DRAGON CITY 

Murray River Paddle Boats : based in Echuca, Victoria, Australia

P.S Adelaide

The P.S. Adelaide was built of timber  in  1866, and is one of the oldest working paddle steamers in the world. Running tourist trips and Barge Towing demonstrations on a regular basis.

Romanian paddler Tudor Vladimirescu  1854 , Norway's, Skibladner 1856 and  Denmark's, Hjejlen 1861  are still operating.

                                  P.S.Adelaide  was designed to tow   timber barges from the Barmah Forest to Echuca's sawmills along the Murray River.

                                                    Dimensions : 23.1m x 5.2 x 0.7m, timber construction

    P.S Pevensey

The P.S Pevensey was built  in 1910,  originally as a barge, at Moama, across river from Echuca,  soon converted to a  paddle steamer it remains one of the largest steamers to work the Murray River system. Capable of carrying 120tons of cargo on board in large holds, as well as towing barges.

Dimensions : 34m x 7m x 1.4, composite contruction.
  ( lower hull redgum timber, upper hull steel)

P.S Alexander Arbuthnot

The P.S Alexander Arbuthnot was built in  1923 at Koondrook,  for the Arbuthnot Sawmills, towing log laden barges to the mills. Sunk in 1947 upstream of Echuca , refloated in 1973 and restored at Shepparton on the Goulburn River, purchased in 1991 by Port of Echuca for the tourist trade, where she works to this day.

Dimensions: 23.2m x 4.6m x 1.4m, timber construction.

P.S. Emmylou

The P.S. Emmylou, is a new vessel built for the tourist trade in 1982, but using a wood fired steam engine built in 1906. Although new, she is designed and built  with paddler history much in mind, and has the 'right atmosphere'.

Dimensions : 30m x 10m , steel hull, timber superstructure

P.S Etona

The P.S.Etona, foreground in photo,  was built for the River Murray Church of England in 1912, to service riverside towns and communities well before churches would be constructed. Being quite small with limited draught, the Etona was useful in the 1956 floods, accessing stranded sheep stations  some 40 kilometers from the Murumbidgee River.

 Dimensions : 18.3m x 4.3m x 1.5m, timber construction.

P.S. Hero

The P.S. Hero Boiler 

This the new boiler for the restored P.S. Hero.

The design is unusual in a number of ways, the two engines were placed alongside the boiler  to reduce the space taken by the engine room. Also note the 'groove' just before the smoke stack, across the boiler. The drive shaft for the paddles runs across the deck and thru this groove. The firebox is also 6' long to take standard timber lengths