Find Your Workhorse!
Luggers operating out of Broome at the peak of the pearling industry
Despite there being only fifteen months left until the next Australian Wooden Boat Festival, it´s not to late to find the vessel that will position you in the heart of the action in Sullivan´s Cove, downtown Hobart, in February 2027. And with the theme of the festival being “Working Boats”, the SWS editors have scoured the listings for half a dozen special boats with industrious origins. Even if you are not in the market… It’s fun to dream!
Boat One -WINSTON - Pearling Lugger
The pearling lugger Winston A83 is a late survivor of the traditional wooden vessels that once supported the northern Australian pearling and trochus industry. Built in the 1950s as part of a small family of Hansen & Collis–designed luggers, she represents the final generation of working timber boats constructed for shell-gathering in the Torres Strait and Queensland waters. Although not formally listed in major maritime-heritage registers and lacking a clear, publicly documented ownership or operational history, Winston nevertheless embodies the transition period when many luggers shifted from industrial work to roles such as cruising, fishing, or live-aboard use as the pearling industry declined.
More Techical details are…sister ship to TRITON. LOA. ; 65ft. Water line; 49ft. Beam; 14ft 6in. Draft; 7ft 1in. 30 Tonnes. Built using Qld Spotted Gum, Black/Red Penda. Fitted with Gardner 6LXB engine, 130 hp @ 1500 revs, keel cooled, Marine diesel gearbox, 3/1 reduction. 55mm shaft, new carrier bearing PSS seal and cutlass bearing fitted June 23. Hydraulic Steering, TMQ AP 4 auto pilot. Muir 3500 winch, 13mm anchor chain. Fuel, 2x1000lit tanks, s/s freshwater tank 700lit. Salt and freshwater pressure pumps. Above deck shower/head. 2x depth sounders, 1x gps/sounder. Set up as live aboard. Forward cabin, double v berth, & queen size berth. Aft cabin, king single.
Asking Price AU $98,000
More Details HERE
Boat Two- MACPHERSON ROBERTSON - Antarctic Vessel
An historic Antarctic boat has come onto the market after being beautifully restored to its glory days.
The Macpherson Robertson – named for the Melbourne-based confectionery manufacturer and philanthropist who partly funded its construction – acted as ship’s tender (a support boat for larger ships) between 1956 and 1978 during the Dan ships era, the period of the J. Lauritzen shipping company's polar expedition ships, which operated from the mid-1950s to the late 1980s. These ships, including the Kista Dan, Magga Dan, and Thala Dan, were crucial for supplying and supporting Antarctic research stations
It was built in 1956, at Patton’s Slipways Kirribilli using double mahogany planking . It made 18 expeditions to the Antarctic.
Asking Price AU $5,000
More Details HERE
Boat Three - FALCON - Police Boat
FALCON was built in 1973 by Peter Bracken. Peter was a highly respected Kurnell-based boatbuilder whose career spanned from the 1950s to the early 1980s, during which he built around 150 vessels ranging from small skiffs to police launches, yachts, ferries and luxury timber cruisers. Trained at Garden Island and later in the Fisher family’s La Perouse boatshed, he eventually established his own large workshop at Bonna Point, where he became known for his exceptional craftsmanship, often working from designs held entirely in his head. This craft was the police boat with the San Souci water police. She´s triple planked, has 2 x CAT 3208 Diesel Engines, dual steering, a toilet and a two berth cabin.
Asking Price AU $30,000
More Details HERE
Boat Four - SOUTHERN CROSS STARS - Fishing Boat
From the Australian Register of Historic Vessels…
SOUTHERN CROSS STARS was designed by Holmes' head shipwright, Harry De Wall. The original owner was G Schark and Son and the son passed on his recollections of the vessel to the current owner in 2006. Schark paid £5,377 for the vessel then named SOUTHERN CROSS and started fishing in October 1940. Late in December 1941 Schark paid another £150 to have the wheelhouse rearranged. In February 1942 it was re-registered as SOUTHERN CROSS STARS by Phillip Schark and Biaggino Giuseppe Russo as trustees for Giuseppe Russo & Giacomo Diorio. The ship's register papers appear to show, mistakenly, that is was built in 1942.
In fact, the iron bark keel was laid in 1939. The vessel was planked in spotted gum up to the waterline, and Oregon on the topsides. The original engine was an Atlas Imperial Diesel giving 90 kw (120 hp) at 320 rpm, and a speed of 10 knots.
On 17 April 1942 the vessel was requisitioned for the war effort and from 22 April 1942 it became HMAS POLARIS with the Royal Australian Navy. The Navy paid the owners £6,300 for the vessel which operated as a survey vessel from 1942 to 1944. The navy added an open but sheltered observation deck on top of the wheelhouse along with the necessary surveying equipment. It assisted HMAS STELLA and HMAS WHYALLA in charting unsurveyed waters around New Guinea. Under the command of GD Tancred they surveyed a shorter route from Milne Bay to Ora Bay, and the Buna area through the D’Entrecasteaux Islands. It came under attack from Japanese aircraft when operating off Cape Nelson on 2 January 1943.
