Porter 1874
Church 1875, 1876
G. Dorward jr. 1879, 1880
J. Dickson 1880–1882
R. Strang 1882, 1883
F. Maultby 1883
C. Bock c. 1885[187]
Paika 1869–1871, 1873, 1876
Jessie 1878–1881
Native Companion 1879
Horace 1879–1881, 1883
Belubla 1882–1883
Victory 1882
Woorooma 1883
Pearl (2) steel stern-wheeler 1891[188] Chaffey Bros 1891
W & F Brown 1914–
J. Tait 1890, 1891
J. A. Barber 1891
W. Miers 1891–1897
Built on Mississippi pattern; imported in sections by Chaffey brothers, but performed poorly.[120] Modifications by Richard Craig ( – 20 April 1930) were largely successful.
Pevensey 111' × 23' 130 tons 1911– Permewan, Wright & Co
Murray River Steamship Co.
A. Nutchey 1915, 1916, 1918
C. Cantwell 1930–1932
H. McLean 1937, 1941–1944
G. Makin 1942
Maori 1912
Echuca 1912, 1917–1919, 1921,
:1923–1926
Ormond 1914
J.L. Roberts 1916–1918, 1921, 1932
Mallara 1921
Kulnine 1932
H. Payne 1937
Loxton 1942
Record 2,600 bales carried by Pevensey and Kulnine 1928, 1930–1932, 1937.[189]
Largely destroyed by fire October 1932.
Deckhand Jones lost his foot in a barge accident 1937.
Featured in TV series All the Rivers Run as "PS Philadelphia". Now a tourist vessel based in Echuca.
Pilot 1883– W. Wolter 1883–
E. Rich & Co. –1907
Permewan, Wright 1907–1910
Barmah Sawmilling Co. 1910–
G. King 1915–1917
W. Wolter 1886–1901, 1896
G. King 1915–1917
Cobar 1883
Alice 1888, 1893, 1896–1897,
1899–1901, 1903, 1905
Florence Annie 1897
Emily 1907
Ormond 1909
Maori 1909–1911
Pioneer 63 tons, 175 tons
(see ref)
1870– Robert Barbour 1870–1873
Whitely & Cole 1873–
Brown & Ritchie 1875–1880
J. Ritchie sr. 1880–1881
Ritchie bros.
G. Ritchie 1891–1899[190]
McCulloch & Co.
E. Rich & Co.
George Ferguson 1907
J. Duncan 1870
C. Hill 1870
H. Theisz 1874, 1880
J. Christy 1875, 1876
J. Ritchie 1878–1880, 1882
A. Dusting 1881
Burnaby 1881, 1882
Ebery 1881
H. Hart 1896
C. Payne 1897, 1898, 1903, 1904
T. C. Goode 1906
Energetic 1878
Trader 1878–1879, 1881–1882, 1890,
:1896–1897
Livingstone 1897
Swan 1898
Emily 1899, 1901, 1903
Undaunted 1906
There appears to have been two Pioneers in 1879[191]
Renamed William R. Randell (see below) around 1907.
Platypus screw steamer 6 tons 1866[192] Johnston & Murphy 1866
Robert Barbour 1879
W. Barber
Sister ship to Bunyip, regular service Wagga Wagga to Narrandera 1879–1880. Later used by Hercules Sawmills of Narrandera, which sold up in 1884.
Portee 30' side-wheeler R. Anderson 1881 Originally a ship's lifeboat (Mudie p. 207)
Pride of the Murray (1) Stern-wheel 83' × 16' 60 tons 1865–1921 Johnson, Davies and Co. 1865–1869
Davies & Locke 1869
W. Davies 1879
W. Davies & Son 1885
W. J. Davies 1865–1877
J. Gribble 1875
W. Rowlands 1877–1889
W. E. Davies 1878–1884
F. Tucker 1891–1901
C. Hill (when?)
J. Webb (when?)
Moira 1869
Only Son 1869–1871
Swallow 1873
Sarah Jane 1876, 1882
Bourke 1876
Lancashire Witch 1877–1880,
:1882, 1886, 1889
Willandra 1881, 1882
Portsea 1886
Jessie 1893, 1897
Nelson 1897, 1898
Cobar 1889
J.L. Roberts 1899
Horace 1897
Sunk at Echuca 1921 after having been virtually abandoned for several years.
Pride of the Murray (2) stern-wheeler 98/142 tons 1924–
1977–
Built at Echuca as barge C24.[193]
It was rebuilt in 1977 as a tourist vessel; in 2022 transported to Longreach, Queensland, for use as a tourist attraction on the Thompson River.[194]
Prince Alfred 86' × 12' 6" 43 tons 1867–1900 Oliver & Walker
C. Oliver −1875
John Haigh 1875–
J. Egge 1879
W. Bowring & Co. 1900
E. Walker 1867–1872
C. Morton 1870
C. Oliver 1870–1875
Wallace 1871
J. Egge 1875
J. Heigh 1875
S. Heseltine 1875
Susan 1891
Isabel 1899
Replacement for Warrego[195]
Destroyed by fire 1900.
Princess 210 tons 1874– R. Barbour 1874– C. Hill 1874, 1875
M. Cole 1877
F. Toomer 1878
J. Lawson 1879, 1880
J. Dorey 1880
O. Kenrick 1880–1884
C. Johnson 1887
Swallow 1875–1876
Eagle 1879
Gwydir 1880
Namoi 1880
Federation 1880
Pelican 1878, 1882, 1887
Trader 1878
Lancashire Witch 1887
Princess Royal 61 tons 1870– Gunn & King 1870
