It is not known when the first jetty at Mends Street was built, however, with the opening of the
Perth Zoo in October 1898 it was recognised that a regular cross-river ferry service was needed. Therefore, at about that time, the existing jetty was widened to and an existing service that ran between
William Street and Queen Street Jetty was extended to Mends Street. The service was run by Joseph Charles, who operated the
Queen (later
Empress) and the
Princess. A few months later, Charles and his partner
Copley started operating the
PS Duchess, a locally constructed vessel.
Duchess made its inaugural run to Mends Street Jetty on 11 December 1898, and plied the route for the following 29 years. Later services included a business, the
Swan River Ferry company, operated by Jack Olsen and Claes Sutton, who ran a fleet including the
Valfreda Valkyrie I and
II,
Valhalla and the
Valdhana between jetties at
Point Belches near
The Narrows, Mends Street and
Coode Street. In 2023 the jetty was extended and modernised for better accessibility, and the extension floats on the water to match the height of the ferry entrance instead of a fixed platform. ==Services==