Daisy and the Carpenter
There’s something going on! What’s all this business about young enthusiastic people repurposing old wooden boats to give them a second life. Last week a Pizzeria, this week a home!
From Our ABC here’s the story of the paddle steamer DAISY.
PS Daisy to become a home and now the oldest paddle-steamer in South Australia
By Amelia Walters
A 22-year-old has purchased what is now the oldest steam-powered paddleboat in South Australia.
Luke Carpenter says he is one of a handful of young people who are interested in paddle-steamers. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)
He hopes it will save him money on housing as well as satisfying his interest in Australia's inland shipping history.
When it recently crossed the border from New South Wales the 129-year-old PS Daisy became the oldest steam-powered paddleboat in South Australia, knocking the PS Marion off its mantle by 12 months.
"Explaining to people that it's my boat they can't quite work it out," said owner Luke Carpenter.
It is the first time in more than a century that the PS Daisy has travelled to the Riverland. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)
"My girlfriend said she would look for a house and I would look for a boat, but then she realised houses are expensive and maybe we should just live on the boat.
"Houses are well and good, but you can't move your house, can you?"
The PS Daisy is making its way down to Mannum where it will undergo further restoration. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)
Long journey on river
Mr Carpenter, a shipwright and marine engineer, has almost completed a 700-kilometre journey on the PS Daisy from the NSW town of Wentworth to the South Australian town of Mannum, joined by three close friends and family members.
He has a permit from the Mid Murray Council to moor it in Mannum.
"When I was a kid I vowed to myself to never own a paddleboat that was wood and steam [as] both are a lot of work. [But] now I've just gone and done it," he said.
"They're just a really traditional way to travel the river. You see these old boats and they just suit the river a lot more than these modern boats."
The vessel has one vertical boiler dating back to about 1880 that gets up to 150 degrees Celsius. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)
Alongside his good friend and local historian Jackson Wickham, Mr Carpenter has been recreating old photographs of where the PS Daisy once travelled to as they navigate the South Australian stretch of the River Murray.
"We don't have any proof that she's even been below Morgan, ever," Mr Carpenter said.
The last time the PS Daisy was photographed in the Riverland town of Renmark appears to have been in 1909.
Daisy's difficult life
While the history of the PS Daisy is still being retraced, Mr Carpenter understands he is now the seventh owner of the vessel since it was built in Echuca in 1896 by J Jolley.
Mr Wickham has been attempting to gain further insights about the boat's history, posting about the group's adventures on social media in the hopes of learning more.
The PS Daisy spent a lot of time up along the Darling River in the early 1900s. (Supplied: State Library of South Australia)
He said he has learnt a lot through the online paddle-steamer community.
"Everyone that sees it along the sides of the river are all waving and taking photos and getting in contact with us on Facebook and that sort of thing, We've even had family members of previous owners reach out to us."
Jackson Wickham says social media helps keep the community interested in paddle-steamers connected. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)
PS Daisy was initially used as a floating general store, carrying amenities to remote settlements.
By 1948, it had sunk on the Murray at Red Cliffs in Victoria where it spent a good portion of its life under the murky water of the river.
Jackson Wickham says the PS Daisy travelled from Menindee to Mildura in 1945 under new ownership. (Supplied: State Library of South Australia)
An attempt to raise the PS Daisy took place in 1980, but it sank overnight and remained underwater for another 21 years.
Andrew Cook exhumed the PS Daisy in 2001 and decided to give it a second chance at navigating the mighty Murray once more.
After 13 years of restoration at Lock 9, the PS Daisy was successfully restored to her original 1909 self and was up and running once again.
The four men have been living aboard in swags since departing Wentworth and have had no electricity or cooling. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)
Restoring History
Mr Carpenter will continue restorations on his new pride and joy once he reaches Mannum in the coming days.
It will include a new galley and sleeping quarters for him and his girlfriend.
The red trim of the PS Daisy is 112 years old, taken from the PS Melbourne. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)
He hopes the PS Daisy is the start of a new legacy for his family, which can be passed on for generations to come.
"Hopefully she'll outlive me and then my kids, and their grandkids will have to start fixing it up again,"
Mr Wickham and Mr Carpenter are now planning celebrations for the boat's 130th anniversary on January 24, 2026.
Jackson Wickham's figurine of the PS Daisy tracks the boat's movements as they head to Mannum. (ABC Riverland: Amelia Walters)