This paddlesteamer is one of the oldest original paddlesteamers still operating in the world, it is owned by the National Museum of Australia, and is moored at the museum jetty on Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra. The oldest original operating paddlesteamer is the PS Adelaide at Echuca.
This picture was taken in 1907 in the Darling River at Wentworth and is the earliest known photo of the paddlesteamer. At that time the paddlesteamer was towing a barge named Stella – goods were taken upstream for the properties, and the woolclip was brought back to Wentworth and offloaded to a larger vessel for transport to the railhead at Morgan. The owner at the time was the firm of Davie Price & Company and the Captain, pictured on lower deck, was John Clement Newman, an immigrant from Amsterdam. On board with him are his son Clem (above the paddlewheel) and also Violet and Lily, two of his six daughters. The second youngest son George was my grandfather.
The paddlesteamer was built in Echuca in 1878 from river red gum, and restored in 1973 by enthusiasts who steamed it on the Murray River. It was purchased by the Museum in 1984, and restored in Echuca before being moved to it’s new home in Canberra. It draws only 75cm of water and was one of the paddlesteamers able to navigate a very low river. It is open for exhibition at the National Museum of Australia on most weekends from September to May, subject to crew availability and weather.
To claim this virtual, please email/message me the answers to the following, and include a photo in your log:
- The name of the flag that is flown at the top of the PS Enterprise flagpole. (see gallery)
- In what year was this flag first struck? Note the Union Jack in the corner depicting an official flag of the “realm”.
- The folklore meaning of the four (4) horizontal blue stripes on the flag. Do not believe Wikipedia - Ref: Flags of Australia - CRW flags.
- A photo of yourself (or something that identifies you – (your hat or t-shirt with name, or your caching name/s on a piece of paper) with the PS Enterprise in the background. Well done if you can be onboard for your photo – but it must be open for inspection – please do NOT climb onboard otherwise.
Please note: Any logs not meeting the requirements above will be deleted.
National Museum of Australia (NMA)
Entry is free to the NMA and the jetty is located outside behind the main exhibition hall. If the NMA is closed, the jetty can be accessed by walking around the building from the carpark along the path by the lake.
The NMA preserves and interprets Australia's social history, exploring the key issues, people and events that have shaped the nation. The museum did not have a permanent home until 11 March 2001, when a purpose-built museum building was officially opened.
Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.
Congratulations to Flintstone's and Domsky for the joint FTF.