Helene Sutherland will speak at the Echuca Library on August 22 about her book ‘The Salvage of the Alexander Arbuthnot’ which her late husband and his crew brought back to the surface.
Photo by
Bree Harding
The remarkable story of the PS Alexander Arbuthnot's salvage has been chronicled in a book by Helene Sutherland, who will share her first-hand account at the Echuca library on Friday, August 22 at 1.30pm.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
The historic paddle steamer, constructed in 1916, initially served as a barge before being commissioned in 1923 as a paddle steamer for the Arbuthnot sawmill.
After sinking in 1947 at the Newman homestead at Yielima, the vessel remained underwater for 25 years until a groundbreaking salvage operation.
The Alexander Arbuthnot lying in the mud at the bottom of the Murray River at Yielima, near Nathalia. The picture was taken by Riverine Herald photographer Fred Boyle, from the deck of the Adelaide, not long after the Arbuthnot sank.
“My husband did this job over 50 years ago, and of course, it was a remarkable feat at the time,” Mrs Sutherland said.
“I was there for every minute of the job, and I'm one of the last survivors,” Mrs Sutherland said.
Mrs Sutherland's book The Salvage of the Alexander Arbuthnot came about at the time of the boat’s 100th birthday celebrations, after an ABC radio interview on the topic.
“Tom Chick from the Koondrook Development Society was going on ABC breakfast radio to advertise the weekend's activities and celebrations,” Mrs Sutherland said.
“And he asked me, would I go on and just tell the salvage story, which I did.
“And when we got off the phone, he phoned me, and he said, you need to write the book.”
The ambitious salvage effort commenced in June 1972, spearheaded by Mrs Sutherland's husband John, who lived by the motto ‘possible we do straight away, miracles take a little longer’.
The dedicated team included volunteer divers, who endured 40 hours in frigidly cold waters to secure cables beneath the vessel.
“They had to get cables under either end of that boat. And the boat underneath was wedged with timber and bottles, and all the debris from floods over the years,” Mrs Sutherland said.
On Sunday, July 9, 1972, the team successfully raised the vessel.
Following meticulous restoration work in Shepparton, the PS Alexander Arbuthnot was triumphantly relaunched in 1979 at the Shepparton International Village.
A decade later, in 1989, the historic vessel made its way back to its spiritual home at the Port of Echuca.
Mrs Sutherland will share an in-depth account of all the volunteer effort that went into raising the boat at her author talk.
To attend the author talk, bookings are essential on 03 5481 2400.
PS Alexander Arbuthnot is now at its spiritual home at the Port of Echuca.
Photo by
Aidan Briggs