A. Ross & Co. 1875
A. Tewsley
Tonkin, Fuller & Martin 1881–
Gem Navigation Co. 1909–
H. King 1870–1873
Barrenger 1872, 1873
J. Tait 1874, 1875
B. Atkins 1875, 1876
B. M. Fuller 1891
A. Hart 1895
R. Ransom 1908
C. Payne 1912
G. Alexander 1912;
E. Orchard 1913
Hart 1914
D. Treacy 1926
Queen 1874
J.H.P. 1873–1878
Border Chief 1879
Mildura 1884, 1890, 1897, 1900
Empress 1897
T. P. 1909
Cobar 1910, 1913–1914
Hartley 1912
Ukee 1912, 1913, 1917
Renamed 1926 as Monada[196] (see above).
Providence 1865–1872 Lake Alexandrina Steam Navigation Co.
W. Barber 1866
Whyte, Counsell & Co.
D. Myrick 1866
R. Anderson 1866, 1867
W. Barber 1866–1868, 1870–1872
J. Davis 1872
Destroyed by explosion at Kinchega station near Menindee on River Darling. John Davis, Edward Sparks (engineer), J. Roach (fireman), Thomas Gunn (Chinese cook) and Seymour killed when boiler exploded.[197] George Grundy, the bargemaster, was the only survivor. The boiler is still lying on the riverbank at -32.469, 142.385
Pyap 93' × 10' 1897– C. Oliver 1897–1908
Eudunda Farmers Coop. Society 1908–1931
L. Mewett 1944
Thomson 1897
C. Oliver 1897–1908
G. A. Thamm c. 1900
Bails 1906–1911
W. Sladden 1908–1931
L. Mewett 1944
Trading steamer; lightest draught on the Murray
Queen stern-wheeler 89 ft. × 18 ft. 127 tons 1865– W. Barber 1865
W. Gunn 1872
Gunn & Oliver 1875–
C. Oliver 1878
R. H. Taylor 1920
J. M. Brand 1924
W. Barber 1865
G. Pickhills 1866–1873
C. Elfenbein 1872
F. Blake 1873
R. Felgate 1873–1874
J. Gillon 1874–1875
C. Oliver 1875–1878, 1890, 1908
C.& O. Oliver 1911, 1919
Dubois 1915
J. M. Brand 1924
Barwon 1872
Bourke 1904, 1908, 1914, 1921,
:1922, 1924, 1925
"A trading steamer that also carried passengers" (Mudie p. 226)
Collided with Jane Eliza and sank 1876.[198] Later towed Bourke, successively a floating cold storage[37] and butcher's shop based in Renmark.[38]
"Finally burned and sank at Mypolonga" (Mudie p. 227)
Queen of the South 131' × 22' 3" 198 tons 1878– G. B. Johnston 1879 G. B. Johnston 1878 Designed by Johnston for navigating Murray mouth.[199]
Renmark 110' × 20' 1913 Gem Navigation Co. 1913
Arnold & Co. 1914–1916
Knox & Downs 1916
R. Reed 1948
J. Grundy 1913
H. Payne 1914, 1940
Dubois 1914
C. Payne 1914, 1916
M. Crane 1920
G. A. Thamm 1923, 1924
W. O. Searles 1924–1927
A.? R.? Johnson 1925–1927
H. McLean 1933
L. McLean 1942, 1943
J. G. Arnold 1943 (Mudie p. 133)
L. F. Butcher 1944
Nelson 1914, 1919
Crowie 1915, 1916, 1920, 1922–1924
Maori 1916
Loxton 1916
Mallara 1919
Moorara 1919
Ukee 1922, 1924, 1927, 1928, 1942
Moorabin 1925[200]
Emerald 1925
Burned and sunk at Goolwa 1951
Resolute 92' × 18' 8", 138 tons 1877– Payne −1879
Echuca Steamship Co. 1879–1882
David, Stratton & Co. 1894
E. Barnes 1877, 1878, 1882, 1885
J. Symington 1878, 1879
G. Lindqvist 1878, 1879
J. Morris 1879, 1880
J. Christy 1881
G. Jolly 1886, 1887
A. Dusting 1889, 1890, 1899
D. Nutchey 1891–1899, 1901, 1905
W. F. Bailey 1905, 1906
H. Teschner 1905
W. Knight 1906
Confidence 1877–1881, 1888, 1896
Energetic 1878
Gunbower 1878–1879, 1882, 1906
;1890, 1893–1894
Reliance 1884, 1886, 1888–1890
Echuca 1893–1894
Horace 1897
Tongo 1897
Jessie 1905, 1909
Ada 1905
J.L. Roberts 1905
Ukee 1909
Crowie 1913
Ricketson 1876– Barbour Small, powerful steamer, intended for towing logs for Patent Slip sawmill, Echuca.[201]
Rita A. Dusting 1904 Advertised for sale at Echuca 1908
Riverina (1) 66 tons 1865–1889 J. Duncan & Co.
D. Bower 1869
F. Payne 1876, 1879
J. Laing jr. 1878
George Piggins 1879–
J. Montgomery −1885
M. King −1887
D Bower 1887–
E. H. Randell 1871–1873
E. Barnes 1874–1876
A. Peirce 1876
J. Morris 1877
F. C. Hansen 1878
J. Patterson 1878, 1884
T. Freeman 1879
E. Crowle 1880–1882
C. Johnson 1882
J. Newman 1882
J. Christy 1883
A. Ebery 1885
Alice 1869
Energetic 1875, 1876
Belubla 1878–1880
Native Companion 1878–1879
Advance 1879
Benduck 1880–1883
White Rose 1884
Sarah Francis 1887, 1888
Riverina and barge largely destroyed by fire 1883[202]
