Illawarra Steam Navigation Company

The "Illawarra Steam Navigation Company" serviced the south coast of New South Wales, Australia from the 1850s to the 1950s. Passengers travelled to and from Sydney with pigs and produce for company and it was known as the 'Pig and Whistle Line';cite web | year = 2004 | url = http://www.smh.com.au/news/New-South-Wales/Tathra/2005/02/17/1108500199515.html | title = Tathra, New South Wales | work = Travel | publisher = Sydney Morning Herald | accessdate = 2006-04-10] it was said that fleet ships would wait an hour for a pig but not a minute for a passenger.cite web | year = 2005 | url = http://www.mvbanks.com/history.html | title = Cruise the NSW South Coast Ocean on MV Banks, Australia | publisher = Pleasure Cruises Australasia Pty. Ltd. | accessdate = 2006-04-10]

History

Following an enquiry into the transport facilities in the Bega district in 1851 the "Illawarra and South Coast Steam Navigation Company" was formed. The "Kiama Steam Company" had been established in 1852 to work along the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. The company was incorporated on 3 October 1853, including the "Kiama Steam Navigation Company". [ [http://www.records.nsw.gov.au/cguide/sy/steamnav.htm State Records of New South Wales: Steam Navigation Board] ] The "Illawarra Steam Navigation Company" carried wool, cedar, coal and a variety of raw materials to the southern ports. As steamers were independent of the wind with coal-fired engines, they were more suited to the coastal conditions than sailing vessels. They were less likely to be blown off course or on to the rocky coastline, and they were better able to navigate the shallow river mouths and bars of the rivers.cite web | last = Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering | year = 2003 | url = http://www.austehc.unimelb.edu.au/tia/438.html | title = Technology in Australia 1788-1988, Chapter 7, page 438 | publisher = Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre | accessdate = 2006-04-09]

In October 1858, an act of the New South Wales Parliament created the "Illawarra Steam Navigation Company" from an amalgam of smaller companies. The act was amended in 1887. From 1866 there was a weekly service from south coast ports to Sydney.

The company was incorporated in 1904 as the "Illawarra & South Coast Steam Navigation Company" (ISCSNC).cite book | year = 1905 | title = Illawarra and South Coast Steam Navigation Company's illustrated handbook: a guide for the tourist and holiday maker | publisher = W. Lorck | location = Sydney | id = National Library of Australia call number N 919.44 I29]

As at 1905, the company linked Eden "by regular steam communication" with Sydney, Launceston, Tasmania, Hobart and New Zealand.

In 1928 the "Illawarra and South Coast Steam Navigation Company"'s SS "Merimbula" went ashore on Beecroft Head while heading south. After this wreck, passenger shipping to the south coast finished. Not only had the company lost a significant asset, but there were now better roads to the south coast and a railway line to Nowra part way down the coast.

The company, then known as the "Illawarra and South Coast Steam Company Limited", was delisted from the Australian Stock Exchange in 1955 because of liquidation. [ [http://www.delisted.com.au/CompanyDisplay.aspx?id=4160&UrlReferrer=https%3A%2F%2Fsecure.delisted.com.au%2Fbrowse.aspx%3Fchar%3DI Australian Stock Exchange information] ] A 1910 article, 'Bermagui - In a Strange Sunset', published by Henry Lawson in "The Bulletin" describes a steamer journey from Bermagui to Sydney. Lawson was probably travelling with the ISNC.

Ports

*Batemans Bay
*Bermagui
*Eden
*Durras Inlet: a minor port. Wasp Head, still called "Mill Point" by local residents, affords an excellent lea from south and south-east winds. A saw mill, where rusted steam boiler still remains, operated at the water's edge, and steamships were able to pull in close to the sandstone shelf to load slings of sawn hardwood. A set of wooden tram tracks ran inland, and timber from other sources could be hauled by horse teams to Mill Point for loading.cite web | last = Moore | first = Dennis | year = 2002 | url = http://www.southcoast.com.au/batemansbay/bassinlet/index.html | title = The Inlet That Eluded Bass, Batemans Bay - South Coast NSW | publisher = Morningside Internet | accessdate = 2006-04-10]
*Kiama: the company built a stores building adjacent to the harbour in 1868.
*Merimbula
*Narooma
*Nelligen
*Tathra: came into existence as a small jetty which served as a shipping outlet for a group of local farmers. Previously the nearest port had been Merimbula 25 km away and one of the farmers, Daniel Gowing, had offered a financial reward to anyone willing to ship produce to a point further north. The jetty was replaced in 1861-62 by a wharf which was erected out of funds donated by local farmers and the shipping company. Regular shipping commenced in 1862.
*Ulladulla: A wooden jetty was built in 1859 so as to retain the services of the ISCSNC; the company had informed the farmers that would not call again at Ulladulla unless better mooring facilities were provided. After seven years the jetty was replaced by a stone pier built by the government on the natural reef. The company built a store on the harbour foreshores for the receiving of produce for shipment to and from Sydney.cite web | last = Dunn | first = Cathy | year = 1999 | url = http://www.ulladulla.info/history/harbour.html | title = Ulladulla Harbour | work = Local History of Milton Ulladulla | publisher = www.ulladulla.info | accessdate = 2006-04-10] There was a weekly cargo service to Ulladulla until the mid 1950s.
*Wollongong

