Brothers (ferry)

Brothers was a Manly ferry owned and operated by John and Joseph Gerard. She was built in 1847 by Thomas Chowney Pyrmont in New South Wales for use on Sydney Harbour.

Anonymous painting of Brothers
History
Name: Brothers
Owner: 1847—: John and Joseph Gerrard
Operator: 1847–: John and Joseph Gerard
Port of registry: 1847–1886: Sydney,  Australia
Route: 1847–1848: Circular Quay-Blues Point
Builder: Thomas Chowney, Pyrmont, New South Wales
Launched: 1847
Maiden voyage: 9 October 1847
In service: 1847
Out of service: 1886
Identification: O/N 59513
Fate: Broken up
General characteristics
Class and type: ferry
Tonnage: 23 GT
Length: 20.66 m (67 ft 9 in)
Beam: 3.60 m (12 ft)
Decks: 1
Installed power: 1 × steam engine 18 bhp (13 kW)
Capacity: 50 passengers

Concept and construction

Brothers was a small timber paddle wheel steam ship and one of the earliest constructed in the colony. A sporadic ferry service to the Manly area had been established in the 1830s provided by a small sailing ketch operated by Barney Kearns and that service ran between Balgowlah and Balmoral after which passengers had to head overland to Milson's Point and then be rowed across the harbour by a waterman. It did not last long and passengers faced a long and difficult overland trip.[1]

Service history

Brothers began her career on Saturday, 9 October 1847 initially engaged to run from Windmill Street in The Rocks to Blues Point from 8am until 6.30pm. It is unlikely that she ran to a timetable, probably only doing the trip when there was a demand. In 1848 she shifted to the Manly route on a sporadic service which was to change in 1853 when Henry Gilbert Smith chartered the vessel following his opening up of Manly as a holiday destination.[2] In this role she became the first scheduled ferry between Manly and Sydney along her with running mate, the 1858-built PS Phantom.

Brothers remained on the Manly route for some years and was eventually sold to Port Stephens where she was hulked and used as a timber store, eventually being broken up in 1886.[3]

See also

Notes
  1. Mead, Tom (1988). Manly Ferries of Sydney Harbour. Sydney Child & Associates. ISBN 978-0-86777-091-9. Unknown ID 386.6099441 MEA.
  2. "Biography – Henry Gilbert Smith". A.F. Pike. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  3. "Myall Lakes Shipwrecks" (PDF).

Bibliography
  • Mead, Tom (1988), The Seven Mile Ships, Manly Ferries of Sydney Harbour, Sydney Child & Associates, ISBN 978-0-86777-091-9, Unknown ID 386.6099441 MEA.
  • Prescott, Anthony (1984), Sydney Ferry Fleets, Ronald H. Parsons, ISBN 0-909418-30-6.
  • Andrews, Graeme (1994), The Ferries of Sydney (3 ed.), Trident Publication, ISBN 978-0-424-00202-6, ISBN 0-424-00202-7.
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