Wrecked after striking snag 1884, Montgomery bankrupted.[203] Renamed Wandering Jew[204] (see below).
Riverina (2) 1905– Huddart, Parker and Co.
Riverina (3) 1965– Previously named Trix
Riverine Stern-wheeler 25 tons 1863–1870 Duncan & Bower D. Bower 1863–1870 "... ran between Hay and Echuca for about three seasons then broken up."[205]
Rob Roy 131 tons sidewheeler 88' 6 in. × 18 ft. 1876– J. Laing sen. 1876
J & J Laing 1878
Laurence 1880
J. Wallace 1891–
E. Rich & Co. –1907
Permewan, Wright 1907–1909
Gem Navigation Co. 1909–
J. Newman 1876, 1877
T. Laing 1876
J. Fyfe 1878–1880
J. McMillan 1879
E. Barnes 1880
J. Laing 1880, 1881
C. Christie 1880
C. Rolfe 1880
F. C. Hansen 1880, 1881
Laurence 1880
D. Sinclair 1881
Stevens 1881
T. Nolan 1887, 1888
B. Atkins 1893, 1896–1898, 1906
Thompson 1908
P. Sandford 1912
G. M. Mumby 1913
Harris 1914
Swan 1878, 1880, 1881, 1883,
:1896, 1897, 1899–1901, 1903
Benduck 1880
Border Chief 1896–1897
Victory 1909
Ukee 1910
Mallara 1913
Albemarle 1908, 1913
Sunk 1878.
There was a s.s. Rob Roy, 400 tons, working around the coast under a Captain Christie 1892–1893. A connection or simple coincidence?
Rodney 110' × 18', 150/196 tons 1875–1894 Davies & Dorward 1875
Cramsie, Bowden & Co, 1877
Davies & Dorward 1879
Permewan, Wright 1887 (Mudie p. 209)
G. Dorward 1875, 1876,
:1878–1880
O. Kenrick 1877, 1878
G. Dorward jun. 1878–1884
E. Fowler 1886
J. Innes 1887
G. Lindqvist 1888–1891
J. Dickson 1891–1894
Queen 1876
Jessie 1877
Nelson 1877–1880
Victory 1887
Namoi 1889, 1890, 1892
Laurel 1891
Built in Echuca[206] Burned by striking workers 1894.[207]
Roma 80 ft × 20 ft, 20 hp, 60 tons 1884–1886 Farmer Bros.
Whyte, Counsell 1886
E. H. Randell 1884–1886 Alice 1884[208]
Uranus 1885, 1886
Lightest boat on the river. Destroyed by fire.
Rothbury 86 ft. × 20 ft. 1882– W & J Robson
Munro & Co. 1888
G. B. Air 1891–1898
W. Wilson 1899–1904
J. Christy 1883, 1885
A. Ebery 1884, 1885
F. Toomer 1885–1889
T. Freeman 1890–1892
G. B. Air 1891–1899
W. Wilson 1899–1904
E. Evans 1901
W. Knight 1902
F. Tucker 1905
W. F. Bailey 1906
S. Hart 1911
M. Anderson 1911, 1940, 1948
J. G. Arnold 1912
Gunbower 1884–1885, 1887–1888
Goulburn 1887
Wyuna 1890–1894
Shamrock 1895–1896
Namoi 1899, 1906
Zulu 1901
Jessie 1906, 1909
Echuca 1909–1910
Crowie 1911
Aurora 1940
Still in use in timber trade, Mildura 1947.[1]
Royal A. Francis −1908
C. Dyer 1908–1922
C. Dyer 1908–1917 Shuttle service between Morgan and Renmark 1909– . Lengthened by 15 ft. in 1910
Ruby (1) Coasting steamer
70 tons, 40 hp
1859– Cadell[209]
W. R. Randell
W. Barber 1859
H. King 1860
J. King[210]
Ruby (2) 117 tons 85' × 18' 6" 1876[211] E. C. Randell
A. E. Randell 1879
King & Aldridge 1903
Gem Navigation Co. 1914
A. E. Randell 1880, 1881
W. Miers 1886–1890
L. Searles 1890
A. Barber 1891
Hart 1895, 1896
J. King 1899
H. W. King 1899
Paika 1877
Alice 1884
Isabel 1893, 1900
Pearl 1902, 1906, 1907
Uranus 1906
Ruby (3) 133' × 18' 6" 1908 Gem Navigation Co. 1909– H. King
J. Nutchey 1907–1916
W. Tinks 1908, 1909
J. Newman 1909, 1910
T. C. Goode 1911
A. Leishman 1911
E. Orchard 1912
Smith 1912, 1913
R. Ransom c. 1916
G. Alexander 1914, 1917, 1921
Freeman 1923
W. Henderson 1924
H. Payne 1924, 1930
W. O. Searles 1928
Paika 1911, 1912
Ukee 1913
Alice 1913, 1914
Served as a guesthouse in Mildura from c. 1938 then houseboat for Mr. and Mrs. V. Robbins from c. 1945.
Saddler 92 tons 35 hp. 1877 – c. 1907 W. McCulloch and Co. 1878–
Australasian Shipping and Carrying Company −1887
J. Whyte jun. 1887–
J. G. Arnold 1894–
J. Page 1878–1884
J. Dorey 1879
G. Pybus 1888–1890
R. Grundy 1893
J. G. Arnold 1894, 1901
A. Johnstone 1896
M. Crane 1902
Eagle 1878, 1885
Alice 1878, 1879
Wyuna 1878
Federation 1878, 1880
Sarah Jane 1878
Advance 1879
Tongo 1879
Paroo 1879
Willandra 1880
Darling 1880, 1881
Border Chief 1880, 1883
Pimpampa 1880
Swallow 1882
Croupier 1893, 1896
Livingstone 1896
Uranus 1896
Eclipse 1902
Described as irrigation steamer 1904; broken up 1907.

