Goolwa (remains of boiler)







Goolwa
Type :
 Iron paddlewheel steamer
Launched  :
1864
Builder :
 Palmer Brothers
Jarrow-on-Tyne, England
Gross :
 191 tons
Dimensions :
 36.94 x 6.43 (metres)
Passenger capacity :
 600
Speed :
 unknown

Goolwa was one of the Manly vessels that was built as a tug and primarily operated in that role. She was an iron paddlewheel steamer that came to Australia under her own power. It wasn't unusual for this type of vessel to divert while carrying passengers to escort one of the sailing ships waiting outside of the Heads.

Goolwa was originally constructed for an Adelaide tug company who sold her in 1867 to Thomas Heselton in Sydney. In January of 1868 she was in service as a ferry and tug working alongside Phantom and Breadalbane. In 1873 she was superseded by the arrival of the Royal Alfred and was laid up for three years.

In 1876 she was sold to the Newcastle Co-operative Steam Tug Company. Under their ownership she joined a fleet of tugs and ferries that were used in opposition to the Port Jackson company on Sydney Harbour. She remained in this role for the next twenty years. In 1898 she was sold to another company operated by John Brown who kept her in her existing role until 1905. In that year she was taken to Newcastle where she operated as a tug until 1919.

In 1919 she sank at her moorings in the Hunter River at Hexham. She was raised and moved onto the river bank where she was left. The remains of her hull are still there.
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