Lady Ferguson

In common with most Sydney Harbour ferries at the time, Lady Ferguson and her four sisters were wooden double-ended screw steamers. The five ferries had only a single propeller at one end that pushed the vessels in one direction and pulled them in the other. The configuration contrasted with the double-ended K-class ferries of Sydney Ferries Limited, which had a continuous propeller shaft and a screw at each end. This feature was introduced by the ferry's designer, Walter Reeks, on a previous Balmain company ferry, Lady Rawson of 1906. With the construction of a Sydney Harbour Bridge seeming likely, she and her four sisters were designed for a maximum of fifteen years of life. Instead, she would go on operating on the harbour until 1979 with her four sisters having similarly long or even longer careers. Because they were to have a limited lifespan, they were lightly built and almost austere in their fittings, such as roofs of galvanised iron. They were relatively small and had a veed shape and shallow draft to navigate the muddy and silted upper reaches of their upstream runs. Her original engines were 24 hp (nominal) compound steam engines by McKie and Baxter which pushed her to 11 knots. ==Service history==

From 1900, the Balmain New Ferry Company began a period of expansion to keep up and compete with the tram network expanding into what is now referred to as Sydney's Inner West. Older ferries were sold off including several series of "Lady-class" ferries were introduced. Lady Ferguson was the last of five in the Balmain company's final series of "Lady-class" ferries, the others being Ladies Chelmsford (1910), Denman (1912), Edeline (1913), and Scott (1914). This series was introduced to replace the single-ended ferries on the Lane Cove River service. They also worked on the run from Balmain to Erskine Street wharf (at site of current Barangaroo). Lady Ferguson, and the rest of the Balmain fleet, were bought by Sydney Ferries Limited as part of its take over of the Balmain company on 1 March 1918. However, after World War 2, the drop in demand for ferry services increased. In 1951, annual patronage dropped to 9 million and the NSW State Government took over Sydney Ferries Limited and its remaining fleet and assets. The Port Jackson and Manly Steamship Company, which ran the Manly service, was paid to run the services. The services and fleet were quickly rationalised with most of the larger remaining timber K-class steamers being decommissioned. However, the five relatively small and economical "Lady-class" ferries were retained. Throughout the remainder of the 1950s and into the 1960s, they became the back-bone of Sydney Harbour's non-Manly ferry fleet, along with Karingal and Karrabee the smallest of the K-class ferries. Their routes were expanded to all inner-harbour (ie, non-Manly) services including Taronga Park Zoo, Milsons Point, Cremorne and Hunters Hill. The five sister ferries (except Lady Scott) were re-engined again in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Lady Ferguson received a 4-cylinder 300 bhp Crossley Brothers diesel that pushed her to 10 knots. In the 1960s the Board updated all their ferries' 1930s green and gold livery to a more muted cream and khaki scheme. ==Demise==

'' boarded up ready for the trip to Hobart, 1975 Lady Ferguson was used as a relief vessel from 1963. In the 1970s, the fleet were painted in the Public Transport Commission's blue and white scheme, except for Lady Ferguson who was the last ferry to wear the green and cream. By the 1970s, her condition was deteriorating and she was set aside for disposal in 1974. She was towed to Hobart with Kosciusko in 1975 to assist following the collapse of the Tasman Bridge, however, upon arrival she was found to be in too poor condition to be used. She was broken up in 1977 in Hobart. As for ''Lady Ferguson's four sister vessels, Lady Chelmsford, the first built of the five, was sold in 1969 and rebuilt as a show boat in Adelaide. She was sold to Melbourne interests in 1985 where she was used as a cruise boat. She sank at her moorings in 2008 and was broken up in 2011. Lady Scott was sold out of ferry service in 1969 and used as a cruise ferry. A 1972 fire destroyed her superstructure and she was rebuilt as the John Cadman and undertook a successful career as a cruise boat before being sold in 2000s and falling into disrepair and broken up in 2014. Lady Denman was pulled from ferry service in 1979 following the introduction that year of the new Lady Street. She is now on permanent land display at Huskisson on the New South Wales south coast. Lady Edeline was the longest serving as a Sydney ferry being decommissioned in 1984 with the remaining wooden K-class ferries following the Karrabee's sinking earlier that year. She was laid up on the Parramatta River and sank into the mud in 1988. Of the original five, only Lady Denman'' is extant. ==See also==