M. C. Crane had barge Saddler consort of Nellie 1909.[185]
Sapphire 1911–1916 F. W. Blundell 1911–1912
B. W. Francis 1916
W. T. Smith
F. W. Blundell 1911, 1912
B. W. Francis 1916
Trading steamer destroyed by fire 1916.
Sawmiller Penrose & Oddy Steam Navigation and Sawmilling Co. –1909 H. Treacy 1899–1901
Settler stern-wheeler 100 hp, 381 tons, 1861–1864 Murray & Jackson A. Murray 1861, 1862
P. Jackson 1862–1863
Snagged and sunk at Paringa 1862. Too large for River Murray, she failed to sail to New Zealand,[212] and went to the Brisbane River in 1864,[213] where she was still working in 1921.[214]
Shamrock 1884 Matulick & Oliver 1892
F. Matulick 1895
Bill Hoff
J. Gillon 1886 (Mudie p. 231)
Low-draught steamer was destroyed by fire 1895
Shannon 110' × 18' 2" 122 tons 1877–1904 H & H. A. Gelston 1879
Reid & Heseltine 1885
T. Freeman
Mitchell 1904
H. Gelston 1880
J. Heseltine 1880, 1881, 1885
S. Heseltine 1880–1882, 1886
T. Freeman 1894–1899, 1901–1904
J. Cummins 1895
Mitchell 1904
Scottish Chief 1896
Nonpareil 1896
Belubla 1904
[215] Caught fire and scuttled 1885[216] Freeman bought the damaged vessel from Heseltine and replaced her engine with that from the Stanley.
Mitchell took her to Tasmania 1905.[217]
Showboat Tourist vessel operating from Renmark; originally sailing boat Ada and Clara.[218]
Sir Henry Young
"Sir Henry"
75 tons 1854 F. Cadell 1854
E. Robertson 1854
Wakool 1854
Murrumbidgee 1854
Eureka 1854
Appears to have made only two trips up the Murray: from Goolwa to Moorana and Windomal and return and from Port Elliot to Moorundee and return.
South Australian 152 tons 1878–1902 Whyte, Counsell & Co. 1879
G. Ritchie
Thomas & Grose 1902–
G. Pybus 1878, 1879
J. Kerr 1888, 1891–1894
Howlong 1878
Stanley 1879
Livingstone 1879, 1883
Stanley 1890, 1893
Reliance 1890
Croupier 1890
Won towing contest against Rothbury 1892
Operated by flour miller on Tam o' Shanter creek from 1902.[86]
Struggler George H. Risby 1888–1889 Robert Isherwood 1901
Joy 1918
T. Bynon (when?)
Sturt length 93' 60 hp. 1856–1890 Chubb, Hill & Co,
Acraman, Main. Lindsay, & Co.
Heggaton & Pickhills 1876–
Pickhills & Co. 1885
A. McCoy 1856–1858
Davidson 1857
W. Luxon 1859–1863
Blake 1877
G. Pickhills 1882, 1885–1888,
:1890
Lady of the Lake 1857
Hume 1859
Sister vessel to Leichardt.
Stuck in Darling 1885–1886[47]
Hit snag, sunk 1890
Success 129 tons 1877–1957 Westwood & Air 1877
Dashwood & Air 1879
Randell & Air
T. Freeman 1905
Staley & Connell 1911
Olsen 1918
Francis & Tinks 1922
Bailey & Sons 1926–1934
G. Air 1877–1895
E. Barnes 1881
E. C. Randell 1881, 18821886 (Mudie p. 109)
T. Freeman 1889, 1891–1893,
:1897, 1902–1909
W. Thompson 1889, 1890
C. P.? J.? Johnson 1891–1903
Johnston 1892? check
D. Sinclair 1892–1894, 1901
J. Cummins 1896
W. Tinks 1922
V. Byrne 1926, 1929, 1931,
:1933–1935
W. J. Bailey 1928, 1931, 1935
F. Weaver 1935
C. Cantwell 1941
H. Hogg 1956[219]
Pollard 1956 (Mudie p. 111)
Energetic 1878
Border Chief 1879
Mildura 1877–1882
Paika 1881
Benduck 1882
Nonpareil 1882, 1884, 1886,
:1890, 1902
Scottish Chief 1888–1889
Belubla 1896
Ormond 1919, 1922
Croupier 1926
Vega 1956[219]
In 1906 she made the Wilcannia to Wentworth trip in a record 40 hours.
Undergoing restoration at Echuca, Victoria.
Sunbeam E. H. Dodd jr. Johnson 1899
Randell 1910
E. H. Dodd jr. (when?)
Small trading steamer of very low draught; carried small Government party 1897, dried fruit, and fishing and shooting parties until at least 1910.
Surprise W. F. Bailey 1892 Annie 1891
Tarella 100' × 20' 1897– A. H. Landseer 1897

