The 96 fascinating years of a vessel plying waters from Pittwater to the Yarra River

The incredible 96-year life of the oldest passenger vessel in Australia, which is currently operating on Melbourne’s Yarra River.

Grower on the Yarra River in 2003. Courtesy Hamish Turner

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It began life carrying passengers and produce from market gardens around Brisbane Water and is now the oldest passenger vessel operating on Melbourne’s Yarra River.

But for part of its 96-year life, the Grower was a familiar sight at the southern end of Pittwater as a passenger ferry between Church Point, Scotland Island and the communities on the western foreshore.

Grower with driver and passenger. Courtesy Gwen Dundon

The Grower was built at the Palermo dockyard on Cockle Creek in Brisbane Water by boatbuilder Gordon Beattie, whose father Edward established the Palermo dockyard about 1874.

The 11.8m Grower was built in 1924 for the Kincumber Growers’ Co-operative Company Ltd and was launched on September 29 that year.

The co-operative had been established in 1921 because growers around Brisbane Water were unhappy with the existing ferry service between Kincumber and the railway at Woy Woy.

The Grower was built as a well-deck ferry, meaning its deck was below water level, and was carvel-planked with New Zealand kauri.

The Grower serviced the route between Woy Woy and Kincumber Creek, stopping at various wharves along the way, and worked in conjunction with the co-operative’s other main vessel, the Kin-Gro, which was built by Gordon Beattie in 1927.

Grower in Kincumber Creek c1924. Courtesy Joyce Langford

The Grower remained in the possession of the growers’ co-operative until the co-op folded in June 1944, after which it was taken to Sydney and operated by S.G. White & Co as a ferry for workers between Balmain and Cockatoo Island.

The Grower was later bought by the Western Shores and Scotland Island Co-operative Society, trading as Pittwater Ferries Pty Ltd, which also operated the ferries Helen and Promote in opposition to the similarly-named Scotland Island and Western Shores Ferry Service, which was owned by Laurie Duff, who operated the Wagstaff, Curlew and Elvina.

Grower (at right) at Woy Woy in the 1930s. Courtesy Gwen Dundon

Both companies operated the same routes and charged similar fares and the dispute over the similarity of the company’s names spilled into the media.

And, like most ferries, the Grower had its ups and downs, including running aground in Elvina Bay in October 1974.

Grower aground in Elvina Bay in October 1974. Photo Manly Daily

No one was hurt and the boat was not damaged but pride was certainly wounded.

But it wasn’t long before the Grower was off on its next adventure, this time on Middle Harbour.

In 1978 the Grower was bought by Bob Walton and Harry Major and went to work in early 1979 as a ferry licensed to carry 40 passengers on Middle Harbour under the new name Balmoral Belle, based at the well-known Walton’s Boatshed at Balmoral.

In 1986, the Balmoral Belle was bought by Laurie Duff, against whom the ferry had competed on Pittwater under its previous name, Grower, only now Duff was living on the far north coast operating Clarence River Ferries and wanted to use it for the short run across the mouth of the Clarence River between Yamba and Iluka.

Grower aground in Elvina Bay in October 1974. Photo Manly Daily

Duff renamed the ferry Grower and operated it until 2002, when it was purchased by Warwick Turner and his son Hamish.

Turner senior was the principal founder in 1965 of what is now called the Sydney Heritage Fleet, which has restored several vessels, including the vice-regal steam launch Lady Hopetoun, the steam tug Waratah, the barque James Craig and is now restoring the pilot steamer John Oxley.

Warwick and Hamish Turner arranged for the Grower to be trucked to Melbourne, where it was restored before being put into service as a tourist ferry on the Yarra River in Melbourne, one of two ferries currently operated by Classic Steamboat Cruises.

After 96 years in the water, the Grower is a rare example of the numerous well-deck ferries that once operated in many places around Australia.