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Steam Tug WATTLE is a steam-powered tugboat in Docklands, Melbourne, Australia.
 Steam Tug Wattle undergoing restoration in 2013
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Australia | |
| Name | Wattle |
| Operator | *list error: list item missing markup (help)
(1979-1997)
|
| Builder | Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney |
| Completed | 1933 |
| Status | Undergoing refurbishment |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Tugboat |
| Tonnage | 99 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Length | 75 ft (23 m) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Capacity | 49 passengers (commercial cruises) |
| Crew | 5 minimum |
WATTLE was constructed at Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney, during the Great Depression as a ‘make-work’ project to keep shipyard workers and apprentices employed. Launched in 1933 as CODECO, the ship is of riveted steel construction with welded fuel bunkers, the first time welding technique had been used in an Australian shipyard.
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) took over the ship as a non-commissioned vessel on completion of fit-out, re-named it WATTLE and operated the tug with a civilian crew. WATTLE was used for general harbour duties, to tow small ships and barges and to tow targets for gunnery practice outside Sydney Heads. The ship was also used for de-gaussing experiments to improve defences against magnetic mines.
The RAN decided in 1969 that WATTLE was superfluous to needs and proposed to scrap it. However, a group of steam enthusiasts persuaded the RAN to sell the ship to them and they operated WATTLE as a tourist vessel on Sydney Harbour until 1978. At that time, their other interests e.g. the Sydney Heritage Fleet and the Australian National Maritime Museum, became more important and they disposed of WATTLE by way of a gift to a newly-established body, the Victorian Steamship Association (VSA). VSA towed WATTLE to Melbourne in January 1979.
The period 1979 to 1985 saw WATTLE being restored by VSA volunteers with assistance from the Victorian Government Community Employment Program and the Victorian Economic Development Committee. Fully restored and re-fitted, WATTLE commenced service as a tourist vessel on Port Phillip in 1985. Activities included short cruises, longer charters for weddings, parties, corporate affairs and ashes-scatterings. Six-week stays at Rye over the Christmas-New Year period became regular as did day-long cruises to Portarlington.
Highlights of the next few years included WATTLE leading the Bi-Centennial International Tall Ships Fleet procession from Rye to Station Pier in December1987, being the start-boat for the Petersville Regatta yacht race to Devonport and in March 1988, being part of the welcoming fleet for the First Fleet Re-enactment.
In June 1993, the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) awarded WATTLE a citation which summarises the significance of WATTLE: “The steam tug Wattle is historically, socially and technologically significant at the National level as the only small harbour tug surviving in Australia….”
Bay Steamers Maritime Museum Ltd (BSMM) replaced the Victorian Steamship Association as owners of WATTLE in 1997 when the VSA was extinguished. BSMM continued to operate WATTLE until 2003 - 2004 when survey was withdrawn due to a deteriorated hull condition.
Wattle had several berths around Docklands and the River Yarra over the next few years as BSMM sought finance for repairs. Finally, in 2007, Sorrento Steam, a group of steam enthusiasts, purchased WATTLE from BSMM for $1.00 on the proviso that Sorrento Steam would finance repairs. WATTLE was lifted from the water at South Wharf in 2009 and repairs commenced. In June 2015 WATTLE was lifted back into the water and berthed at North Wharf, Victoria Harbour where further repair and fit-out works by BSMM volunteers continued.
Sorrento Steam donated WATTLE back to BSMM in June 2022 and ceased financial contributions from that date. BSMM launched an appeal for funds and continues with the work of restoration. WATTLE was slipped and repainted early in 2024. Investigations revealed unsuspected corrosion of hull plates which, at June 2024, is being defined prior to repair. Other works of restoration by volunteers continue. To date, volunteers have contributed over 40,000 hours of work since 2007. Together with Steam Tug WARATAH (Sydney) and Steam Tug YELTA (Adelaide), Steam Tug WATTLE is one of the only three remaining Australian-built steam tugs in operation. WATTLE is an important example of Depression-era ship building and the transition of technology occurring at the time.
In popular culture
editThe vessel was used in the highly popular and long-running 1970s and 1980s Channel 10 television serial Prisoner. Prisoner details the lives, struggles and plots of the prisoners and guards ('Screws') in Wentworth detention centre, a high-security women's prison in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
The Wattle, with name proudly displayed on a donut life preserver, was in episodes 641 to 643. The plot line was that trainee officers had arranged for work release for four prisoners at a time, under the captain's instructions and guarded by a senior officer. The idea was to learn ship-maintaining skills and get 'fresh air and sunshine'.
The leader of the female prisoners, 'Top Dog' Rita Collins, plans to use the temporary freedom to kill her rival, a guard called Ferguson, or the Freak. In episode 642 the ship has its inlet valve sabotaged by Rita, who is familiar with all engines and drifts for a time.
There are numerous excellent film shots of the ship – looking as it was at the time in its role as a day cruiser. One particular segment set to music is of value to researching its appearance circa 1985.
References
editExternal links
edit- Webpage:
https://baysteamersmaritimemuseum.org.au/
- The history of the Steam Tug Wattle at the Wayback Machine (archived 27 February 2015)