Gem Navigation Co. 1909–
South Australian Government, Irrigation Dept. 1919–1948
Murray Shipping Ltd. 1948–1948
L. M. Arnold 1953(to be confirmed)
J. Grundy 1897–1909
E. Orchard 1911
H. McLean 1911, 1912
R. Potter 1913
R. Smith 1914
Thompson 1914
A. F. Porter 1919–1923
Smith 1934
G. Makin 1938
Empress 1901, 1913
Croupier 1902
Susan 1903, 1904, 1906
Bourke 1904
Cobar 1905, 1912–1913
Murchison 1909
Nonpareil 1908
Ukee 1909
Alice 1909
Mallara 1910
Victory 1910
Isabel 1910
Nonpareil 1912
Mary Ann 1913
Emily 1913
Pearl 1914
Florence Annie 1914
Hartley 1914
Albemarle 1914
Albion 1947–1948
Barge Nonpareil was destroyed by fire near Wilcannia 1912.
She was used to transport two gigantic Humphrey pumps to Cobdogla in 1923.
Decommissioned by Murray Shipping Ltd. in 1948 having stripped her of all machinery and then resold. Towed by P.S. Gem in 1948 to a permanent mooring approx. 5 km above Mannum S.A. Used out as fishermans shack by various owners until refloated for rebuilding and recommissioning in 2014.
Telegraph 62 tons, 90 ft. × 17' 6ins. 1866–1875 Lake Alexandrina Steam Navigation Company 1866– J. Tinks 1866–1875
W. Wolter 1870
T. Johnston 1870, 1871
W. Mathews 1871
Darling 1872 Mail steamer operated Milang to Meningie (Mudie p. 84)
Converted to barge 1875
Teviot Side-wheeler 57' × 12' 20 tons 1865– G. Smith 1865–1868
H. King 1868–
J. Smith 1865–1869
H. King 1868, 1870
Engines transferred to Princess Royal 1870.[170]
Thistle 151 tons 105 ft. × 19 ft. 1877– Blair & McGrouther R. G. Lewen 1879, 1880
C. Schmedje sr. 1879
Shamrock 1880 One of the largest steamers; ousted by competition from lighter, shallow draught boats such as Emma, Nile and Mayflower
Timor J. P. Willoughby 1890, 1891 Small steamer repaired in Renmark 1894.[220]
Tolarno 1879– Andrew Willcock
Gem Navigation Co.
George Donaldson 1902
Donaldson, Coburn & Knox 1901
Donaldson Ltd. 1910[131]
Knox & Downs 1916
L. Searles 1880
R. Grundy 1893, 1894, 1902,1906,1913, 1914, 1916, 1917, 1919
L. Mewett 1924
L. McLean 1924, 1925
R. Pendle 1926
Croupier 1889, 1893
Uranus 1892–1894, 1899, 1901,
:1903–1909
Myee 1910–1913
Moorabin 1916–1917,
:1920, 1924
Ukee 1922, 1923
Crowie 1924
Mallara 1926
Emerald 1926
light draught steamer built by Willcock and operated by him and his father, Oliver Willcock.[221]
Trafalgar

