PS Pevensey
PS Pevensey (2021)
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History | |
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Australia | |
Name | Pevensey |
Port of registry | Melbourne, Victoria[1] |
Route | River Murray , Australia |
Builder | Permewan Wright & Co. Ltd. |
Laid down | 1911 |
Homeport | Echuca, Victoria |
Identification | 120770 |
Status | Tourist vessel |
General characteristics | |
Class and type | Paddle steamer |
Tonnage | 130 grt |
Length | 111.6 ft (34 m) |
Beam | 23.0 ft (7 m) |
Depth | 6.9 ft (2 m) |
Propulsion | Side-wheel paddle steamer |
Notes | Registered Heritage Vessel[2] |
PS Pevensey is a historic paddle steamer, with its original steam engine, in the fleet of steamers at Echuca Wharf, Victoria, Australia. Built in 1911, it traded on the Murray River until about 1958. In 1973 it was brought by Echuca for restoration and now operates as a tourist boat.
Particulars
Pevensey was of composite construction, with timber on iron frames, built at the Moama slipway in 1911 by Permewan, Wright & Co. Ltd. The hull is 111.6 ft (34 m) in length, with a 23.0-foot (7 m) beam and 6.9 ft (2 m) in depth, was measured at 130 grt.[3] It still has its original steam engine and boiler, built by Marshall, Sons & Co. of Gainsborough, England. It is a 20 nhp high-pressure, two-cylinder engine, No 55721, which gives Pevensey a speed of 8 knots (9.2 mph; 15 km/h).[3][4]
History
Pevensey began life in 1910 as a barge named Mascotte, but was rebuilt as a paddle steamer within twelve months.[5] The completed steamer was named after a sheep property on the Murrumbidgee River called Pevensey Station.[4] It was first operated by its builder and collected bales of wool from sheep stations and brought them to the Echuca wharf. From the wharf, it was loaded onto trains and taken to Melbourne for export overseas. Pevensey, with a cargo capacity of 120 tons, could carry 815 bales of wool and a total of 2,000 bales when barges were towed along behind.[4] Pevensey's barge, also composite built, was called Ada, and is also preserved at Echuca.[6]
Pevensey was sold to Murray Shipping Ltd in July 1919. In October 1932 it suffered a major fire at
Pevensey starred in the role of the fictional PS Philadelphia in the Australian television mini-series All the Rivers Run, made in Echuca in 1982–1983, alongside fellow Echuca steamer Emmylou.[4]
The Pevensey's composite barge, Ada (built in 1899), was purchased by the Port of Echuca in 1974. In an preservation effort, the 52-tonne barge was removed from the Murray River in August 2012 (at a cost of $33,000), and now resides towards the rear of the Moama slipway. The current condition of the barge is described as "poor", with "no funds available, nor plans in place, to restore the Ada barge".[8]
References
- ^ "P.S. Pevensey in Morgan area". State Library of South Australia. 10 May 2001. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ "PS Pevensey". Echuca Historical Society. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ ISBN 0-947284-34-6.
- ^ a b c d "P.S. Pevensey". Echuca Paddlesteamers. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
- ^ "PS Pevensey". Australian National Maritime Museum. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
- ^ "A black and white photograph, Approx.1980s". Victorian Collections. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020.
- ^ ISBN 1877058378.
- ^ Lamb, Jessica (14 June 2017). "Ada barge needs fixing but with what money?". PressReader. The Riverine Herald. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
External links