Town Talk | The Alexander Arbuthnot

The boat was initially built to carry timber from the mill at Koondrook and was named after its owner. Later, it was sold to George Newman and E.J. Moore, and during World War II, it carried charcoal, which was in demand, from the Barmah Forest to the Echuca Wharf.

In 1948, she was moored near the homestead at Yielima when the river rose suddenly. The Alexander Arbuthnot sank into the mud of the Murray. George Newman was the sole owner at this stage. From time to time, experts assessed the situation and said she could not be salvaged. They all thought the hull would crumble. At some point, the army gave it a shot and decided the experts were correct; it could not be saved.

Then along came Cr Murray Slee and John Sutherland (Shepparton Mobile Cranes).

The impossible we do immediately; miracles take a little longer

Cr Slee had a chat with Mr Newman, who told him Shepparton was welcome to the Alexander Arbuthnot if it could be salvaged — and Cr Slee knew where to go for a miracle. Mr Sutherland was not a man to say, “Sorry mate! Too hard!”. After assessing the situation, he was confident it could be done.

With a plan in mind, on June 3, 1972, when the water level was down, he took a convoy of vehicles and equipment to the site. Then, with the help of other volunteers, he constructed two A-frames — the length of the boat apart. Weekend after weekend, the team of volunteers returned — some of whom were Graeme Cassidy, Norm Hauff, Bryan Finlayson, Bill LeSueur, Doug Rogers, Bill Smout and Bill Clayton.

Despite the mud, two divers eventually managed to put cables under the hull. However, the muddy mess still had to be shovelled and scooped from inside the boat.

At last, they pulled her up — and she floated. The red gum hull had not crumbled. It was 5.20pm on July 9, 1972.

And there, they left her, waiting for summer and high water levels. Miracles take a little longer.

To its new home

When the water level was high, the weighty items were removed from the boat — two paddle wheels, the boiler and the engine. The Alexander Arbuthnot was towed 70km from Yielima to Barmah. It wasn’t easy. The old boat was towed by three power boats, with another one behind, to steady her. They could not stop or pull over, and there was traffic on the river. To warn oncoming boats, they had borrowed a footy siren from the Lemnos Football Club.

Eventually, they arrived at Barmah, where there was a slipway. A bulldozer winched the boat on to logs and then a truck. It was January 1973 when she arrived in Shepparton. The Alexander Arbuthnot was 50 years old.

In total, the task took 1400 man hours, a miraculous gift to Shepparton from Mr Sutherland and his volunteers.

The restoration

The restoration was not impossible, nor was there magic involved; however, it was time-consuming and detailed. The Alexander Arbuthnot arrived in Shepparton in 1973 and was moved to a pond at the International Village in 1975. There was, at this stage, no supply of water for the moat and the boat required re-caulking.

Two engineers were appointed — Allan Williams, as project manager, and Alf Grigg; Albert Close, Colin Anderson and Joe Grose were all allocated suitable tasks. Everything that had been removed had to be put back or replaced. Once again, a team of volunteers assisted. The city council obtained a grant, and it was full steam ahead — so to speak. However, at one point, the boat went under again, and Mr Sutherland was once again required. It had been human error, and Mr Sutherland is remembered as saying, “Now, I’ve rescued it twice already; don’t do that again”.

In 1978, an almost unrecognisable — was sailing on the moat and being enjoyed by visitors. It was officially relaunched by then Victorian Premier Rupert Hamer.

As we all know, the International Village stalled — and, eventually, was no more. It was sad for many of us because multicultural Shepp was the perfect place for a village of this kind. Personally, I have one utterly indelible memory, when the Shepparton Theatre Arts Group performed Macbeth at the village.

The castle looked as if it had been there for a thousand years. As the sun set and the witches stirred their cauldron, “Double, double toil and trouble” was accompanied by thunder rolling across the darkening sky. When a battle took place, in the distance, we could see the soldiers and hear the shouting and the clash of swords. The performance ended with a lone piper on the parapet of the castle — haunting and sad. This was all the brainchild of Rob Robson.

My husband was assistant director, and our three sons looked after lighting. Yesterday, over coffee, I asked one of our boys what he remembered about Macbeth. He said he was aware he was watching something incredibly special. And I remember seeing every performance, appreciating the perfect venue, and loving every minute. I also remember thinking, “We’ll do something like this again”. But that was not to be.

As far as I’m aware, only two of the buildings managed to survive — Philippine House and the Dutch Windmill; the latter being rescued by Lloyd Mawson and which today resides happily at Emerald Bank.

Perhaps you have memories too — of the playground, picnics near the moat, or perhaps you remember taking a trip around the village on the Alexander Arbuthnot. Maybe you were one of the many volunteers without whom nothing would have happened.

In 1983, when it was finally, reluctantly, admitted that the International Village was not to be, the Alexander Arbuthnot was sold to Echuca; it was expensive to maintain. She remains there today and is now 100 years old. Murray Slee is also 100 years old and, thankfully, still with us.

However, we lost John Sutherland two years ago. We remember him thankfully, as we remember his motto: “The impossible we do immediately; miracles take a little longer”.

I thank Rob Slee for suggesting this story and supplying some information, the engineers Allan Williams and Alf Grigg for taking time to chat and Helene Sutherland for confirming dates and other details, and making great photos available.

Perhaps you agree with me; this is a story about Shepp missing the boat — in more ways than one.

That’s all for this week

So, just a reminder that four weeks from today is Boxing Day. (That is, if you are reading this on Tuesday.) About now, I have to see a man about (no canines involved) — a story!

May it be easy, my friends.

Email: towntalk@sheppnews.com.au

Letter: Town Talk. Shepparton News P.O. Box 204. Shepparton 3631.

Phone: Send a text on 0418 962 507. (Note: Text only. I will call you back, if you wish.)