"Traf"
steel deck 105' 7" × 18' 158/228 tons 1877[222] W. J & W. E. Davies 1877–1879
Davies and Son 1889
W. J. Davies 1877
D. Bower 1877–1886
W. Rowlands 1882
W. E. Davies 1888
C. Cantwell 1887–1899
Sarah Jane 1878–1882, 1885, 1886,
:1889–1891
Pocahontas 1878
Nelson 1885
Eagle 1888–1890
Horace 1891
Jessie 1895
Echuca 1897
Namoi 1929
Later passenger service between Swan Hill and Mildura. Sold to a South Australian company 1917.
Trio 1872– Shetliff 1872–
Trix 1943– W. H. Drage 1950– Became 100-passenger showboat steamer out of Renmark 1943; renamed Riverina 1965.
Tyro 72 tons 1872–1926 R. N. Tolley & H. King 1872–
S. Shetliff & Son 1875
R. M. Randell 1884–[223]
G. & S. Shetliff 1879
S. Shetliff 1872–1878
F. C. Hansen 1880
R. M. Randell 1897, 1899,
:1904, 1909
G. A. Thamm 1914
Dubois 1915
Golconda 1873
Union 1874, 1875, 1880, 1881
Blanche 1874
Confidence 1880
Queen 1880
Loxton 1915–1916
Shuttled between Murray Bridge and Mannum from 1884 to at least 1917.
Largely destroyed by boiler explosion November 1897. Randell and engineer Trounson were badly scalded.[224] The Tyro returned to service the following year.[225] She was destroyed by fire at Murray Bridge in 1926.[226]
Ulonga 111' 1912–[227] Permewan, Wright & Co.
Murray River Shipping Co.
W. O. Searles 1937
R. Reed 1937–
C. Cantwell 1913
H. Kelly 1915, 1918
D. Nutchey 1930–1933
C. Haines 1935, 1936
R. Reed 1937–
Jessie 1913–1915
Namoi 1914
Echuca 1918, 1920, 1922
J.L. Roberts 1913, 1915, 1916,
:1918–1921, 1923–1928
Built as barge Ulonga 1911, converted to steamer 1912.[228]
Collided with Invincible 1926. Carting firewood 1937
Burnt to the waterline 1937.
Undaunted 28 tons 1875– J. T. Laing
F. Payne 1876
Gurney −1894
T. C. Goode 1906
Church 1875, 1876
J. Morris 1875, 1876
E. Barnes 1876
J. Fyfe 1877
D. Sinclair 1877, 1881
W. Hampson 1878, 1879, 1881
J. Laing 1879
E. W. Randell (when?)
Energetic 1876
Only Son 1876–1878
Benduck 1878–1879
Barge snagged and sunk 1879.
Ended as hawking steamer on Darling, then converted to barge for City of Oxford around 1904 by T. C. Goode.
Ventura E. Dodd 1909–1911
C. P. Allen 1911–1916
Dodd 1909–1911
W. R. F. Hanckel 1909
Walgett 1916
Venus G. Ritchie 1906– G. Ritchie 1906, 1907 Excursion steamer; successor to Alexandra (see above) received unfavourable reviews,[229]
Vesta 29 tons T. Brakenridge
H. Williams 1879
S. Shetliff 1868–1871
B. M. Fuller 1870
W. Wolter 1870
T. Brakenridge 1871–1872
C. Elfenbein 1871–1873
J. Dodd 1872
W. Mathews 1872, 1873
W. Barber 1873
W. Stewart 1873–1875
W. Kerr 1874
Wilkes (Wilks?) 1877, 1879
Satellite 1874
Victor 79 tons 95' × 15' 1877– W. Barber
Barber & Kirkpatrick 1879
A. Martin & Co. 1896
W. Barber 1881
E. H. Golding 1890, 1891, 1894
A. Martin 1896
J. Frayne 1903
Laurel 1879, 1881, 1882, 1896
Venus 1902–1903
Barge Laurel destroyed by fire 1896.
Hawking steamer, burnt at Murray Bridge.[131]
Victoria 114 tons 85 ft. × 15 ft. iron framed 1864[230] Murray River Steam Navigation Co.
Upper Murray Steam Navigation Co.
Leonard & Co.
Wagga Wagga Steam Navigation Co. 1869–
Wm. McCulloch & Co. 1878–1884
G. Dorward 1866–1869
Adamson 1869
J. Ritchie jr. 1870–1873
A. Peirce 1873–1875
R. G. Lewen 1876–1878
J. Burgess 1878, 1884
E. Barnes 1879
W. Pullar 1879
G. Jolly 1881
J. Hart 1885, 1886, 1888–1891
Dodd 1893
J. Wallace 1896, 1903
Wangaratta 1867
Moama 1868
Pocahontas 1869–1871
Moira 1873
Darling 1878
Tongo 1878–1879, 1904
Federation 1879
Advance 1881
McIntyre 1896
Cobar 1889, 1896, 1898, 1899, 1901
Tongo 1904
Queen 1904
Uranus 1910, 1911
Viola 1898– W. Wilson 1933 John Colebatch 1902 Spent most of her existence as fishing launch.[231] or chartered by Thomas Goode.
W. F. B. Bailey & Sons 1933 W. J. Bailey 1922, 1923, 1926,
:1929, 1931
F. Weaver 1933
Annie 1922, 1923
Horace 1931
Named for W. F. Bailey
Weekly trips Morgan to Renmark in 1923
Originally Eric; later Bejo (Mudie p. 183) (for B.J.O.?)
Wagga Wagga
"Wagga"
86 tons R. Barbour 1879
G. H. Risby
James Roach & Co. 1905
T. Bynon sr. 1876, 1885
T. Bynon 1903–1905, 1912, 1916
D. Sinclair 1878, 1879
J. T. Laing 1880
G. H. Risby 1888, 1889
R. Ransom 1890
Wakool 1876
Native Companion 1978
Whaler 1885, 1892, 1904
Goulburn 1890
Namoi 1890
Became trading vessel 1878
Wahgunyah 58 tons 1866– J. Foord 1866–1868
Hilson 1869
Permewan & Hodge 1879
F. Foord 1866–1868
J. Page 1869–1877
Collision with Cumberoona 1869; bargehand Skinner drowned. Page totally exonerated.
Waikerie 83' × 14' 6" 1911–1929 Francis & Tinks
Bailey & Sons 1926–1929
A. Francis 1911
W. Tinks 1911–1926
G. A. Thamm c. 1911
F. Weaver 1926
Pearl 1920
Merle 1920
Melbourne 1920
Horace 1921
Destroyed by fire 1929
Wakool wood hull, 70 tons c. 1860 F. Cadell (c. 1860–1920 ) J. Mace 1860
J. Ritchie sr. 1863
Mitta Mitta 1860 Originally barge; converted to steamer c. 1860. Sent to New Zealand 1920; wrecked at Hokitika along with the Bruce and Waipara.
Wandering Jew 72' × 14' 4" 66 tons 1891–1914 D. Berger
G. White 1910–1914
