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Port of Echuca - Cities, Towns and Localities |
Today the Port of Echuca is ‘Full Steam Ahead’ in this authentic working steam port.
It’s a unique opportunity to enjoy and experience an authentic working steam
port.
Take a cruise on an original paddlesteamer, tread the boards on the huge redgum wharf and enjoy our working steam displays.
‘All aboard at The Port of Echuca’ with one of our boats cruising daily.
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Port of Echuca
• 52 Murray Esplanade
ECHUCA VIC 3564
• Ph: 03 5482 4248
• 9 am - 5 pm everyday (except Christmas day)
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History
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In its heyday, from about 1860 to the early 1900’s Echuca was a bustling,
pioneering outpost. Paddlesteamers ferreid people and goods from all through the
Murray, Darling and Murrumbidgee River systems, to Echuca — the cloasest point
to Melbourne on the Murray.
Echuca flourished. Pubs (about 80), breweries and brothels boomed as the raucous
township revelled in its success. Legend has it that it wasn’t uncommon for
horse races to stir up the dust down High Street where boutiques boasted the
finest in European fashion and finery. Bare knuckle fights lasted hours down on
the river banks and you could catch cod fish as big as a man.
The centre piece was the huge Redgum wharf, where in just one year (1872) more
than 240 boats were cleared. With all that hard work going on, it’s no wonder
the premises which offered refreshments were so popular. Once Australia’s
largest inland port at 1.2 km long, it is home to the world’s largest collection
of paddlesteamers and offers a unique insight into our pioneering past. |
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Our Boats
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P.S. Pevensey
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She was built at Moama in 1911 for the Permewan Wright & Co Ltd.
- Tonnage: 136
- Length: 111’ 5”
- Beam: 23’
- Draught: 2’ empty, 4’ 6” loaded
- H.P.: 20 (2cyl)
- Fuel: 1 ton of wood per hour under steam fully loaded
- Construction: wood/iron
- Speed: 4.5 - 5mph
- Capacity: 100 passengers
Capable of carrying 120 tons in giant holds, the P.S. Pevensey is powered by
a 20 h.p. twin high pressure steam engine. After catching fire in 1932, she was
rebuilt, but later fell on hard times and became a floating museum. Brought in
for Port restoration in 1973, this great Clydesdale of the river was refloated
in 1976 and began carrying passengers 3 years later. |
P.S. Alexander Arbuthnot
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Built at Arbuthnot’s Koondrook Sawmill in 1923 for A. Arbuthnot & Sons.
- Tonnage: 46
- Length: 76’
- Beam: 15’ 3”
- Draught: 4’ 6”
- H.P.: 10
- Construction: wood
- Speed: 4.5 - 5mph
- Capacity: 47 passengers
The Alexander Arbuthnot was the last steamer built on the Murray during the
riverboat trade and was used as a logging boat for some years until she was sold
to charcoal producers in the Barmah Forest. During WW2 the ‘A.A.’ lay idle
and sank at her moorings in 1947 but was raised in 1972 by a group of Shepparton
volunteers. The ‘A.A.’ was brought by the City of Echuca in 1989 for
restoration at the Port of Echuca. |
P.S. Adelaide
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She was built at Echuca in 1866 for J.C. Grassy & Partners.
- Tonnage: 58
- Length: 76’
- Beam: 17’
- Draught: 2’ 4”
- H.P.: 36 (2cyl)
- Construction: wood
- Speed: 4.5 - 5mph
- Capacity: 49 passengers
Built at Echuca, P.S. Adelaide is the oldest wooden hulled paddlesteamer
still operating in the world! Used as a logging boat for 90 odd years, she left
the town briefly during the 1950’s, but later was brought back to Echuca as a
community effort in 1960. 1964 saw her lifted from the water and put to rest in
Echuca’s Hopwood Gardens, where she lay for 20 years. However, in 1980
restoration commenced and she was refloated in 1984. |
Barge
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Barges you may see... Looking out from the Wharf you may catch a glimpse of one
of our barges. Barges were the paddle steamer’s ‘trailers’ used for carrying all
sorts of cargo.
Ada Barge was built in 1898 and used to carry wool bales, carrying up to 400
tons at a time. It awaits extensive restoration.
Our Logging barges include the B22, built in 1922 (silted in the mud at the
bottom end of the wharf). C24, built 1924, now used as the hull on the ‘Pride of
The Murray’ (1978) and the D26, built 1926, is now fully restored and can be
often seen behind the ‘P.S. Adelaide’.Source:
Port of Echuca |
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