Paddlesteamer Oscar 'W' Goolwa: Ron takes to the waters of the Murray River in style - Fleurieu Peninsula region of South Australia
The Oscar 'W' is a marvel of the Murray and all South Australians are lucky she's still here plying the waters of a river she's known for 103 years now. She's now at Goolwa but for much of her working life she could be found anywhere on the waters of the Murray Darling from Echuca through to the back of Bourke. In her earliest days she was used for towing barges laden with wool and other supplies.
Take a peek at the crew quarters and you'll see it's neither luxurious nor spacious. But it was never meant to be because the Oscar 'W' was always about work. It was built in 1908 by Franz Oscar Wallen at Echuca in Victoria and he named it after his son, Oscar whom he hoped would continue on in the river trade. But sadly Oscar died on the battlefields of France but his memory lives on in the work of the volunteers at Goolwa who keep the Oscar 'W' steaming.
Volunteers like EJ Thorp the skipper. They're a motley bunch from all walks of life and with a great sense of camaraderie.
EJ Thorp, Skipper: "They are all volunteers and they're an excellent group of people. A group of people we're very, very proud of and they have built this vessel up from virtually just a skeleton left on the slipway at Murray Bridge."
Back in 2000 the Alexandrina Council purchased the Oscar 'W' as a way to showcase the heritage of the Goolwa Wharf precinct. Now the years of hard work have paid off as another boat land of passengers takes in the hissing and heaving force of this Murray River workhorse as the steam powers her in one direction and a wind gusts in the other.
EJ Thorp, Skipper: "If you've been a sailor it's much easier to understand how these things work. The old paddlewheelers have got two and a half feet in the water and about twenty five feet, thirty feet out of the water and you understand there's no keel at all just a flat bottom."
E.J says it sometimes feels more like flying and when she's up and running under a full head of steam that's just what she does cruising at a maximum speed of about ten kilometres an hour.
The stokers like Roly Bartlett and Paul Hannagan reckon the skipper's got it easy up in the comfort of the wheelhouse as they feed the furnace of early twentieth century technology that's anything but carbon neutral.
Roly Bartlett, Oscar 'W': "We're talking about a third of a ton of wood an hour."
The Oscar 'W' may be voracious but she was always very effective. Her low draft meant she could skim over shallow floodplains when the rivers were high to pick up supplies from some of the remotest stations on the Murray Darling system.
Roly Bartlett, Oscar 'W': "It went back to Echuca and of course into the E&WS Department in South Australia and it became their work boat. "
That involved de-snagging and towing many South Australian river ferries. Now she regularly ferries happy campers on a quick jaunt up and down the Goolwa riverfront. If she's out on the water when you arrive then drop into the local paddle wheeler museum.
Dave Finnie, Oscar 'W': "This was the place where they'd unload lots and lots of paddleboats. In the heyday it got up to 2,000 unloadings per year. They used to unload their bales of wool or whatever produce after picking it up upriver."
The Museum and the Oscar 'W' are just a couple of the attractions to enjoy at historic Goolwa. To book a trip on the Oscar 'W' contact the Goolwa Visitor Information Centre 1300 466 592. More ?'s email info@postcards-sa.com.au
Paddlesteamer Oscar 'W'
Goolwa Riverfront
Goolwa
Ph 300 466 592Published 6th November 2011