G. White 1903, 1908, 1910–1914 Sarah Frewens 1899 Trading steamer, previously named Riverina, she was gutted by fire at Bourke 1893[204]
Destroyed by fire near Brewarrina[232]
It is likely that her barge Sarah Frewens was the Sarah Francis renamed.
Wanera 112' × 20' 9" 1910–1985 Permewan, Wright and Co. 1910
Murray Shipping Ltd. 1918
R. J. Johnson 1933, 1936
Brennan 1938
H. Kelly 1910
L. Wagner 1983
G. Makin 1929
W. Henderson 1930
A. Haynes 1931
W. H. Drage 1935
R. Johnson 1936
L. McLean c. 1938
J. Searles 1952, 1953
E. R. Randell 1953[169]
W. S. Carlyon (when?)
J.L. Roberts 1911, 1912, 1913,
:1920, 1921, 1926, 1928, 1931
Namoi 1910, 1911
Ada 1912
Echuca 1913
Jessie 1915
Mallara 1920
Moorara 1922, 1924, 1928
Moorabin 1930, 1936
Built as barge T.P. (for Tom Permewan), converted to steamer and carried record load 450 tons 1910.
Became houseboat at Renmark for Lorry and Gwen Brennan 1939[233] destroyed by fire January 1985[234]
Waradgery stern-wheeler 151 tons 1865– H. Leonard 1876
Wilson & Glew 1886
Glew & Fulford 1889
Gem Navigation Co. 1909–
W. R. Randell
F. Foord 1868–1872
W. Sugden 1869
G. Dorward 1872, 1874
Williams 1874
J. Burgess 1874
F. Toomer 1874–1884
B. M. Fuller 1878
W. Thomson 1879
A. Glew 1887, 1888
J. Fulford 1889
A. E. Randell 1890–1892
C. Bock 1893
J. Tait 1894
W. Porter 1895
J. Randell 1907
Moama 1866
Wangaratta 1869–1871
Symmetry 1871
Waterwitch 1872, 1873
Darling 1874
Paroo 1876, 1878, 1879
Pocahontas 1878
Alice 1878–1879
Gwydir 1878–1879
Pimpampa 1887
Willandra 1889
Advertised 1876 as "Henry Leonard's new steamer".
Barge Willandra sank 1889 and crewman Robert Johnstone drowned.[235]
Wardell 1873 Public Works department
(Vic. govt.)
L. Godegast 1877
Henry Thorpe 1879–1884,
:1888, 1892
W. Bulled 1893
Lubert 1909
Snagging steamer, probably named for W. W. Wardell of the Victorian Public Works Department.
R. J. Shelley supervised operations from 1873 but it is not clear whether he commanded the boat.
Her barge was later used as a boat shed.[236]
Warrego 1864– Oliver & Rankin 1865
Oliver & Walker 1865
C. Oliver sr. Rendlesham 1866 replaced by Prince Alfred[237]
Wave 1903 Donaldson, Coburn & Knox brought merchandise to Wilcannia 1903 only.
Wentworth 110' × 23' (100' × 19' 6" in 1886) 99 tons / 123 tons 1864– A. Kirkpatrick 1864
Harrold Brothers 1865, 1866
R. & B. Varcoe
Leonard & Symington 1869
Johnston & Murphy 1870
Geyer & Creek 1873
W. Bowring and Co.
G. Johnston & Co. 1875, 1879
J. Smythe 1864–1867
B. Varcoe 1866, 1867
W. Luxon 1866–1868
G. B. Johnston 1870, 1873, 1876
J. Gillon 1870–1875
James Barclay 1872
W. Dickson 1874–1876
J. Packer 1878, 1887, 1889, 1901
Miriam 1865
Menindie 1866, 1869, 1871–1875
Unknown 1870, 1872, 1873
Mitta Mitta 1874
Waterwitch 1876
J and M 1875, 1879
Reliance 1876
Unknown 1879, 1881
Gwydir 1880
McIntyre 1881
Barwon 1881
:Three barges together![238]
White Swan 85' × 22' 9" 1882 Buzza 1882 Buzza 1882 In March 1882 Buzza announced she would have engine from Emily Jane. After 20 June 1882 no further mention of White Swan is to be found in newspapers, though a week later Buzza captained a steamer named Emily Jane, so it is possible that White Swan had become the second Emily Jane.
Wilcannia 107' x 18'6"[239]
144 tons
1874–1915 J. Tinks 1874
W. Tinks
Anderson & Hoad
J. G. Arnold 1911–
Cuttle & Co. 1924
J. Tinks 1876, 1879–1889
W. Tinks 1892
M. Anderson 1906
W. R. F. Hanckel 1911
Grundy 1911, 1912
M. Patterson 1915
G. A. Thamm 1917
S. Watson 1921
J. Nutchey 1923, 1924
Rosa 1911, 1913
Crowie 1912, 1913, 1914, 1917
Nelson 1920
Moorabin 1921
Emerald 1921
Engines originally from Telegraph
Wrecked 1915 but still running 1924.[240]
William Davies /
Wm. Davies
78 ft × 10 ft. 1894– Permewan, Wright 1894–
Donaldson, Coburn & Knox 1901
Permewan, Wright and Co.
Gem Navigation Co. 1913
J. Innes 1894
Dickson 1894
P. Westergaard 1895–1902
A. Nutchey 1902, 1904–1906,
:1908
Daley 1910
W. Bailey 1912
S. Rossiter 1913
B. Atkins 1913
Hart 1914
E. Orchard 1914
H. McLean 1916
N. McLean 1920
Rice 1920
C. Cantwell 1921
G. Alexander 1923
V. Byrne 1924
W. O. Searles 1924
E. Hill 1925
W. H. Drage 1926
L. McLean 1929, 1930
Nelson 1894, 1896
Horace 1894, 1896
Eagle 1894–1896, 1898
Namoi 1895, 1897
J.L. Roberts 1896, 1898, 1899,
:1903, 1906–1908, 1922
Paroo 1894
Jessie 1894, 1895, 1905
Maori 1895–1897, 1903, 1909
Echuca 1896
Confidence 1898
Paragon 1899, 1901
Ada 1900
Ormond 1902
Sprite 1903
Gunbower 1906
Emily 1908
Albemarle 1910, 1912
Emerald 1910, 1912, 1913
Moorara 1910
Mallara 1912, 1917
Queen 1913
Mary Ann 1913
Hartley 1913–1914, 1923
Ukee 1914, 1916
Annie 1916
Uranus 1930
Named for Captain William J. Davies (c. 1830–1903).[241]
Bargehand Anderson fell into hold and was killed 1900
Engine exploded August 1920 but no casualties.
Mate William "Gus" Haynes lost overboard 1925[242]
Ship's cook Thomas Baird lost overboard 1921.
Bargehand Alex Harris drowned 1930.
William Randell /
Wm. R. Randell

