PS Benelon
A special project of the Ferries of Sydney
| Type : |
Wooden paddlewheel
steamer |
| Launched : |
February 1885 |
| Builder : |
David Drake Balmain, NSW |
| Gross weight : |
204 tons |
| Dimensions : |
120.00 x 25.00 x 7.50 (feet) |
| Passenger capacity : |
84 passengers, 37 vehicles |
| Speed : |
unknown |
Benelon was one of the fleet of four smaller vehicular ferries that generally operated between Dawes Point and Milsons Point. She was a close sister to Barangaroo.
Benelon is sometimes spelt (mistakenly) as "Benelong".
Built for the North Shore Steam Ferry Company, she joined a rapidly growing fleet that serviced the North Shore which was gaining an increasing population at the time. At the time she was built she was the largest vehicular ferry that had been constructed in Australia. Her entry to the trade was delayed until September of 1885 due to there being insufficient space on the Sydney side of the harbour to berth her.
She was substantially rebuilt and modernised in 1916. This allowed Sydney Ferries to keep her operating in an increasingly busy market - the four small ferries worked non-stop carrying traffic across the harbour and there were simply not enough of them to do the job.
Durinh her 47 year career on the harbour she suffered several mishaps, some quite serious. The first of these was on 14/06/1895 when she collided with the tug Thistle - little damage was reported to the ferry but the tug suffered some damage to her bows. On June the 1st 1900 she collided withn the coastal collier Illaroo, damage to the ferry was slight and although the marine court decided that the accident was barely noteworthy the master of the illaroo was found at fault and had his certificate suspended.
A year later she collided with another collier, the Beagle, both vessels requiring extensive repairs after the incident. On the 9th of August 1921 in thicjk fog she suffered the indignity of being struck by two of the harbour ferries; first was Kummulla, who caused damage to the Benelon's steering gear and bulwarks, then after getting underway she was almost immediately struck by Woolhara - no extra damage was caused in the second accident.
Her most serious collision occurred in 1923 when she was struck by the Burringbar, a coastal steamer. This accident caused the ferry to sink within five minutes; fortunately no lives were lost and the ferry was lightly loaded with only two motor vehicles and three horse vehicles on board. Although an attempt was made to rescue the horses, all five on board perished. A few days later divers discovered the reck in 159 feet of water and the task of recovering the vessel was begun - this was to take over three weeks. The vessel was finally raised and beached at Berrys Bay. After being raised it was discovered that the vehicles on board were still in place. Repairs to the Benelon cost nearly four thousand pounds with the salvage operation costing two thousand five hundred pounds. Such was the demand for the vehicular ferries that the 38 year old boat was back in service within a month.
A later Marine Court of Enquiry laid the blame on the master of the Burringbar and his ticket was cancelled for twelve months.
It would be 1927 before she had her next accident when, in January of that year, she collided withn the Karrabee, both vessels sustained slight damage.
Benelon ran the last service from Blues Point to Dawes Point with Kooroongabba operating in the opposite direction at 7pm on the 30th of April 1931. On the final trip she carried two cars and a motorcycle - the historic event being largely ignored b y the public.
Along with seventeen other ferries she was later offered for sale but no bids were received and it is likely that she was broken up not long after.