FitOut photos on Flickr

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The first of the cladding is fitted at Crossrail Bond Street station Western ticket hall.

Sea Cloud II - Aberdeen Harbour Scotland - 1st August 2019. by DanoAberdeen

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First time I have captured this beauty at Aberdeen Harbour Scotland, another fine addition to my archives, she was a mighty fine sight indeed.

The Sea Cloud II is a large barque built as a cruise ship, and operated by Sea Cloud Cruises GmbH of Hamburg, Germany. A luxury vessel, she sails under the Maltese flag. The Roman suffix II indicates that she is the company's second ship. She is neither a sister to, nor the successor of, the Sea Cloud (ex Hussar II), but a separate vessel.

Concept and construction

Due to the success of the operator's first ship, Sea Cloud, but also for economic reasons, the operator decided to put another sailing ship into service.

Unlike the Sea Cloud, the Sea Cloud II is a newbuilding. The contract for her construction was awarded to the Spanish shipbuilder Astilleros Gondán, SA. The keel laying was held there on 24 June 1998.

The rigging was planned and produced by Navicom in Wolgast. The 23 sails were made in Poland.

Sea Cloud II was launched on 18 March 1999.

However, the owner's exacting demands in relation to interior fitout caused delivery problems and personnel problems.

This led to a roughly one-year delay. The ship was eventually handed over to Sea Cloud Cruises on 29 December 2000, in a not yet completely finished state.

On 22 January 2001, the final work was completed.

The Sea Cloud II was christened on 6 February 2001 in Las Palmas, Canary Islands. The sponsor was Sabine Christiansen.

Description

Hull

The Sea Cloud II has an overall length of 105.90 m (347 ft 5 in). Her maximum beam is 16.0 m (52 ft 6 in) and her draught is described as 5.70 m (18 ft 8 in). Her hull is built of standard shipbuilding steel, and is fitted with eight watertight bulkheads.

Three of the Sea Cloud II's decks are continuous. She has a 3,849 gross tonnage (GT), and is equipped with three anchors, weighing a total of 2,280 kg (5,030 lb).

Decks

The ship has five decks. The bridge deck is used as a sun deck behind the superstructure. Below it is the main deck, which is called the lido deck. It has a bar, lounge, the Owner Suites and the library.

The promenade deck, or first sub-deck, houses the reception area, restaurant, boutique, and the junior suites. Outside the windows of the suites is a promenade; no balconies are available.

Externally, the Sea Cloud II is recognizable by the long "cutouts" in her hull.

The cabin deck is the second sub-deck. As its name suggests, it houses the cabins, but also a fitness room, sauna and a room for medical care.

On the lowest deck are cabins for the crew members, along with the kitchen and other service facilities. A freight elevator connects the decks.

There is no pool aboard the Sea Cloud II. Instead, she has a foldable platform, which facilitates sea-based watersports.

Cabins and suites

In the cabins and suites, a maximum of 96 passengers can be accommodated. The interior of the Sea Cloud II is air conditioned, and in the cabins and suites, the temperature can be regulated.

There are 27 outside cabins with portholes. By price category, the room sizes range from 12 m2 (130 sq ft) to 20 m2 (220 sq ft).

They are always equipped with two beds, and a TV, safe, shower, toilet and marble vanity tops with gold-plated taps, amongst other features. In the three interior cabins, the lowest category, there are bunk beds.

The 16 "junior suites" are 23 m2 (250 sq ft) in size, and are equipped with large windows.

They also have more luxurious furnishings and interior decorations.

The bathrooms are slightly larger than in the cabins and have a bath. The two so-called "owner suites" differ from the "junior suites" by having a room size of 27 m2 (290 sq ft), more extensive furnishings (including a four-poster bed) and a much larger bathroom with tub and separate shower.

Rigging

The Sea Cloud II is a square-rigger with fore-mast, main-mast and mizzen-mast. The top of her main-mast is 57 m (187 ft) above deck. Her 23 sails have a total area of approximately 3,000 m2 (32,000 sq ft). She is sailed traditionally by hand, as is common, for example, on sail training ships.

