PS Adelaide moored at Echuca Wharf.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
Rarely has the phrase ‘A Grand Old Lady’ been more appropriate applied than to the PS Adelaide.
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One of the oldest steamboats in the world, the Adelaide has enjoyed a storied history working on the Murray for generations.
In honour of the boat’s 160th anniversary, the Port of Echuca is preparing to celebrate the vessel and its legacy.
“She’s the flagship of our fleet,” Suzan Dalziel, the port’s tours, education and collections co-ordinator, said.
“She’s synonymous with our town, and so many people have a connection with her.”
The Adelaide is the oldest still active wooden-hulled steam vessel in the world.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
Built in 1866 by George Linklater, the Adelaide spent most of the first century of its life ferrying wool, logs and passengers up and down the Murray.
In the late 1950s, it was sold to a South Australian sawmill, relocating from its Echuca home to Paringa, a small town near Renmark.
The location was only temporary, with the newly formed Echuca Historical Society teaming up with the local Apex club to purchase the vessel and bring it back to Echuca in 1960.
The Adelaide spent most of the next 25 years on dry land, eventually returning to the water in 1984 after extensive restoration works.
One of the people involved in those works was shipwright and boat builder Andrew Cook, who cut his teeth working on the vessel.
“I served my apprenticeship predominantly working on the restoration of the Adelaide starting in 1982,” he said.
“She’s a special vessel, a very powerful little steamer.
“It’s essentially a hull built to carry an engine, she’s a very fast and powerful boat well-suited to the log-carrying job she’d carried out.”
The Adelaide has served many purposes throughout its working life.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
During his time in Echuca, TV mini-series All the Rivers Run aired, and the port received a visit from Prince Charles and Princess Diana, driving up interest in the town’s paddle steamer fleet.
While the royals were in Echuca, they recommissioned the Adelaide and took a cruise on the PS Pevensey, on which Mr Cook worked as a deckhand.
“The visit is what the Adelaide deserved,” he said.
“Exposure like that was fitting.”
The royals during their visit to Echuca.
Mr Cook, who is set to speak at the Adelaide’s anniversary celebrations, said he was perhaps most excited to reflect on Echuca’s efforts to return to the boat to its historic home.
He noted the community had a significant impact on the vessel and vice versa.
Ms Dalziel agrees.
“While younger generations may not have as close a connection to the Adelaide as those who were involved in the campaign to bring her home, she’s part of what makes this town so special,” she said.
“It’s the same with the port, we want everyone to have a connection to it because it’s such a big part of the town.
“People will always remember it, and even if they move away, the sound of a whistle will always bring them right back home.”
The PS Adelaide’s 160th anniversary event will take place at 11am on Saturday, October 17 at Echuca Wharf.
It will feature a ceremony, a talk by guest speaker Andrew Cook, and a viewing of the 1991 film about the vessel, A Grand Old Lady.
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