Discover the incredible true story of the PS Alexander Arbuthnot — the last paddle steamer built in Koondrook. Lost beneath the waters for 25 years, she was miraculously raised in 1972 by a determined group of Shepparton volunteers. The Salvage of the PS Alexander Arbuthnot celebrates Aussie ingenuity, teamwork, and the revival of a treasured piece of river history.
The photo above shows the restored paddle steamer plying the waters of the old International Village at Shepparton.
Book review of “The Salvage of the Alexander Arbuthnot 1972-1973” by Helene Sutherland
“On Saturday 3rd June 1972 a small convoy of vehicles and equipment from Shepparton drove through the Barmah Forest to the Newman homestead adjoining the banks of the Murray River at Yielima where the wreck of the paddle steamer Alexander Arbuthnot lay in her watery grave beneath the willows. A remarkable salvage story was about to unfold.”
So begins Helene Sutherland, in her new book, which tells the story of an unorthodox salvage led by her husband, John Sutherland, late of Cosgrove, and a team of volunteers. As a child, I remember being one of a gang of children enjoying our weekend trips to the tent city set up on the banks of the Murray, while the PS AA project was worked on by our fathers. The story is not just about local history being preserved but is noteworthy because of the remarkable way in which it was done. These were the days before OHS, or strict engineering codes of practice, and those with a flair for a grand idea could act on it. The salvage was deemed by experts to be impossible yet this was carried out by a team of determined volunteers, led by my father.
Helene takes the reader back in time to 1916 Koondrook, where the AA was the last paddlesteamer to be built; her 25 years of carting up to 300 tons of redgum logs per trip for the Arbuthnot Sawmills; then during World War 2, carting firewood and bagged charcoal. Charcoal burners were used to power cars and trucks as fuel was scarce. In 1943, after a quarter of a century of river work, she was sold to George Newman, at Yielima, for use when his homestead was cut off by floods. One night in 1947, the river rose suddenly and with the mooring rope too short to allow her to move higher, she sank, a not uncommon occurrence.
After a failed attempt to raise her in 1948, she was abandoned until 1967, when expert Army divers visited and also decided she could not be raised. That same year, with the idea of gaining the boat as an attraction for Shepparton, Councillor Murray Slee, a recently deceased Shepparton legend, spoke to his mate John Sutherland, whose motto was “the impossible we do immediately, miracles take a little longer.”
In the below photo, John & other interested parties (including one of Karen’s grandfathers) can be seen inspecting the boat and making plans to raise her.
It took till June 1972 before they started work at the river, and it needed all the specialised experience and equipment that John, as proprietor of Shepparton Mobile Cranes, had access to. Equipment came from previous crane projects and contacts – old timber SEC poles were used to leverage the lift as A-frames, some cables came from the Sedco oil rig site near Phillip Island and John found 50 ton winch blocks at the Bandiana army auctions.
Divers were needed to brave the chilly murky depths of the river, to run cables under the hull and other tasks. Luckily John had a friend in Bryan Finlayson, an amateur skin diver, who worked with a snorkel, but brought another diver friend with oxygen tanks. The two divers thawed out frequently at the camp’s fire, which supplied essential warmth and hot water for us all.
9 July 1972, the PS AA was finally lifted. She took her first trip down the Murray for 25 years (see photo below), made it to Shepparton’s International Village, then finally returned to the Murray at Echuca, where you can still take a ride on her today.
After the 100th Anniversary of the PS AA was celebrated in September 2023, Helene embarked on writing this book, with technical advice from Graeme Cassidy, John’s right hand man, one of few still alive who worked on the salvage. You can get your copy from the Shepparton Heritage Centre, the Shepparton Information Centre at SAM, and the Port of Echuca.
Or purchase the book here
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