Gem Navigation Co. 1909–
Hart 1907
Weston 1910
P. Sandford 1911
H. McLean 1912
R. Potter 1914, 1916
G. Knight 1935
Susan
Alice 1912
Murchison 1907, 1908, 1909, 1912, 1913
Ukee 1909, 1910
Uranus 1912
Alice 1914
Hartley 1916
Moorara 1916
Originally Pioneer (see above).

See also

Notes

1. Spelling : Information in this article has mostly been gleaned from newspaper reports. Barbour, Bower, Christie, Davies, Dickson, Hampson, Hansen, Johnston, Lindqvist, Maultby, Miers, Pickhills, Rossiter, Schmedje, Searles, Tait, Theisz, Westergaard (all prominent people) often appeared in print as Barber, Bowers, Christie, Davis, Dixon, Hampton, Hanson, Johnson, Lindquist, Maltby, Myers, Pickels, Rossitter (or Rosseter), Smidgee (or Schmedge), Searle, Tate, Theiz and Westergard. The firm of Johnson and Davies was spelled four different ways in their own advertisements. Boats were given the same treatment. The barge Tongo was often written "Tonga" and Goldsbrough often "Goldsborough". Although the owners should have known better, the vessel generally named Lady Augusta was actually registered as Lady Agusta and Leichardt was presumably (mis)named for the explorer Ludwig Leichhardt (1813 – c. 1848). The barge Rabbie Burns appears to have metamorphosed into Robbie Burns around 1880. The steamer here spelled "Ferret" may have been registered "Ferrett" – more information is needed. The town now (and here) spelled Narrandera was once mostly "Narandera", a spelling tenaciously retained by its newspaper.

2. Bracketed numbers after some boats' names are intended for clarity and have no meaning outside this article.

3. Dates of service alongside names of boats and their owners and captains are from contemporary newspaper reports, which varied greatly in depth of information supplied. They would therefore not necessarily reflect the vessel or person's full period of service. Dates refer to service on the Murray system; some craft and most skippers had earlier or later service elsewhere.

4. In the interests of simplicity, honorifics (S.S., P.S., M.V. etc.) have been omitted from boat names in the first column.

5. Vessels were frequently modified to take advantage of changing trade requirements; hence burdens, dimensions, etc. quoted may appear inconsistent. Location of the paddles in paddle-wheel boats is a major design consideration: stern-wheelers are faster than side-wheelers and can navigate a narrower passage, but are less manoeuvrable, and are less adapted to towing a barge. Stern-wheelers were not uncommon on the Murray, but unsuited to the bends of the Darling. Boats were occasionally converted from one style to the other. A single central paddle-wheel (as in Gemini) had navigation advantages at the expense of load capacity and convenience, especially in maintaining an even keel. A single rear paddle-wheel, as in Mississippi steamers, proved unpractical.

6. Ownership of vessels was not often reported in the press, which accounts for this column being largely incomplete. The major companies (Wm. McCulloch & Co., Cramsie, Bowden & Co., E. Rich & Co., etc.) as well as owning vessels, also acted as agents for private owners, who may have been their captains, or absentee investors.

7. Almost without exception, no master or vessel was employed on the river throughout the year. In non-drought years shipping activity might be expected to run (give or take a month) from around June (with the winter rains) to December (with the snow melt).

8. "Lower Lakes" here refers to Lakes Alexandrina and Albert, between Goolwa and the Lower Murray. Towns on the Lower Lakes include Milang, Wellington and Meningie

Sources

  • "Riverina: Its Trade and Resources No. 1". South Australian Register. Adelaide. 15 January 1879. p. 5. Retrieved 26 June 2014 – via National Library of Australia. Other articles in this series are:

Literature

  • Newland, Simpson Paving the Way
  • Brady, E. J. River Rovers
  • Bedford, Randolph (yet to find)

References

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