Woman, 87, sings song about Manly ferries amid speculation they could be ‘phased out’

Meet the 87-year-old woman who is leading a chorus of support to retain the iconic Manly ferries — and she is doing it with a song she wrote about the vessels amid speculation they could be ‘phased out’. See the video of her singing.

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Meet the 87-year-old woman who is leading a chorus of support to retain the iconic Manly ferries.

Pippa Johnson is so fond of the vessels that in the 1980s, when she lived in Manly, it prompted her to write a song about them, which was recorded last year.

One of the iconic Manly ferries. Picture: Ross Shultz.

The voice behind Seven Miles from Sydney said she was devastated to learn that the fleet of Freshwater class ferries could be taken off the Circular Quay-Manly route as early as next year.

Pippa Johnson singing her song about the ferries.

“It makes me feel very sad," Mrs Johnson, who now lives in Darlinghurst, said.

“They have done so much good... the people who work on them are really good and it’s a different atmosphere than anywhere else you go that has ferries.”

Mrs Johnson said she “could write a book about the experiences” she had riding the ferry when she was younger.

She recalls going across the Sydney heads in foggy weather, a day where the weather was so bad that everybody was sea sick except for her, and, of course, the memorable scenery.

On one occasion Mrs Johnson said she was lucky enough to go right to the top of one of the ferries to see the moon reflecting off the Harbour Bridge.

“It left us stunned at the sight — it was absolutely beautiful,” she said.

Crowds of people line up to catch one of the Manly ferries. Picture: Toby Zerna

Transport for NSW authorities told the Manly Daily earlier this month that Emerald Class ferries — which are substantially smaller that the current Freshwater class fleet — could be operating the Manly route by 2020.

Despite ferry staff being told last month that the world-famous Manly ferries were set to be “phased out” during the life of the current nine-year Harbour City Ferries contract, Transport for NSW said no decision has been made on the future of the vessels.