Steam Tug Wattle facts for kids
Steam Tug Wattle undergoing restoration in 2013
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Quick facts for kids History |
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 Australia |
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| Name | Wattle |
| Operator |
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| Builder | Cockatoo Island Dockyard, Sydney |
| Completed | 1933 |
| Status | Undergoing refurbishment |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Tugboat |
| Tonnage | 99 gross register tons (GRT) |
| Length | 75 ft (23 m) |
| Propulsion | |
| Speed | 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) |
| Capacity | 60 passengers (commercial cruises) |
| Crew | 6 minimum |
The Steam Tug Wattle is a special steam-powered boat called a tugboat. It's currently being fixed up in Melbourne, Australia.
This tugboat was built a long time ago, in 1933, at the Cockatoo Island Dockyard. It was a tough time called the Great Depression. Building Wattle helped keep young workers, called apprentices, busy at the shipyard. The boat was made with a steel body put together with rivets. But for the first time in Australia, welding was used on some parts, like the walls and fuel tanks. Wattle was also the first Australian tugboat to use an oil-fired steam engine.
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When it was finished in 1933, the tugboat was given to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). It was named Wattle. A team of civilian workers operated it. The boat's main job was to pull and move warships. It also helped by pulling targets for naval training.
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In 1969, the Navy decided they didn't need the tugboat anymore. A group of people in Sydney bought it. They used Wattle to take tourists on boat trips around Sydney Harbour and nearby areas.
New Owners and New Adventures
The Sydney group kept Wattle running until 1977. Then, they sold the ship to a company in Melbourne. In 1979, Wattle was towed all the way to Port Phillip. It continued to take tourists on cruises around the bay.
Taking a Break for Repairs
Wattle kept sailing until 2003. That year, it couldn't pass its safety check, called a survey. So, it had to stop carrying passengers.
Restoring a Historic Ship
At first, Wattle was parked at Victoria Dock. People started raising money to fix it up. Later, it moved to Victoria Harbour during a big project to redevelop the Docklands area.
Teamwork for Restoration
In 2007, two groups joined the project: the Sorrento Steam organisation and the Bay Steamers Maritime Museum. The Sorrento Steam group saw fixing Wattle as a step towards their dream of restoring old steam trams in Sorrento.
Back on Land for Repairs
In 2009, the tugboat was taken out of the water. It was placed on blocks in a temporary shipyard in the Docklands area. The plan is to fix Wattle so it can pass its safety survey again. Once it's ready, it will start carrying passengers once more.
Why Wattle is Special
The National Trust recognized Wattle as a very important historical ship on June 16, 1993.
A Rare Survivor
According to the National Trust, Wattle is the only small steam tugboat left in Australia. It's also one of only 22 worldwide. Plus, it's one of only eight Australian-built steam-powered ships of any kind that are still around.
A Look into the Past
Wattle was built with new techniques for its time. It shows how shipbuilding technology was changing during the Great Depression. It's a great example of how things were made back then.
Wattle in Pop Culture
The Wattle tugboat even appeared on TV! It was in a very popular Australian show from the 1970s and 1980s called Prisoner.
A TV Show About a Prison
Prisoner was a TV show about the lives of women in a high-security prison in Melbourne. It showed their struggles and plans, along with the prison guards.
Wattle's Role in the Show
The Wattle, with its name clearly visible on a life preserver, was in episodes 641 to 643. In the story, some trainee officers arranged for four prisoners to work on the ship. They were supervised by a senior officer and the ship's captain. The idea was for the prisoners to learn how to maintain a ship and get some fresh air.
A Plot Twist at Sea
The leader of the female prisoners, named Rita Collins, planned to use this chance to get rid of a guard she didn't like. In episode 642, Rita, who knew a lot about engines, secretly damaged the ship's inlet valve. This made the ship drift for a while.
Seeing Wattle on Screen
The show has many great shots of the ship. You can see how it looked back then when it was used for day cruises. One part of the show, set to music, is especially good for seeing what Wattle looked like around 1985.
