Copy of engineering drawing of Murray River paddle steamer SS 'Captain Sturt', 1912
Object No. P2909
This is a copy of a plan, dated 1912, of the American-style, stern wheel paddle steamer, SS 'Captain Sturt', used in the construction of locks on the Murray River of South Australia from 1917 until 1935. It is one of the very few plans of paddle steamers used on Australian inland rivers known to exist. The hull of the vessel was built by the Charles Barnes Company of Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1915. It was imported into Australia in sections and reassembled near Mannum on the Murray River in South Australia under the supervision of Captain Washington Meredith, who arrived from Ohio in October 1915. The 'Captain Sturt', named in honour of Captain Charles Sturt who first navigated the Murray River in 1829. , was launched sideways in the American style. The old river men looked askance at the vessel's steel hull which proved inappropriate for the Murray due to pitting and corrosion. The steamer was then towed to Blanchetown where the vessel's upper works were locally constructed of Oregon and red pine as instructed on this drawing. The 'Captain Sturt' with its 8.63 metre diameter stern wheel was unusual for an Australian river boat, as most had side wheels. Generally, large American paddle steamers like this one, built for the wide and long US rivers, were unsuitable for operation on the narrow, winding Australian inland rivers which featured great variation in river levels, hidden snags and sandbars. However, the 'Captain Sturt' was built for a construction work rather than cargo carrying. By 1900 the prosperous river trade was dying as all the main ports had been reached by rail and the wool, wheat and other products could be taken quickly and at much less cost to the cities. The towns were quiet, shops closed, wharf labourers moved on and paddle steamers and barges were tied to the wharves. In reaction to this loss, it was lamented that if only locks were constructed then the rivers could have a reliable amount of water and be navigable all year round. In 1917 the River Murray Commission was established by agreement between the states of Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia, along with the Commonwealth of Australia. All development works carried out on the Murray River were controlled by the Commission. The 'Captain Sturt', designed by the American War Department, had been purchased for 13,000 pounds by the River Murray Commission. This purchase had been endorsed by Captain Edward Neele Johnston, of the US Army Corps Engineers, who had been engaged by the South Australian Government to prepare a report on the development of a series of locks and weirs along the South Australian section of the Murray River. The paddle steamer, with its powerful 200 hp engine, could push between 3 and 6 heavily-laden barges of crushed rock upstream to construct the locks and did so for almost 20 years. The vessel made a major contribution to the navigability of the Murray River through this work as the construction of locks and weirs mitigated the seasonal effects of drought and floods. Water flow is still managed today (2015) by these locks. The development of the river enabled paddle steamers to continue sporadically as fishing and logging boats but the trade had virtually finished. However, from about the 1970s tourism has seen a resurgence of paddle boats, both restored and newly built, on the river. In the end, it has been the irrigators who have prospered from the improved river flow and not the paddle steamers, for which the locks were originally envisaged. Sources: Information on the S.S. Captain Sturt, wreck no. 1148, supplied by Margaret Phillips, South Australian Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, 2015 Encyclopaedia of Australian Science. www.eoas.info/biogs/A000883b.htm History of the Murray River http://www.murrayriver.com.au/education/history Phillips, Peter J. 'Redgum and Paddlewheels: Australia's Inland River Trade', Greenhouse Publications Pty Ltd, Richmond, Victoria, 1980. Judy Campbell, MAAS volunteer and Margaret Simpson, Curator June 2015
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Summary
Object Statement
Engineering drawing, copy, SS 'Captain Sturt' Murray River paddle steamer, paper, dated 1912, hull built by Charles Barnes Co, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America, used by River Murray Commission to build locks in South Australia, Australia, 1917-1935
Physical Description
The drawing comprises a one-page sheet depicting the SS 'Captain Sturt' paddle steamer in plan, side and rear elevations. Various specifications and dimensions are included. The 'Captain Sturt' had twin pontoon-like hulls, built of three-sixteenth inch plate iron, steel girders, with the superstructure made of Oregon and red pine timber. Her steam engine was a 200 hp balanced poppet value type with the engine connected directly to the stern wheel. The Western River boiler type had shells which were 19 ft long (5.79 m) by 3.6 ft diameter (1.07 m) and was built of ½ in (12.5 mm) plates. It had twenty 4 in (102 mm) boiler tubes. Her overall length including the stern wheel was 135ft (41.5m) and the draught was 3.3 ft (1 m) with a displacement of 888 tons.
DIMENSIONS
Width
1300 mm
Depth
700 mm
HISTORY
Notes
The original plans were drawn up under the direction of Lieut. Col. H. Jervey, Corps of Engineers, of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA with E.J. Carpenter, Assistant Engineer, for the United States of America War Department and are dated 26 November 1912. This copy of the original plan was given to the Museum by Mr R.J. Baxter from the original made available to him by the last owner of the vessel which had been converted into a houseboat. The 'Captain Sturt' paddle steamer commenced duty in 1917 and for eighteen years pushed materials for the construction of all the locks between Blanchetown and Kulnine in South Australia. In 1923 the American boiler showed signs of pitting and grooving so a new boiler of similar design was built by Hawke and Co. of Kapunda which was installed in 1924. The new boiler failed to generate sufficient steam and was difficult to fire and by 1934 the twin hulls were riddled with rust and small cracks. The South Australian Government abandoned plans to sheath the hull and after patching up the hulls with cement, the vessel was used to transport equipment for the construction of the Goolwa Barrages and locks at the Murray mouth. The 'Captain Sturt' had only two skippers during its working life: Captain George Johnston until his death in 1926 aboard the vessel and Captain Payne until 1935. The vessel was sold in 1940 for 250 pounds to Captain George Ritchie who intended to use the 'Captain Sturt' for day excursions from Goolwa to Point McLeay. The next owners were Mr and Mrs Albert Ehret of Magill who used the steamer from 1946 to 1952 as a houseboat, accommodating 30 people. In 1950 Charlie Smith became the proprietor, perhaps with a rental agreement, as the vessel had several occupants paying rent of 7 pounds ten shillings per annum. Mrs Grace O'Neill purchased the vessel in 1954 and as Mrs Martin sold the houseboat to Mr Keith Veenstra in 1965 who used it as an office for the family boat building business. In a bid to restore the vessel, Andrew Bell formed the Captain Sturt Preservation Society in 1996 but soon realised the cost of restoration was prohibitive. Mr Veenstra finally decided to remove the upper decks and fill the hull with cement. The wreck was incorporated into the Captain Sturt Marina in the Goolwa boatyard. The original steering wheel was transferred to the PS Goolwa and (in 2015) is still in operation.
SOURCE
Credit Line
Gift of R J Baxter, 1974
Acquisition Date
20 September 1974
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