The Lady Denman Ferry

The Lady Denman is one of the Lady Class ferries that plied the waters of Sydney Harbour for much of last century.

The Lady Denman and her sister ship, Lady Scott, were both built at Huskisson by Joseph Dent for the Balmain New Ferry Company.

Launched on 5 December 1911, the Lady Denman is a wooden vessel and is the only one left in NSW. The Lady Scott was refitted and relaunched as the John Cadman in Victoria. The Lady Denman sailed Sydney Harbour for 67 years and carried hundreds of thousands of passengers.

Naval architect Walter Reeks designed "double-ended" ferries that became familiar sights on Sydney Harbour.

Reeks' design provided ferries that could easily move through the sometimes rough waters of the harbour as well as the shallow waters of Lane Cove.

The ferries were initially meant for a working life of only fifteen years, but even with the opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932, the ferries continued to operate for decades afterwards.

The Huskisson-built ferry was not without controversy. In 1960, the Lady Denman collided with the Royal Navy submarine, HMS Anchorite, and spent a week under repair. Five years later, she ran aground off Neilson's Point and in 1976 managed to leave her wharf without her Master on board.

The Lady Denman was decommissioned in 1979 and, after much work, fundraising and organisation, the ferry arrived back in Jervis Bay in 1981.

See the video below for more of the Lady Denman Ferry's story ...

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