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More Reeks
Lady Denman - ex Sydney Harbour Ferry.
http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/image.../5001284b1.jpg
Article here
http://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/07_su...itemid=5001284
(and much more too)
Also he did other ferries
"The steamers Balgowlah, Barrenjoey and Baragoola were the last three in the class of six mentioned earlier. The class evolved from two earlier vessels designed by Walter Reeks, the unorthodox Sydney naval architect. The first, Manly of 1896, was designed for the Port Jackson Company's former rival, the Manly Co-operative Steam Ferry Co. Ltd. (which merged with the Port Jackson Company in 1896). Manly was the first double-ended screw steamer in the service, but had a wooden hull which allowed the long propeller shaft to get out of alignment. The second, Kuring-gai of 1901, was built of steel with an iron frame at the Balmain works of Mort's Dock and Engineering Co. Ltd. Her camber keel - one of Reeks' experiments to reduce the resistance of the forward propeller gave her unpredictable handling qualities. Both Manly and Kuring-gai retained
the paddle steamer style of placing the wheelhouses around the funnel in the midships section of the bridge or sun deck (at this stage no more than a fixed awning over the passengers' promenade deck)."
See http://www.historyworks.com.au/B%20Boats.pdf for the full info.
MIK
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Speaking of Australian Boat Designers, the weekend Australian (May 31st to June 1st 2008) in their Review section had an article about a friendship between a chap called John Peter Russell and Vincent van Gogh. The paragraph that caught my eye was as follows;
"Like his father, Russell was drafted into an engineering apprenticeship. The skills he acquired were put to use years later on Belle Ile, an island off the Brittany coast, where he designed his house and several yachts, a ketch and a cutter, casting the keel of a racing yacht himself."
Dyf
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And this gorgeous boat is the ferry EMERALD, well known in WA on the Swan River, and the Rottnest and Garden Island runs. She was not only designed by Reeks, but built by him too when he owned a boatyard in Sydney. She was actually built for Moreton Bay, Qld (Bribie Island service from memory), and came to WA in 1912.
Unfortunately she was broken up in 1963 when diesel ferries were just too competitive - like her other Reeks-designed fellow WA ferry the ZEPHYR a couple of years later.
How can a ferry be so booooooootiful?
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Sorry, should have said that the second picture is as specified for Qld. They stripped off the extra upperworks for WA service which rather emphasises the elegance of the hull (first pic)
Cheers!
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I was hoping someone would find some more stuff! Fantastic.
Got me fired up too - Reek's Manly II - from 1896
http://www.ferriesofsydney.com/class.../manly0004.jpg
More details on Manly II on the the Ferries of Sydney site
MIK
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Michael, another important Australian designer who deserves a mention is Len Randell, based in WA. He designed some lovely yachts, although he made his real money in commercial fishing boat designs. He's retired now but still a bundle of energy - Bill Leonard and Luggerite were kind enough to introduce me to him a coupla years ago.
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just had a quick hunt on the net.
Not many references to Len Randall, but some.
http://www.boatbrokers.com.au/ed.php?de=46858
I will attach some pics so they won't disappear.
I do like the lightness of his superstructures. Very elegant.
MIK
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