Ships

* "Allowrie": listed as being part of the fleet in 1905 as having a twin screw and being 503 tons. Among other ports she serviced Nelligan on the Clyde River. [ [http://libapp.sl.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/spydus/FULL/PM/FULL1/162/188624,1 Image of the SS Allowrie on a mudbank on the Clyde River near Nelligan in 1908 - State Library of NSW] ]
* "Bega": built of steel in 1883 in Greenock Scotland. A twin screw steamer powered by a compound 98hp engine; 567-tons, 57.7m-long. Capsized off Bunga Head/ off Tanja Beach, between Tathra and Bermagui, on 5 April 1908. The "Bega" was transporting stock for exhibition at the Sydney Royal Easter Show. When she departed, the "Bega" was laden to capacity with 38 passengers and 12 crew, livestock including pigs, and a number of bulls and horses. There are also rumours that there was a consignment of gold. There was a list when she set off, and when the list became more pronounced she attempted returning to port — but capsized before reaching safety. The stock swam to shore, but one passenger died when being transferred to a liferaft.cite web | last = Gleeson | first = Max | year = 2006 | url= http://www.afloat.com.au/www/79/1001224/displayarticle/1004235.html | title = The wreck of the "Bega" | publisher = Afloat Magazine | accessdate = 2006-04-10] cite web | url = http://maritime.heritage.nsw.gov.au/public/welcome.cfm | title = Maritime Heritage Online | publisher = NSW Government | accessdate = 2006-04-11] She was listed as being part of the fleet in 1905 as having a twin screw and being 692 tons.
* "Benandra": 345-ton 39.62m long wooden screw steamer transported cargo. It was powered by a compound 20hp engine. The "Benandra" was built in Balmain, Sydney Harbour, by Morrison and Sinclair in 1914. It was lost on 25 March 1924 when it hit the sandspit near the bar of the Moruya River at Moruya Heads. At least 1 person died. [cite web | url = http://maritime.heritage.nsw.gov.au/public/Site_View.cfm?Site_ID=1818 | title = "Benandra" | work = Maritime Heritage Online | publisher = NSW Department of Planning - Heritage Office | accessdate = 2006-12-18]
* "Bergalia": the last coastal freighter to sail from Batemans Bay, loaded with hardwood railway sleepers in April 1957.
* "Blackwall": a 66 ton wooden screw steamer built by Rock Davis at Brisbane Water, NSW in 1874. steamer was wrecked when the anchor dragged on Shellharbour Reef on the 20/7/1876, eventually refloated. Her Master at the time was W.D. Thompson. [cite web | url = http://maritime.heritage.nsw.gov.au/public/Site_View.cfm?Site_ID=1839 | title = "Blackwall" | work = Maritime Heritage Online | publisher = NSW Department of Planning - Heritage Office | accessdate = 2006-12-18]
* "Bodalla": a wooden screw steamer of 345 gross tons and 39.62m in length. It was powered by a compound engine, and built at Balmain in Sydney in 1914 by Norrison and Sinclair. The "Bodalla" was wrecked on 19 January 1924 at Narooma, when it went aground at the entrance to the Wagonga inlet. The master was Captain Jackson. [cite web | url = http://maritime.heritage.nsw.gov.au/public/Site_View.cfm?Site_ID=1844 | title = "Bodalla" | work = Maritime Heritage Online | publisher = NSW Department of Planning - Heritage Office | accessdate = 2006-12-18]
* "Cobargo": the last ship to service Tathra in 1954. Fact|date=February 2008
* "Coolangatta": an 87-ton paddle steamer built in Sydney Harbour in 1865. The vessel had a length of 30.17 metres and a beam of 5.4 metres. The steamer was wrecked in the Crookhaven River on 27 February 1873 when travelling from Terrara to Pig Island, but was eventually refloated. The Master at the time of the wreck was Captain Avis. The "Coolangatta" was eventually broken up at Greenwall Point Jervis Bay in 1880. [cite web | url = http://maritime.heritage.nsw.gov.au/public/Site_View.cfm?Site_ID=1653 | title = "Coolangatta" | work = Maritime Heritage Online | publisher = NSW Department of Planning - Heritage Office | accessdate = 2006-12-18]
