Baragoola at Balls Head Bay in June 2011
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History | |
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Name: |
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Owner: | Baragoola Preservation Association Incorporated |
Operator: | |
Port of registry: | Sydney |
Route: | Manly |
Builder: | Mort's Dock |
Cost: | £72,000 |
Yard number: | 41 |
Launched: | 14 February 1922 |
Maiden voyage: | 3 September 1922 |
Out of service: | 8 January 1983 |
Identification: | IMO number: 5036145 |
Status: | Under restoration |
General characteristics | |
Tonnage: | 498 tonnes |
Length: | 60.92 metres |
Beam: | 10.30 metres |
Draught: | 3.75 metres |
Decks: | 2 |
Installed power: | 4 × English Electric 7SKM diesels |
Speed: | 16 knots |
Capacity: | 1,523 |
Crew: | 11 (as SS), 7 (as MV) |
The MV Baragoola (formerly the SS Baragoola) is a ferry operated by the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company and its successors on the Manly service from 1922 until 1983.
Baragoola was built by Mort's Dock, Balmain for the Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company. Launched in 1922, it was the sixth and final Binngarra type vessel.
Baragoola had was involved with a number of collisions while in service. The first occurred on Christmas Eve 1926 off Kirribilli Point when she collided with the Sydney Ferries Limited's Kosciusko. On 12 September 1927 Baragoola ran down a lifeboat from the French steamer Ville D'Amiens, five people were thrown out of the lifeboat, one of whom was later hospitalised. The people were rescued by two fishing trawlers in the vicinity and the lifeboat was severely damaged. On 28 August 1934 Baragoola struck and killed a whale. The event garnered media interest when the disposal of the corpse took nine days and multiple attempts.
Like her sisters, Bellubera and Barrenjoey, she was modified in the early 1930s with a closed upper deck, thus improving passenger amenities. She was also subject to an experiment at the same time where she was modified to run on pulverised coal; this was stopped when it was discovered that the vessel and passengers were being showered in coal dust.
She was then the first of the fleet to be modified to burn bunker oil and coal tar; between 8 March and 3 August 1939 Baragoola was altered to an oil burner using tar under natural draught, like the Curl Curl, Dee Why and South Steyne. Propellers of improved design were also fitted at this time. Other modifications included in 1948 the removal of her chain operated steering gear that were replaced with Brown Brothers (later known as Vickers) hydraulic equipment. In 1958, it was withdrawn for a rebuild by which included the replacement of its steam engines with English Electric 7SKM diesel-electric engines. It returned to service in 1961.