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Ferries

River crossings by ferry were an important link in the road system across South Australia. The first ferry across the River Murray at Wellington was in duty from 1846. This crossing formed part of the Great Eastern Road. The early ferries, or punts, used hauling ropes over a pair of sheaves. The ferryman gripped the ropes between a slotted sapling and made forward movement by thrusting against the sapling while walking along the deck of the punt. Toll for travelling on the Wellington ferry was paid to William Carter, the ferryman. Rotting timbers caused this ferry to sink in 1849.

The Wellington ferry sank again in 1869. An advertisement appeared in the South Australian Government Gazette calling for sealed tenders, ‘For raising the sunken punt at Wellington’. Five tenders were received and Harry Harslett got the work for 70 pound (approximately $140). A century later the Wellington ferry went down again.

Captain Peter Bampton, Supervisor at the Morgan dockyard from 1964, was involved in the salvage of the Wellington ferry. He put the replacement ferry in place after towing it from the Morgan dockyards behind the Department tug ‘Nalta Yuki’. Before this tug was purchased, the well-known ‘Oscar W’ was used to tow ferries to their places along the river.

Until 1964 the only bridges across the River Murray were at Murray Bridge and Paringa. Ferries serviced another fifteen river crossings. The first ferries were small and unable to carry much weight until 1939 when Blanchetown acquired an 18.0 metre vessel capable of carrying a 48 tonne payload.

In the early days the Highways Department leased the ferries to the local Councils who then sub-leased them to ferrymen. Most ferrymen did not like changes made to their ferries. Ferries were upgraded at least every six years, and the operators often complained about them. Although instruction manuals were issued with the new ferries, often the men were without the skills required to operate the latest technology.

Each ferry point would have four permanent ferrymen and three to four casuals prepared to fill in when the regular men were ill or needed time off – one of the casuals was Wayne Jolly who managed to study during his quiet shifts at night.

Ken Smerdon, worked for the Department for more than 44 years and was Inspector of Ferries between 1956 and 1982. He recalls the mosquito problem at Wellington. On the pub side of the river, where there were lights, the ‘mossies’ were huge and vicious biters. On the other side they were small and did not seem to bite, so the maintenance men would always try to get work done on the small ‘mossie’ side.

A report on the River Murray ferries written in the 1970s stated, ’It is essential that the Department maintain an efficient and safe ferry system on the River Murray …. to perform this function all ferries must be maintained in good condition and inspected, repaired and overhauled on a routine and regular basis.’ This was the responsibility of the crew at the Morgan dockyards where four ferries were kept, as standby, undergoing maintenance or waiting for upgrade.

In 1987 Clyde Collins retired. He had been Ferry supervisor at Swan Reach for 35 years. He took up a ferry lease in 1952 and ran it single-handed on a 24 hour service. Clyde saw many changes from the 12 metre ferries carrying two cars or one truck to the 17 metre ferries of today.
During the 1956 River Murray floods, the ferry at Swan Reach was closed for seven months. In spite of his own home being washed away in the flood, Clyde operated a launch during daylight to get people across.

Department ferries were initially powered by mechanical drive systems, which were replaced with hydraulic propulsion units in the late 1970s. As a trial three ferries were equipped with a diesel electric drive system, which are still under evaluation.

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