CHAPTER 4/ 9
PORTS OF CALL
In the wake of the 1900 bubonic plague outbreak, all structures stretching back some distance from Sydney Harbour were destroyed. This photograph apparently shows the ISN Co’s facility at the Phoenix Wharf during demolition. Company offices were relocated to a temporary berth on board the cargo ship Otway at Darling Harbour, where staff carried on in often trying circumstances.
Image courtesy of the NSW State Archives and Records Collection.
When the ISN Co was formed in 1858, ports included Sydney, Wollongong, Shoalhaven, Kiama, Merimbula and Twofold Bay. By 1866, weekly services ran to all major South Coast harbours between Sydney and Eden.
In the early years, facilities at many places were completely lacking. At Ulladulla, cargo was lightered off the beach out to waiting steamers. On the Crookhaven and Shoalhaven Rivers, cargo and passengers were transferred via droghers at Greenwell Point, the furthest the paddle steamer Illawarra could reach. It wasn’t until 1904 that a passage was finally cleared, allowing the first large steamer Allowrie to reach Nowra.
Wharfage often developed in response to fleet requirements, with ports added or dropped as demand dictated. The settlement of Nelligen on the western banks of the Clyde River was founded in 1854 in answer to the need for a link between the tablelands and Sydney. By 1856, a road to Braidwood was completed and the port was a regular destination for the ISN Co. In 1861, the Farmer’s Sea Wharf was built on the northern side of Tathra Head, replacing offshore anchorages at Kangarutha, Kianniny Bay, Tathra Beach and Moon Bay. The following year, a new Tathra wharf was built directly over it.
The Narooma service was reactivated in the 1880s as timber industry trade increased, while Moruya and Wagonga were added in response to gold rush activity. At Gerringong, however, passengers preferred the horse van service to connect with steamers at Kiama, with activity declining further as the railway expanded.
Sand bars at many river entrances created issues, particularly for deeper draught vessels. To avoid grounding or wrecking ships, attention had to be paid to shifting shoals and changing currents so experienced Captains tried to time arrivals at problem spots with high tide. At Merimbula, the wharf and company sheds were originally located in the lake, and although shallow draught ships such as the Hunter, John Penn and Monaro had little problem crossing the bar, shifting sands and increasing vessel size meant many others had to anchor outside with a drogher transhipping cargo and passengers. In 1901, the NSW government finally funded a steamer wharf on Long Point to avoid the bar, but, exposed to southerly and south-westerly weather, it could still be nasty to bring large steamers alongside.
Small steamers were the most the Moruya bar could handle and by 1912 it was considered so dangerous that the company landed passengers at Batemans Bay, with a motor car service running between the towns. The 345-ton Bodalla ran aground at the entrance of Wagonga Inlet and was wrecked in 1924; while at Tuross, the bar was so bad that company ships were serviced by barges towed out to the steamers. At other open bay ports like Kioloa Beach, Pebbly Beach and Bawley Point, cargoes were hauled by wire through the surf to the ship.
When company ships were forced to await tide changes, passengers and crew often dropped a line in. This haul was caught on SS Benandra outside Narooma.
Image courtesy of Annette Evelyn.
SS Eden at Ulladulla Wharf. When the company advised the locals it would no longer call unless better facilities were provided, a wooden jetty was built in 1859 before being replaced seven years later by the stone pier pictured.
Image courtesy of Annette Evelyn.
SS Merimbula at Tathra wharf. Described as one of the riskiest but most picturesque wharves in eastern Australia, it was exposed to great swells, but was the only suitable deep-water landing spot between Merimbula and Bermagui. The punishingly steep incline of the road to and from the spot also required the use of brakes all the way down and extra animals to haul fully laden wagons back up.
Image courtesy of Annette Evelyn.
The ISCSN Co.’s 1905 service schedule.
Courtesy of the George Family Collection.