Machinery

The vessel's main power plants consist of two four-stroke diesel engines made by Krupp MaK Maschinenbau GmbH, each developing 1,240 kW (1,660 hp) at 900 revolutions/minute. The propeller is driven via a gear mechanism. Using this means of propulsion, the Sea Cloud II achieves a top speed of about 13 knots. Additionally, she is equipped with a bow thruster.

Three main generators developing a total of 1,653 kW (2,217 hp) generate the on-board voltage of 380/220 V AC, 50 Hz. There is also a 187 kW (251 hp) emergency generator.

Service history

Cruise regions

The Sea Cloud II sails mainly in the Mediterranean in summer and in the Caribbean in winter. Her Atlantic crossings between these two regions are also marketed as cruises.

Rating

Comfort, service and cuisine are at the highest level on the Sea Cloud II. In 2004, the Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships therefore gave her a five star rating.

Name:Sea Cloud II

Owner:Schifffahrtsgesellschaft Sea Cloud II mbH & Co KG

Operator:Sea Cloud Cruises

Port of registry:Valletta, Malta

Builder:Astilleros Gondán, S.A. (Spain)

Yard number:405

Laid down:24 June 1998

Launched:18 March 1999

Sponsored by:Sabine Christiansen

Christened:6 February 2001

Completed:22 January 2001

Acquired:29 December 2000

Identification:

Call sign: 9HUE6

IMO number: 9171292

MMSI number: 248953000

Status:In service

General characteristics

Type:Barque, Cruise ship

Tonnage:3,849 GT

1,154 NT

Length:105.90 m (347 ft 5 in)

Beam:16.0 m (52 ft 6 in)

Draught:5.70 m (18 ft 8 in) max

Decks:5

Installed power:2,480 kW (3,330 hp)

Propulsion:

23 sails (3,000 m² area)

2 Krupp MaK 8 M 20 diesels

Sail plan:Barque

Speed:13 kn (24 km/h; 15 mph) max

Capacity:

96 passengers

379 tonnes deadweight (DWT)

Crew:63

ITM3579505 STATIONS ROLLINGSTOCK ROMA STREET STATION and YARD Dept No.QSA0047 X2194 No 820 by Queensland State Archives

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This image has been digitised from Queensland State Archives, Series ID S2149: Railway Glass Plate Negatives - Queensland Rail Heritage Collection. It is one of the images depicting the many stations, bridges and tracks that people and goods travelled from, on and through all over the Queensland Rail network.

Roma Street Railway Station occupies a 0.55ha site within the extensive Roma Street Station transit complex, located on the western side of the Brisbane central business district. The substantial masonry station building (1875) is set back from and faces Roma Street (although partially obscured by later development), and has a prominent centred entrance to the front (south) and a platform along the rear (north). A later platform and awning to the south is associated with the former Country Station development (1939/40).

Features of Roma Street Railway Station of state-level cultural heritage significance are:

Station building (1875)

Platform (1875)

Country Station platform and awning (1939)

Views

The state-level periods of significance of the place are layered and relate to its origins and use as a passenger station (1875-1940) and railway design, traffic and management offices (1875-1974), and the establishment of the former Country Station (1939/40).

A large iron-roofed shelter (c1980) to the east of the station, small buildings to the west, and a lift, stairs and escalators accessing the modern subway below, are not of state-level cultural heritage significance.

The Roma Street Railway Station was opened in 1875 as the first Brisbane Terminal Station for use on the Brisbane end of the Southern and Western Railway Line from Ipswich. The two-storey station building was designed by Francis Drummond Greville (FDG) Stanley, the Colonial Architect and Superintendent of Public Buildings, in 1873 and built over the next two years by Brisbane builder, John Petrie. The station operated as the Brisbane terminal station until 1889, as a major passenger and administration station until 1940, and Brisbane’s primary railway goods facility until 1991. It served as offices for the Queensland Railway Department (later Queensland Railways, later Queensland Rail) staff for over 100 years, and is the one of the oldest surviving railway buildings in Queensland.

