Kosciusko







Kosciusko
Type :
 Wooden screw steamer
Launched  :
1911
Builder :
 David Drake Ltd
Balmain, NSW
Gross weight :
 165 tons
Dimensions :
 116.50 x 28.50 x 9.75 (feet)
Passenger capacity :
 785
Speed :
 10 knots/11 knots after 1959

Kosciusko was a near sister to Kanimbla but managed to out-last the latter ship by 30 years.

Kosciusko always had a slightly lopsided look which made her easily identifiable from a distance amongst other similar ferries.

Kosciusko had a major tangle early in her life that nearly ended her career. A steel fuel barge under tow managed to ram her and caused heavy damage. She was kept afloat only because the barge could not be easily removed and was tightly sealing the hole in her hull.

On the 5th of January 1975, the Lake Illawarra smashed into Hobart's Tasman Bridge severing the link between the north and south shore of that city. Ferries were needed urgently. The new Lady Wakehurst went first from Sydney, followed by Kosciusko & Lady Ferguson. Kosciusko was sold to the city and never returned to Sydney.

After the bridge was repaired, she was sold to be used as a floating restaurant. Unfortunately, during renovations she caught fire and burnt out (in 1982). One of her bridges today is preserved in one of Hobart's hotels.
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