Forum –
The story on the front page of the last Peninsula News takes me back to the early 1950’s.
The St Joseph nuns from the Kincumber Orphanage owned the ferry the “Southern Cross” as well as three other ferries over many years.
The engine in the “Southern Cross” had to be replaced, as it had been running on the Brisbane Waters since 1922.
It was built at William Fords’ boatshed in Berry’s Bay, Sydney in 1922.
My father who was a contract carrier for Ferrier, Dickinson and Weir Drysdale Ltd, who had a factory on the corner of Reserve Road and Frederick Street, St Leonards were the agents for Gardner Diesel Engines.
He arranged for the firm to supply a new Gardner Diesel Engine at a good price, which was £500 to $1000 fitted.
In January 1955, my family were staying at Davistown, a place where many of my relatives had stayed since 1922.
On Sunday mornings, we would wait for the ferry at Davistown Wharf to take us to mass at Holy Cross church in Kincumber.
The ferry “Stella Maris” was on the run and took us to Kincumber.
When we got there with the ferry nearly full, we saw the “Southern Cross” half submerged.
My father was shocked to see the stern under water.
On Monday morning at 4:30am, my father would run from Davistown to Kincumber, as he said he would float the ferry again.
He started to pump the stern out and he would dive down under the stern and tie ropes to empty 44-gallon drums.
He pumped the water out of the drums and pushed the stern up for 3 days.
My father had lived in Lavender Bay before the First World War and had seen this method used.
When the new motor was put in, they knew there was a leak in the bilge so on the ferry’s last run the deckhand had to pump it out and they failed to do so, so the ferry sank.
Letter, 19 Oct
Vic Wulf, Gosford