Rosman Ferries was founded by Charles Rosman in 1916, when he launched a ferry service between
Balmain,
North Sydney and
Garden Island carrying dockyard workers to the
Royal Australian Navy base. This service ran until 1981. Rosman Ferries also provided transportation for workers from Balmain to the
Harbour Bridge during its construction in the late 1920s and early 1930s as well as spectator ferries for the
Sydney Flying Squadron 18-foot skiff races. The spectator ferries were periodically raided by the Gaming Squad on suspicion of harbouring illegal gambling activities. In February 1938, the Rosman ferry
Rodney capsized and sank with the loss of 19 lives whilst on a charter to farewell the
USS Louisville from Sydney Harbour. An inquest found that there had been over 100 passengers on the top deck and Charles Rosman, owner and skipper on the day, was found to be negligent. In 1987, Rosman retired and sold the business to Steve and Frank Matthews and Ross and Neva Williams. In 1997, the Matthews' bought out the Williams' shareholding and in 2008 sold the business to Sean Langman’s Noakes Group in 2008 who relocated it after 70 years from
Mosman Bay to
Berrys Bay. ==Fleet==