| Career | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Balgowlah |
| Owner: | 1912—1951: The Port Jackson and Manly Steamship Company Limited |
| Operator: | 1912—1951: The Port Jackson and Manly Steamship Company Limited |
| Port of registry: | 1912-1951: Sydney, Australia |
| Route: | 1922—1983: Circular Quay-Manly |
| Ordered: | 1910 |
| Builder: | Mort's Dockyard and Engineering Company Limited, Balmain, New South Wales |
| Cost: | Twenty Six Thousand pounds |
| Christened: | 18 June 1912 |
| In service: | 1912 |
| Out of service: | 1951 |
| Identification: | O/N 131538 |
| Fate: | Retired |
| Status: | Scuttled |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Binngarra class ferry |
| Tonnage: | 499 GT (gross tonnage) |
| Length: | 64.00 m (210 ft 0 in) |
| Beam: | 10.00 m (33 ft) |
| Draught: | 3.75 m (12 ft 4 in) |
| Decks: | 2 |
| Speed: | 15 kn (27.78 km/h) maximum speed |
| Capacity: | 1528 passengers |
Balgowlah was ferry constructed for the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company, and launched by Mort's Dock and Engineering Company, Woolwich Dock on 18 June 1912 for the Sydney to Manly run.[1] She was one of the so-called 'B Class' ferries consisting of the Barrenjoey, Baragoola, Burra Bra, Bellubera, and Binngarra.
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She was identical ship to her sister Bellubera, and she was the last coal burner in the fleet. She cost 29,000 pounds to be built and was capable of carrying 1,528 passengers (highest capacity of this class) and made over 110,000 return trips to Manly during her career. She was the fastest of this class of vessel, making the normally 30 minute run in only 25 minutes. This class of ship came to epitomise the classic Manly ferry and they were among the largest ships built in Australia at this time.
Unlike some of her sister ships, she had a relatively uneventful life - shortly after going into service in 1912, she tangled with the collier Five Islands and caught herself in that ship's anchor chain. Fortunately, no damage was done. In 1927, she collided with the Sydney Ferries vessel Kanimbla at Bennelong Point. Balgowlah came off with very minor damage, while Kanimbla had a huge gash torn in her side and came close to sinking. In 1929, she collided with the collier Birchrove Park, only minimal damage was done to both ships.
She scraped into the Sydney Ferries vessel Kangaroo in 1913 (ironically, Kangaroo would rescue Kanimbla’s passengers in 1927). Also in 1927, she collided with the Union Steamship Company's Manuka, losing around 10 feet (3.0 m) of her sponson.[2] The only other noteworthy event was in 1939 when she overshot the wharf at Circular Quay and went aground in soft mud. Although she ripped through the buffer stop, no damage was done to her. It took two tugs to pull her free.
During the 1930s, the top deck of the Balgowlah was glassed in and the wheelhouse extended for crew accommodation. In 1946 it was decided that Balgowlah and Barrenjoey would be converted to diesel. Barrenjoey was first, and re-emerged in 1951 as North Head. However, Balgowlah was never converted; the cost of converting North Head had left the company in grave financial circumstances and they could not afford the cost of reconditioning her hull. She made her last trip at 8:05 am to Manly on 27 February 1951 and was then laid up.
After being laid up since 1951, she was sold to Sylvester Stride, Leichhardt in 1953 for breaking up. Her hull was cut down and converted to a lighter, and used in the demolition of the old Iron Cove Bridge. She was allegedly scuttled nearby.
Of this class, only Baragoola remains on the harbour, tied up at Balls Head. North Head is in Cairns.