Business as usual for paddle-steamers

By Adair Winder

Oct 6, 2022

Still operating: Murray River levels are not yet high enough for the paddlesteamers to be considered unsafe. Photo by Jayme Lowndes

Murray River Paddlesteamers director, Rohan Burgess said despite high river levels, the paddle wheels will keep on turning.

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Mr Burgess said the paddlesteamers will only stop running when the New South Wales Maritime Authority deems it unsafe for them to travel.

“It happened in 1993 when the Murray was level with the levy bank,” he said.

“But paddlesteamers were designed to travel through different river heights. They’ve been doing it since 1870 on rivers that are much higher than what we have today.

“The biggest concern for us right now is not that the paddlesteamers will stop running but how to get passengers on and off when the moorings are affected by high water.”

The only paddlesteamer that is not currently running is the council-owned paddlesteamer PS Pevensey.

Murray River Paddlesteamers will be selling posters on significant river heights at the Echuca wharf between 1867 and 2022 from their store on the Murray Esplanade.