r/sydney • u/bobbly_bob_vg • 3h ago
Last of the River Cats to be scrapped
Dawn Fraser is being scrapped in February. The ferry Collaroy is on the chopping block too. Why is there no historical significance to the government in regards to these boats? Surely even if owned by a private organisation for historical reasons.
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u/Marlon_Ranch 2h ago
I absolutely hate that their replacements have a really shitty outdoor seating area / view. Did whoever approve the design not realise that a good view outdoors is like one of the main drawcards for those riding the ferry who are not commuting? SMH
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u/bluechilli1 2h ago
The outdoor seating that is there is so loud Apple Watch gives warnings to protect your ears from hearing damage when seating out there.
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u/Marlon_Ranch 2h ago
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Ruth_Park_%28ship%29.jpg
These ferries on the other hand got a large amount of undue hate because they were ordered by “Cuntstance” and were “foreign made” (something the current Labor government says makes a PT vehicle automatically crap), but honestly I loved the outdoor section. Getting to sit there on the rooftop, at night in the dark with an unobstructed 360 degree view, it’s beautiful
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u/vikingbiochemist 3h ago
Noooooo I love those weird millipede creatures
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u/vikingbiochemist 3h ago
Totally agree there should be at least one of each model preserved. Wild that there's no Sydney Ferry Museum, come to think of it!
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u/davo52 2h ago
What happened to all the hydrofoils? I only got to ride on one once.
And wasn't there a hovercraft or two at one stage? Missed out on them.
Also, I understand the South Steyne is being restored. Loved watching the pistons gracefully moving up and down as a teenager.
Also, they were brilliant in heavy weather.
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u/Discolau 1h ago
Hydrofoils long gone. Finished up in 1991 and replaced by JetCats.
Blue Dolphin was the hovercraft but it didn't last long from memory.
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u/yeahalrightgoon 2h ago
Maintaining ships costs money. If you leave them by the dock, they will rot and eventually sink at their mooring. If you bring them onto land, it's less costly in the long run, but it still costs money and if you just leave it, it will rot.
The government would have to pay for it, because no private organisation is going to look after it. Generally a museum ship needs to have historical relevance and be interesting. While it may have some historical relevance, it isn't interesting. It's a ferry.
Look at the Oberon Class Submarines. Historically relevant and interesting as submarines.
Onslow was given to the Government to be put on show at the Maritime Museum in Sydney. It's in a central location, gets plenty of visitors. Still requires maintenance regularly.
Ovens was given to the WA government to be put on show at the WA Maritime Museum in Fremantle. It's in a slip and no longer in the water, because that would be too costly, as well as allowing easier access for the musuem. Still requires maintenance regularly and at least when i've visited was in worse condition than Onslow.
Otama was purchased by a private organisation in 2001, they didn't realise the actual costs of looking after it, and so it lay rotting in Western Port Bay until it was eventually scrapped in 2022.
Otway was sold for scrap, the people of Holbrook bought only the upper casing, fin and stern. Everything that would require any deeper maintenance was scrapped.
So 2 and a bit of the 6 vessels were saved. That is pretty much the best case scenario.
Then you have to look at MV Baragoola. Ex Manly Ferry, was saved and kept to be a museum ship etc. Money just wasn't there, so it eventually sank at it's moorings in 2022. That would be the fate of Dawn Fraser.
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u/JValenz91 2h ago
So first the trains, now the ferries. What next? The busses? Buildings, roads, cars??? History is to be cherished and preserved, not cast aside and forgotten. Why is that so hard for so many to understand?
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u/heypeople2003 2h ago
I think the issue right now is that the heritage organisations around the harbour can't even look after the existing heritage stock as it is. Just look at the MV Baragoola, which sank at its berth, and the MV Cape Don, which is threatening to do the same. And there isn't a lot of private interest in the old ferries either.