Lady McKell













Lady McKell
Type :
 Steel motor vessel
Launched  :
19/10/1970
Builder :
 New South Wales State Dockyard
Newcastle, NSW
Gross :
 329 tons
Dimensions :
 38.70 x 8.84 (metres)
Passenger capacity :
 573
Speed :
 11 knots

Lady McKell was the third Lady ferry built after the revamp of the ferry service in 1968. She was one of three near identical sisters, the others being Lady Cutler and Lady Woodward. She was named in honour of the wife of Sir William McKell, a former Governor General of Australia and Premier of New South Wales. There is a connection here with the Belluberra as Sir William  was a boilermaker's apprentice during the building of that ferry.

Lady McKell holds a couple of distinctions; she is a three time winner of the Great Ferry Race and in 1984 she gained the first female captain of a government ferry (although her master was not the first female ferry captain).

Lady McKell was actually built as Lady Woodward, the names were exchanged a few days before launch.

Lady McKell had several incidents during her career on the harbour. On her first revenue run on October 1st, 1970, her engine stalled and she ran aground at Neutral Bay. On July 30th, 1977 her clutch failed and she ran aground at Mosman Bay. On  June 30th, 1980, she assisted in the refloating of Kameruka at Taronga Zoo Wharf when that ferry missed the wharf and ran aground.

An unfortunate accident occurred on 28th September, 1984 when her deckhand, David Hood, drowned whilst operating the Neutral Bay run.

By 1993 Lady McKell had become redundant and after a period of five years being laid up in Rozelle Bay she was sold to Melbourne (Leith Doeg). This followed a plan that never came through where she was supposed to have been sold to Hong Kong. Her new owners (Melbourne Star Cruises) embarked on a major rebuild and refit which took 15 months. The ship's rebuild involved dry docking for hull repairs, removal of the aft wheel house and the complete gutting of the passenger saloons. Once rusted superstructure and decks were renewed and a modern well equipped galley and bar were installed. All new modern amenities were fitted during the refurbishment. Traditional rich timber panelling complimented by plush red carpets and polished brass dictated the ship's image and position in the marketplace. She re-entered service on the 3rd of December 1999. Today she operates from Victoria Harbour as a luxury cruise vessel.
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