*"Duroby": a steel screw steamer 37m in length and built at the Manning River in 1902. The "Duroby" caught fire while at anchor in Double Bay, Sydney in March 1923. [cite web | url = http://maritime.heritage.nsw.gov.au/public/Site_View.cfm?Site_ID=158 | title = "Duroby" | work = Maritime Heritage Online | publisher = NSW Department of Planning - Heritage Office | accessdate = 2006-12-18]
* "Eden": listed as being part of the fleet in 1905 as having a twin screw and being 567 tons. She had been built in 1900 by Russell & Co, Pt Glasgow, Scotland. When the "Merimbula" went ashore in 1928, the "Eden" was brought out of reserve to complete the "Merimbula"'s immediate bookings and was then laid up once more and sold. She was scuttled in 1933. [cite web | url = http://maritime.heritage.nsw.gov.au/public/Site_View.cfm?Site_ID=1603 | title = "Eden" | work = Maritime Heritage Online | publisher = NSW Department of Planning - Heritage Office | accessdate = 2006-12-18]
* "The Hunter": about 1860
* "Illawarra": a paddle steamer commissioned in 1878 and retired in 1908. This ship was the mainstay of the passenger traffic along the south coast. She was listed as being part of the fleet in 1905 as having a paddle and being 522 tons.
* "John Penn": the first screw steamer to operate on the south coast, arriving from New Zealand in 1870 after having been built of iron in 1867. She weigh 199 tons, and was 140 ft long. The "John Penn" was wrecked off Burrewarra Point in a heavy fog and sank near Broulee while being towed to Moruya on 11 November 1879. [ [http://www.michaelorgan.org.au/illart3.htm Landscape Art of the Illawarra Region of New South Wales 1770-1990] ] The late 1860s were a time of great innovation in maritime technology, and the "John Penn" featured some of the latest and most innovative marine steam engines of the time.
* "Kameruka": built in 1880. On 16 October 1897, she struck Pedro's reef near Moruya and sank. After the ship was foundering, ropes were tied to several pigs which were jettisoned overboard. The pigs swam the lines to the beach, enabling everybody to reach safety.
* "Kembla": about 1860
* "Kiama": about 1860
* "Merimbula": ran aground on Whale Point at Currarong, just north of Jervis Bay, while heading south on the night of 27 March 1928. The "Merimbula" was a twin screw steel steamship built by the Ailsa Shipbuilding Company at Troon, Scotland in 1909. She was over 209 feet long and displaced 1111 tons. The Illawarra and South Coast Steam Navigation Company commissioned her following the loss of the SS "Bega" in 1908. She was also rigged as a two masted schooner. The "Merimbula" was largest ship built for the company and was primarily a passenger vessel with some cargo capacity. There was accommodation for 96 First Class passengers and 10 Second Class passengers. She normally did two runs a week on the south coast servicing the ports of Sydney, Bermagui, Tathra, Merimbula and Eden.cite web | last = McFadyen | first = Michael | year = 2000 | url = http://www.michaelmcfadyenscuba.info/viewpage.php?page_id=117 | title = TSS Merimbula | work = Michael McFadyen's Scuba Diving Web Site | publisher = Michael McFadyen | accessdate = 2006-04-10] cite web | year = 2005 | url = http://maritime.heritage.nsw.gov.au/public/documents/wrk_merimbula.htm | title = The ss Merimbula (1909-1928) | format = | work = | publisher = New South Wales Heritage Office | accessdate = 2006-12-18] [cite web | year = | url = http://eied.deh.gov.au/nsd/public/Site_Detail.cfm?F1=1824 | title = "Merimbula" | work = National Shipwreck Database | publisher = | accessdate = 2006-12-18]
* "Moruya" was built by the Caledonian Ship Building Co. in Preston, England in 1906 and sold by the Illawarra Steam Navigation Co. in 1912.
*"Tilba": wrecked near the entrance to Summercloud Bay when the vessel ran onto rocks in November 1912 while on a voyage from Narooma to Wollongong. A 200-ton wooden screw steamer built by James Wright at Coopernook on the Manning River, Northern NSW in 1908. The vessel had a length of 38.4 metres and a beam of 8.1 metres, and was powered by compound engine.

References