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Draft:Lady Chelmsford

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Lady Chelmsford
Lady Chelmsford in 1970
History
Australia
NameLady Chelmsford
NamesakeFrances Thesiger, Viscountess Chelmsford
Operator
BuilderRock Davis, Blackwall, New South Wales
Launched14 April 1910
Out of service1971
FateSank at her moorings 2008, broken up 2011
General characteristics
Class and typeLady-class ferry, 3rd series
Displacement98 t (96 long tons; 108 short tons)
Length110 ft (34 m)
Beam9.80 ft (2.99 m)
Height24.70 ft (7.53 m)
Speed10 kn (19 km/h; 12 mph)
11 kn (20 km/h; 13 mph) (from 1957)
Capacity446
Notes[1]

Lady Chelmsford was a Sydney Harbour ferry built in 1910 for the Balmain New Ferry Company. She and four similar ferries, Lady Denman (1912), Lady Edeline (1913), Lady Ferguson (1914), and Lady Scott (1914), were a new series of "Lady-class" ferries designed by naval architect Walter Reeks.

Lady Chelmsford and her four sisters survived the 1932 opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and were converted to diesel power that decade. They also survived the 1951 NSW State Government takeover of the ailing ferry fleet.

Design and construction

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In common with most Sydney Harbour ferries at the time, Lady Chelmsford and her four sisters were wooden double-ended screw steamers. The five ferries had only a single propeller at one end that pushed the vessels in one direction and pulled them in the other, an arrangement favoured by Walter Reeks. The Balmain New Ferry Company predicted that the Sydney Harbour Bridge would open in the late 1920s or early 1930s, and as such, Lady Chelmsford and her sister ships were designed to have a short lifespan of 15 years, being of light construction and had corrugated iron for their roof.[2]

Service history

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Lady Chelmsford in her original condition

Lady Chelmsford was the first of five in the Balmain's company's final series of "Lady-class" ferries introduced to replace the single-ended ferries on the Lane Cove River service.[3]

In 1933 or 1934, Lady Chelmsford was the first of her class to be converted given a Gardiner diesel engine, with her operational crew being reduced from five to three, and could run for nearly three weeks without refueling. With the modernisation deemed a success, the remaining four Lady-class ferries, as well as K-class ferries Karingal and Karrabee were similarly converted to diesel power during the 1930s.[2][1]

On 11 November 1950, Lady Chelmsford operated the last Lane Cove River ferry service, departing Circular Quay at 6:30 pm with 70 passengers on board for Longueville.[4]

Post-ferry career

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In February 2008, Lady Chelmsford sank at her moorings in Melbourne.[5] Due to her fragile structural integrity and salvaging cost, she was broken up on site in June 2011.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Lady Chelmsford". ferriesofsydney.com. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Lady Denman". arhv.sea.museum.
  3. ^ "Obituary, Lady Scott (1914-1969)" (PDF). Trolley Wire: 14–15. June 1969.
  4. ^ "Lights Flashed Farewell To Last Ferry". The Sydney Morning Herald. 11 November 1950. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  5. ^ Tullberg, Julie (19 February 2008). "Old ferry sinks in Melbourne Harbour". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  6. ^ "Vale Lady Chelmsford". Dockland News. 29 June 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2024.

Bibliography

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