News

Propeller plan to tackle silt, free paddlesteamers

By Ryan Bellingham

Dec 30, 2025

PS Britannia owner Mick Farrant, State Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh, and slipway operator and PS Melbourne owner Adam Auditori with the hydraulically powered propeller they say will clear silt from the port. Photo by Supplied

Paddlesteamer owners in the Port of Echuca say they have a solution to the silt problems plaguing the waterfront.

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PS Melbourne owner and Moama slipway operator Adam Auditori owns a large propeller, which he said could be mounted to the front of his ship.

Powered hydraulically, the propeller could be used to churn up the silt, freeing it to be carried down the Murray River.

The PS Brittania, owned by Mick Farrant, has been trapped at the port by silt for months, and only a significant surge in the river’s height will free it naturally.

At a meeting in November, Mr Farrant, Mr Auditori and State Member for Murray Plains Peter Walsh met to assess the propeller and figure out how it could be transferred to a boat.

When Mr Farrant idles the Brittania, its paddle wheels quickly loosen the silt to create room beneath the ship, a strategy he said could be applied on a wider scale with the propeller to the benefit of all boat owners.

According to Mr Walsh and Mr Auditori, it was common practice for past skippers to use their boats to remove silt routinely, keeping the issue under control.

“A combination of the current and the propeller would be a very low-cost and immediate opportunity to address the port’s silt challenges,” Mr Auditori said.

“Every paddlesteamer using the port should be accessible at all times, and boats should not have to run the risk of being trapped by silt.

“The paddlesteamer trade is an integral part of the Echuca tourism success story, and the easier we can make life for everyone, the better it will be for the local economy.”

Issues on the river often involve multiple levels of government, making support for proposed works difficult to navigate.

The proposed propeller solution would require a controlled activity approval from the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

Controlled activities include removing material from waterfront land, and any activity that affects the quantity or flow of water in a water source.

According to the department, most controlled activities also need approval from local government, with Campaspe Shire Council having a management lease agreement in the problem area.

But with the summer school holidays here, Mr Walsh said the ideal time for action was at least one month ago.

“We are not asking to chop down any trees, dig up any land, or block the river, we just want to get the silt moved on,” he said.

“We don’t need any fancy heavy machinery or a working group to consider the problem, we just need to do what the paddlesteamers have always done: churn it up, and let the current carry it away.”