Manly ferry replacement boats won’t handle high swells, workers claim
The iconic Freshwater Class ferry to Manly may be used in a different capacity after The Daily Telegraph launched a campaign to save the boats.
NSW
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The iconic Freshwater Class ferry is likely to be used to transport tourists and visitors to Manly over summer or the weekend while a smaller faster boat will run commuter services.
Transport Minister Andrew Constance has revealed he has reached a “compromise position” which will be announced later in the week.
However he said the ageing Freshwater Class vessel can’t keep up with commuter demand during the week.
“We’ve got a lot of commuters that need to be serviced by the Emerald class based on travel time and frequency between Manly and Circular Quay,” he said.
“On the other hand, we’ve also got day-trippers who, you know, catch the Sydney ferry out to Manly particularly on a Saturday and Sunday.”
Responding to The Daily Telegraph’s campaign to save the Manly Ferry, Mr Constance said he wanted to “recognise the community expressing their concern” that the Sydney icon could be scrapped, bur said: “we’re dealing with a vessel that is 40 years old”
“We’ve got commuters who are ultimately wanting to see a more frequent service, and at the same time we’re trying to balance the needs between tourists and commuters,” he said.
Mr Constance wouldn’t confirm that the Freshwater class will be kept in service in some capacity.
“Nice try, I’ll answer that later in the week,” he said.
Asked when the decision was made to withdraw the Freshwater Class ferry from commuter service, Transport for NSW Chief Operating Officer Howard Collins said: “I can’t answer that because I certainly wasn’t around at the time. Wait till the minister announces something. It’ll be good”.
The Daily Telegraph on Monday joined the chorus to keep the 1100-passenger Manly ferry and its majestic 30 minute harbour crossing.
Transport officials announced earlier this year a fleet of smaller, faster ferries would be deployed, sparking a backlash from Sydney-siders keen to see their heritage saved from the scrapyards.
The ferries had “reached the end of their shelf life,” Mr Constance had said earlier, while Mr Collins said “they hold a lot of fond memories, however, they cannot run forever and our customers deserve better services.”
Three new 400 passenger Emerald-class catamarans will run on the Manly route, taking 22 minutes each way.
The Daily Telegraph is backing the local council, unions and Sydneysiders keen to see Freshwater ferries retained in some way on the route.
It would bring Sydney into line with world cities like Hong Kong which has kept its iconic Star Ferry in service.
And, for your chance to win a limited edition Daily Telegraph Save the Manly Ferry campaign cap, tell us in 50 words or less why you love the Manly Ferry by emailing news@dailytelegraph.com.au.
“Great harbours of the world are distinguished by their icons … for Sydney Harbour it’s the Harbour Bridge, Opera House and the Freshwater-class Manly ferry,” Sunrise presenter David Koch said.
“And you just don’t muck around with icons. Hong Kong would never change the famous Star Ferry.”
Pub baron Justin Hemmes said the pursuit of “new modern and faster is certainly not always better.”
“There’s something very romantic about the old dame.”
Even the local Liberal MP James Griffin is on board with saving the iconic ferry.
If the Freshwater-class ferry is replaced with the smaller faster alternative, the government is set to save $6 million per year.
But concerns with the newer vessels that are set to operate on the route have added to the calls to save the existing ferries, amid fears the Emerald-class boats won’t handle large swells, potentially disrupting services.
The current Manly ferry has no official limit on what waves it can handle. Unions and ferry workers say it can comfortably handle swells larger than 6m without causing passenger discomfort.
The Emerald-class is designed for heights of up to 4.5m.
Australian Maritime Officers Union representative Martin McEvilly believed running the new Emerald class in 4.5m swells would potentially be “bordering on unsafe”.
The 1100-person Freshwater ferries support an influx of visitors spending more than $500m in the Manly area, something the Northern Beaches council has declared is “critical” for the local economy.
The council’s 2020 Visitor Survey found that more than half of visitors to Manly travelled by the Freshwater ferry, and the ferry trip itself was the fourth most popular reason to visit Manly.
There were 2.8 million visitors to Manly in 2019, according to Destination NSW data.
Northern Beaches council Deputy Mayor Candy Bingham said the Freshwater-class ferry was vital to the economy.
“Ninety-eight per cent of day-trippers and tourists visit Manly by the Freshwater ferry,” she said.
“When you look at the economic value, the tourism value, and the fact that these ferries are absolutely iconic to Sydney, (the saving) is a pittance compared to the money that‘s spent generally on public transport,” Ms Bingham said.
Manly locals Mike and Karina Armstrong declared their love for the older ferries yesterday.
Their grandchildren love riding the ferry with them.
Ms Armstrong has been using the ferry for 50 years.
She said her granddaughter once told her: “living in Manly is like being on a permanent holiday” in part because of the iconic ferry rides.
Sydney not as merry without the big ferry
It is hard to imagine Sydney Harbour without its ferries.
The Sydney ferry is as much an icon of the Harbour City as the Opera House, Fort Denison and Bondi Beach.
The excitement of taking my first ferry ride from Circular Quay to Manly as a young kid sits with me today, my mind blown as the giant green and gold watercraft docked at the wharf and that giddy feeling of ‘walking the plank’ to get on board the vessel.
For me, it was a once in a blue moon treat, a thing of dreams as it stoicly and triumphantly pushed across the harbour, no matter what the weather — rain, hail or shine.
Later, as I got older, seeing the Sydney ferry as you fly in over the harbour on an international flight symbolised coming home.
A glimpse out the train window or from the car crossing the Harbour Bridge, walking Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, she has been a constant my whole life, an old dame traversing the harbour day in and day out. I have long envied those that got to commute to their daily jobs on the Manly Ferry. What a way to start and finish the day.
To think future generations of Sydney-siders will miss out on that is a great shame.
Television presenter Kerri-Anne Kennerley agrees.
“From one old workhorse to another, older beauty and elegance should never be discounted,” she said.
Reckless to ditch dame, says James Reyne
He immortalised the Manly Ferry in song in 1983, now Australian Crawl star James Reyne has thrown his weight behind keeping the vessel in service.
The Manly Ferry inspired lyrics in the band’s hit song ‘Reckless,’ when Reyne saw the vessel glide past as he was sitting on the grass playing chords.
He was shocked at talk they could be retired.
“My absolute instinctive reaction was: ‘are you serious, why?’” he said when contacted by The Daily Telegraph.
Reyne said instead of wanting to get between the city and Manly faster, people should “sit back and enjoy the ferry ride”.
“How much faster do we have to get in our lives?”
Win a Save The Manly Ferry campaign cap
Terms and conditions
In 50 words or less tell us why you love the Manly Ferry, about your best experience on board or why you want the old workhorses of the harbour saved. Email news@dailytelegraph.com.au by 7pm on November 24 for your chance to win a limited edition Daily Telegraph Save the Manly Ferry campaign cap. Winning entries will be published in The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday, November 25.
Entries open at midnight and close at 7pm on November 24.
Residents aged 18 years and over only. Winner[s] determined at 8pm on November 24 at 2 Holt St, Surry Hills, 2010.
Winners’ name[s] will be published in The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday, November 25.
Total prize pool valued at $300.
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