PS Pevensey

PS Pevensey (2021)
History
Australia
Name	Pevensey
Port of registry	Melbourne, Victoria (Australia)[1]
Route	River Murray, Australia
Builder	Permewan Wright & Co. Ltd.
Laid down	1911
Homeport	Echuca, Victoria (Australia)
Identification	120770
Status	Tourist vessel
General characteristics
Class and type	Paddle steamer
Tonnage	130 grt
Length	111.6 ft (34 m)
Beam	23.0 ft (7 m)
Depth	6.9 ft (2 m)
Propulsion	Side wheel Paddle steamer
Notes	Registered Heritage Vessel[2]

PS Pevensey is a historic paddle steamer, with its original steam engine, in the fleet of steamers at Echuca Wharf, Victoria, Australia. Built in 1911, it traded on the Murray River until about 1958. In 1973 it was brought by Echuca for restoration and now operates as a tourist boat.

Particulars[]

Pevensey was of composite construction, with timber on iron frames, built at the Moama slipway in 1911 by Permewan, Wright & Co. Ltd. The hull is 111.6 ft (34 m) in length, 23.0 ft (7 m) beam and 6.9 ft (2 m) in depth, was measured at 130 grt.^[3] It still has its original steam engine and boiler, built by Marshall, Sons & Co. of Gainsborough, England. It is a 20 nhp high-pressure two-cylinder engine, No 55721, which gives Pevensey a speed of 8 knots (9.2 mph; 15 km/h).^[3][4]

History[]

The PS Pevensey with covered load of timber (c. 1939)

The Pevensey began life in 1910 as a barge named Mascotte, but was rebuilt as a paddle steamer within twelve months.^[5] The completed steamer was named after a sheep property on the Murrumbidgee River called Pevensey Station.^[4] It was first operated by its builder and collected bales of wool from sheep stations and brought them to the Echuca wharf. From the wharf, it was loaded onto trains and taken to Melbourne for export overseas. Pevensey, with a cargo capacity of 120 tons, could carry 815 bales of wool and a total of 2000 bales when barges were towed along behind.^[4] Pevensey’s barge, also composite built, was called Ada, and is also preserved at Echuca.^[6]

Pevensey was sold to Murray Shipping Ltd in July 1919. In October 1932 it suffered a major fire at Koraleigh Landing, near Swan Hill, but returned to service in 1935 after rebuild at Morgan, South Australia, running between there and Mildura. After the river trade ended around 1958, Pevensey was tied up at Mildura where it was sunk by vandals in 1967, though later raised. In 1973 the steamer was purchased by Echuca City Council and towed there for restoration, with assistance of the Victorian Government.^[3]

Pevensey with steam up at Echuca

Pevensey starred in the role of the fictional PS Philadelphia in the Australian television mini-series All the Rivers Run, made in Echuca in 1982–1983, alongside fellow-Echuca steamer Emmylou.^[4]

The Pevensey's composite barge, the Ada (built in 1899), was purchased by the Port of Echuca in 1974. In an preservation effort, the 52 tonne barge was removed from the Murray River in August 2012 (at a cost of $33,000), and now resides towards the rear of the Moama slipway. The current condition of the barge is described as 'poor', with "no funds available, nor plans in place, to restore the Ada barge".^[7]

References[]

External links[]

• P.S. Pevensey