Perfect day for paddling along the Mighty Murray. Blue, blue sky, sunshine and 28 degrees! Perfect!
We boarded the P S Melbourne and settled in to enjoy the the morning reliving the sights and sounds of the pioneering days on the Murray. P S Melbourne is a special old girl - she is 100 this year and is the only one of the original paddle steamers "steaming" and "paddling" the Murray at Mildura with her original engine. Originally built for the Victorian Government as a work boat in 1912, she was restored as a passenger carrying steamer in 1965. She has seen 45 years continuous cruise service at Mildura. She must have a lot of "Murray" stories to tell!!!
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| Glorious morning on the river bank at Mildura |
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| The lovely old lady waiting at the wharf to start her working day. |
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The Black Swans came to farewell us - or was it to see if we had any food for them? The latter I suspect lol
Beautiful birds! |
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| Off we go! |
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| The original engine and boiler is fired with wood |
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| The all important Paddle |
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| The P S Melbourne's story |
Some great historic snapshots of Melbourne's life........................
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Pete looking very relaxed and listening to the informative commentary as we paddlesteam along the river
Loved the deck chairs! |
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| Our Captain and commentator - excellent job! |
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Another old paddle steamer, The "Avoca" moored on the river bank,
She is "For Sale", after having a good life here in Mildura hosting many functions on the river |
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The Weir at Mildura.
It is the only removable weir on the river. It sits on a railway line and can be dragged out of the river in times of floods
and/or high water.
The weirs play a very important role on the river, ensuring that the Murray never runs dry. |
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Because of the flooding at the moment the level of the river on the other side of the weir is 1.5 metres below this side,
normally it is about 3 metres |
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| The Melbourne heads up the man made canal to Lock 11 |
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| Pete still relaxing! :) |
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| We are locked into the lock! |
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We are joined by a houseboat.
The Lock can take multiple vessels. All vessels must book in with the Lock Master for a time to pass through the lock |
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"The appearance of the River Murray flag is a matter of speculation, but it is generally accepted to comprise the Union Jack in the top left and the cross of St George in the top right with five white stars, representing the five Australian colonies, on the red of the cross. Below are four blue and four white horizontal stripes. It has been speculated that the four blue stripes represent the four rivers that make up the Murray-Darling system, the Murray, Darling, Lachlan and Murrumbidgee. Today two flags are common - the Upper Murray flag and the Lower Murray flag. The blue bars of the Upper Murray flag are dark blue, representing the dark waters of that part of the river and those of the Lower Murray flag are pale blue, representing the blue, grey water of the lower reaches.
The origins of the River Murray flag are unclear, but it may have been in existence as early as 1850 when RW Beddome, founder of the River Murray League, enthused "Up with the Murray flag." An early recorded use of the River Murray flag was in March 1853 when the Randell family took one of the first steamers, the Mary Ann, down the Murray. The River Murray flag was hoisted on their arrival at Goolwa." State Library,SA
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| The flag pole proudly flies the Murray Flag at Lock 11, as well as displaying the river's flood levels |
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| We are ready to be lowered - everyone was hanging over the side watching the water line |
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| The water is let out of the lock...lower.......lower........ |
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| 1.5metres of water gone! Got to be make sure you leave plenty of slack in the tie up rope! |
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| We are now level with the river on the other side and the lock opens at the other end |
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Off we go again! Very practical system!
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Loved all the bird life that call the river home.........
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| The Pied Heron |
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Whistling Kites
It is believed when many kites (like there are now) come to roost on Lock Island
then the river level is going to remain high |
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A Kites nest.
The kite always uses the same nest, and the young only ever go within 2 kilometres of where they were born. |
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| The Cormorants getting a birds eye view of the fish! |
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| Drying out! |
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The Weir viewed from the other side - the Melbourne circled Lock Island so we could clearly see the different
river levels |
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| The levy bank built along the NSW side of the river |
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| Apex Park, a lovely picnic area and a popular swimming and boating spot for the Mildueans and holiday makers. |
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A nice beach here and home to the Mildura Surf Life Saving Club, one of Australis's strongest inland lifesaving clubs.
There is normally a much bigger sand spit here when the river is at its normal level
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| Back into the Lock and it fills up with water |
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Back to the Wharf after a most enjoyable cruise on the Murray in a legend! -The P S Melbourne
HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY! |
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