The following poem attributed to the Petty Officer of HMAS POLARIS suggests a hard existence aboard the craft during the war.
'The men who handle little ships have got no band to play,
and spend their lives in an endless watch, ceaselessly night and day.
The little ships turn somersaults where the cruiser only dips,
and crashing seas make music for the men in the little ships.'
After the war it was paid off on the 5th December 1945 and SOUTHERN CROSS STARS was bought back from the Navy for £4,250 by Biaggino & Guiseppe Russo. It was refitted at the cost of another £2,500. Biaggino and Russo kept the vessel until selling it to Harry Rose in 1950. He delivered it to Auckland New Zealand and operated it until around 1963 when it was sold to new owners. The vessel returned to Australia in 1968, having been renamed MARINE STAR in 1966.
Some technical details..
The first bulkhead contains the anchor on a Muir electric winch with 65meters of chain. Moving aft a double bed in the large focsle with its own Shower/Toilet. The wheelhouse above lined in new Jarrah and Ash contains all the modern electronics e.g. GPS, Sounder, Plotter. Access to the Engine Room is here and extends under the whole main Cabin. Going down three steps to a new modern Jarrah lined Galley with stove, fridge and sink. In one corner of the cabin is a dining table that can seat three comfortably. In the Opposite corner is the Captains Desk with lift up table and ships main battery switches and volt meter display and TV above. Moving further aft there is the second bathroom with an external door to the deck. Coming outside onto the rear deck ,that in its heyday would have been covered in fishing nets, now presents a spacious 7.5m * 4.6m open deck perfect for entertaining. Over our heads is an electric davit mounted on top of the Cabin used to launch and retrieve the 3.4m Zodiac Launch that is secured on the starboard side of the deck. Below the rear deck is the rear cabin with two large berths, storage area and room for a lounge and TV. Further aft behind another bulkhead is the steering room and additional storage area. Dry Docked and antifouled April 2020 & every year prior
Asking Price AU $125,000
More Details HERE
Boat Five- Falmouth Quay Punt
This would be my choice from the six boats listed. Although this isn´t an boat with an actual working past, the design has an immaculate working boat pedigree. Falmouth Quay Punts were originally used to carry stores, mail, pilots, crews, and supplies out to ships anchored in Falmouth Harbour, in Cornwall, England
Before engines became the norm, large vessels waiting offshore needed small, fast, seaworthy boats to run back and forth between the quay and the anchorage. The punts would meet incoming ships, deliver provisions, tow small craft, and compete to be first alongside vessels needing assistance. Their hull shape and powerful rig were designed for all-weather ability, especially beating back to the harbour against the prevailing south-westerlies.
This boat provides an opportunity to finish this rare project - sitting on a heavy duty launch trailer and lofted from traditional Falmouth Quay Punt lines by a master shipwright, this is an attempt to resurrect traditional Punt lines in modern times. Heavily constructed from cold moulded celery top pine and inspired by "Curlew", the FQP which was famously navigated by Tim and Pauline Carr engineless into the highest of latitudes. In 2022 this ship was trucked down by semi-trailer from northern Tasmania to the Kettering/Channel region, The hull & deck are complete with a partial interior fit out.
Asking Price AU $26,500
More Details HERE
Boat Six - WATTLE - Couta Boat
It wouldn’t be an proper Australian Working Boat list without a Couta Boat… and this one’s a beauty.
Wattle is a masterpiece of a Couta Boat. She was built by legendary scion boatbuilder, fisherman and pioneer Mitch Lacco in Queenscliff in 1928 for Walter “Cack” Todd, who had her commissioned for his son, David. However, David never took over custodianship, as he joined the RAAF instead of becoming a commercial fisherman. Walter took her on and fished her for years from Queenscliff and San Remo, departing with her in 1939. Through the years Wattle had a succession of owners:
Len Bagley 1939-1943
Billy Burgen 1943-1953
Billy Chidgey 1953-1956
Milton Hall 1956-1966
Numerous fishermen in Robe, SA 1966-1980
Tim Phillips 1980-1983
Marcus Burke 1983-1994
Mark Calvert-Jones 1994-2004
Russell Barrett 2004-present
In 1980, Director of The Wooden Boatshop,Tim Phillips travelled along the west coast with friends looking for old Couta Boats in need of a restoring. Wattle had been converted to a houseboat, nevertheless Tim convinced the owner to sell her, and set about restoring her under the tutelage of Jack Norling. Many years later in 2008, on Wattle’s 80th birthday current owner Russell Barrett engaged The Wooden Boatshop to carry out major works, restoring her to a traditional Couta Boat as she would’ve been in her early days.
With a length of 26’4” and a beam of 10’6” Wattle is an absolute thoroughbred, and will be an incredible purchase for anyone with aspirations to own a historic vessel.
Asking Price AU $80,000
More Details HERE