State Library of South Australia

River steamer 'Waradgery' at Goolwa [B 3739] • Photograph

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Summary

[General description] Paddle boat 'Waradgery' moored to the shore. Other paddle boats can be seen in the distance. On the right is a wharf with rail bogeys and storage shed. This photo and PRG 280/1/15/718 are the same [On back of photograph] 'Goolwa / Probably in the eighteen eighties' (Another hand) 'Waradgery / Jane Eliza with tarpaulin hiding most of name. Ariel behind Jane Eliza'. (Sweet Adelaide 796). A researcher has added the following information: 'The steamer identified as Jane Eliza is actually the Gem before she was lengthened (the name is very clearly visible on the paddlebox). Gem was relaunched after lengthening in June 1882, so this is before then. Astern of the Gem is the Ariel, as noted. On the far left of the photo, in the distance, is a group of 4 steamers. The closest to camera, with no upper deck, is the Menindie. The furthest away, with the large spark catcher on the funnel is the Cumberoona. The other 2 boats in the group are difficult to identify with certainty, but I believe the boat at the very far left, obscured by the Menindie, is the Shannon. The Shannon & Menindie were registered under the same owners between March 1880 & June 1882, so it's likely that they would've moored together at times during this period. I believe the last boat in the group is the Excelsior. In every other photo I've seen of the Excelsior she has much larger paddleboxes & a raised wheelhouse, unlike here. However, there is another photo of the Excelsior in the same era where the upper deck accommodation and the saloon on the lower deck are identical to the boat in this photo. The hull proportions are also a match for Excelsior. The vessel had a new engine installed in 1881 (probably March when there are reports of a trial after engine work and repairs), and could well have had new wheels at the same time. That would explain the changes to the paddle boxes. The time line also fits well with the other boats in this photo. There's also a steamer just forward of the Gem, obscured by the Waradgery. The odd superstructure design & other details match those of the Grappler which was also around Goolwa at the time. There are newspaper reports of her being on slip in mid 1880, with others covering her relaunch and the arrival of machinery to make her a dredge. I think it's likely that this photo is between May & June 1880.'

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Physical description

Photograph; 20.5 cm x 15.4 cm

Dates / Publication details

Approximately 1880

Photographer

Sweet, Samuel White

Collections

Part of Goolwa Collection
Part of Sweet Collection

Subject

Waradgery (River steamer)
River steamers -- South Australia -- Goolwa

Catalogue record

Return to catalogue

Digitisation information

Date

06/05/2005

Format

image/tiff

Resolution

3,093 x 2,336 pixels (7.2 MP)

Size

21.70 MB

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