Type :
|
Steel screw steamer
|
Launched :
|
23/12/1927 |
Builder :
|
Napier & Miller
Old Kirkpatrick, Scotland
|
Gross :
|
799 tons
|
Dimensions :
|
67.00 x 11.00 (metres)
|
Passenger capacity :
|
1587
|
Speed :
|
17.75 knots |
Dee
Why was the first of two identical ferries (the other being
Curl
Curl) built in Scotland in 1928 for the PJ&MSS Co.
Curl Curl, her sister
Dee Why and later the
South Steyne, all steamed
out from Scotland under their own power - the first Manly ferries to do
so
since the
Brighton in 1883.
Since the introduction of the
Baragoola,
ferry traffic had been growing to such an extent that the Manly company
needed to aquire faster & larger ships. The cost to build them in
Australia was too high, so the company looked to Scotland for their new
ships.
First of the two new ships to arrive in Sydney was the
Curl Curl on the
25th of November, 1928 after a voyage of more than 20 weeks.
Dee Why
followed soon after on the 1st of November. During the trip of the two
ferries, they encountered heavy weather in the Bay of Biscay.
Curl Curl
suffered the only damage - a broken window. The twins stayed at Aden
for 10 days & Port Said for 5 days due to a broken steam pipe on
Curl Curl. A further two month delay was due to both ferries
waiting for the pass of the Monsoon season.
Curl Curl's arrival was
unexpected, she had shaved 5 days off
travelling down the Queensland coast.
Dee
Why's arrival a few days
later was in the middle of the night & because the harbour pilot
refused to board her over her wide sponsons, she had to follow the
pilot into the Heads & moor at Watsons Bay.
Dee Why had problems on the
journey to Australia caused by troublesome
crew. The captain put the troublemakers off in Aden & hired a
stowaway found on board in their place.
Dee Why's first taste of
trouble came in November of 1931 when she
collided with the harbour ferry
Kirrule
off Fort Denison, the
Dee Why
was at fault in this collision, being that she was the faster ship
& had forced
Kirrule off
course by coming up behind her. She then
stayed out of trouble until Christmas Night in 1946 when unseasonal fog
settled over the harbour (it's not usually a problem in Summer).
Halfway across the Heads, city bound, a heavy fog bank loomed up
unexpectedly & the ship reduced speed. Lookouts were placed on the
ship & within minutes, land was spotted. Although the captain
ordered full astern,
Dee Why
struck rocks & slid across the bottom.
She was stuck fast. Two fire-fighting tugs were despatched to the scene
& were joined by a naval tug.
South
Steyne arrived shortly after to
assist, but it was deemed that because of her size, it was unwise to
get her close to the
Dee Why.
However, around 40 passengers managed to
get over onto her.
Bellubera
then arrived on the scene & took off
the remaining passengers. After four hours, Dee Why was finally moved
off the rocks where it was discovered that though she was not holed,
she had lost a rudder & a propeller & had damaged some
plates.
Dee Why was to run aground
once more during her career, this time on
Kirribilli Point after a collision with the tug
Himma. Again, three
tugs were required to pull her free.
Dee Why also suffered from two
deaths in her crew, both engineers &
both when they were taking the ferry on her morning run. One was the
brother of the engineer who had died in the 1936
Bellubera fire.
By 1951,
Dee Why &
Curl Curl were doing most of the
work in the
fleet, in that year, the two ships made a total of 13,468 trips as
compared to the other four ships in service (
Barrenjoey was out for a
refit) who managed 14,907 trips. The two big steamers were faster than
their running mates, but ultimately this would tell against them; they
were costly to run. After
Balgowlah
was withdawn from service &
Barrenjoey (as
North Head),
Baragoola &
Bellubera had been
converted to diesel, the twins were shown to be very expensive to run
with their bunker oil costing far more than diesel. The writing was on
the wall for both vessels & by 1960,
Curl Curl had been withdrawn,
Dee Why followed a few years later, in the interim she acted as
a
relief boat for the other four ferries.
Both ships were laid up while the company decided what to do with them.
Both were ultimately sold to Stride's
Shipbreakers.
The twins were both capable of doing the Manly run at speeds faster
than 18 knots, despite the claims put forward for the
South Steyne,
this speed has never been bettered.
Dee Why was scuttled on
25/05/1976, becoming the first ship to be part
of the artificial reef off Long Reef. Today she rests in one piece,
upright, at a depth of 51 metres. The superstructure is starting to
deteriorate and her bow has begun to collapse and has broken away from
the main part of the hull.