In the Australian colonies, governments fostered the development of railways as a means of developing the country and encouraging settlement. It was argued that rail would reduce freight costs and save travel time for passengers.[1] Queensland’s first railway survey was undertaken by the New South Wales Government in 1856, and following separation, Queensland Parliament passed the Railway Act in 1863, enabling railways to be constructed in the colony. The railway network developed along decentralised lines extending from ports to pastoral and mining centres. The first line, between Ipswich and Bigge's Camp, 34km west of Ipswich (later Grandchester, QHR600729), was opened in 1865. This was the first stage of the four-stage Southern and Western Railway project which linked Ipswich to Toowoomba in 1867, Warwick in 1871, and Dalby in 1878. New railways opened west from Rockhampton in 1867 (the Northern Line, later renamed the Central Railway), west from Townsville in 1880 (the Great Northern Line), Cairns in 1887, and south from Normanton in 1891.

The Southern and Western Railway served the pastoralists and industrialists of Ipswich and the Darling Downs, and was primarily for goods, rather than passengers. With the railhead at Ipswich, a railway to Brisbane was not initially considered essential, as goods could be shipped from Ipswich to Brisbane’s port for export. However, the Bremer and upper Brisbane rivers could not cope with large shipping, and lobbying began for an extension to Brisbane. A preliminary survey of possible lines was completed in 1865,[4] but concerns over the extension’s financial viability put work on hold. A Royal Commission on Railway Construction was called in the 1870s, and recommended the extension: the business generated by it was likely to be profitable, and the colony’s economy, which had collapsed in the mid-1860s, had been bolstered by the Gympie gold rush and was better able to afford new infrastructure.

The extension between Ipswich and Oxley was approved in August 1872,[6] and, the first sod on the extension was turned at Goodna in January 1873. From Oxley, two lines had been surveyed, terminating either at North or South Brisbane. After extensive debate, the route to North Brisbane, via a bridge at Oxley Point (Indooroopilly), was chosen as more cost-effective. The terminus of this route, selected by Railway Department Chief Engineer HC Stanley, was located within the Grammar School reserve at the base of the ‘Green Hills’ (Petrie Terrace). The site was unused by the school and was large enough for a major passenger station and goods yard.

The section between Oxley and Brisbane was approved in October 1873,[9] and the Government called for tenders for the construction of the railway terminus station in Brisbane. FDG Stanley, the recently-appointed Colonial Architect and Superintendent of Buildings within the Public Works Department, was the designer of the building. Stanley had commenced with the Public Works Department in 1863, serving as Superintendent of Buildings after Charles Tiffin vacated the Colonial Architect’s position. He was the official Colonial Architect from 1873-1883, when the colony, recovering from the economic collapse of the 1860s, began to invest in public buildings. Stanley’s designs, balancing classical styles and stylistic features with climate-appropriate adaptations and economic restraint, helped define public architecture in Queensland. Extant examples of major works, designed while he was Colonial Architect, include the original State Library (1876-9, QHR600177); Toowoomba Court House (1876-8, QHR600848); Townsville Magistrates Court (1876-7, QHR600929); Townsville Gaol (now part of Townsville Central State School, 1877, QHR601162); Brisbane’s Port Office (1880, QHR600088); Toowoomba Hospital (surviving kitchen wing 1880, QHR601296); post offices at Gympie (1878-80, QHR600534), South Brisbane (1881, QHR600302) and Toowoomba (1880, QHR600847); as well as the Brisbane Supreme Court (no longer extant). As Superintendent of Buildings he designed the Toowoomba Railway Station (1874, QHR600872), Government Printing Office (1873, QHR600114) and Lady Elliott Island Lighthouse (1872-3).

The Brisbane Courier provided a detailed description of the proposed Terminus Passenger Station in October 1873:

The general style of the building will be that known as the Italian Gothic order of architecture. The material used...will be pressed brick with cut stone facings, this being chosen on account of its durability and as also affording the greatest consonant with economy. The station will consist of a main building, two storeys high, flanked at each end by a single storey wing.

The building was designed to house both a passenger station and railway administrative offices. Passengers would access the station from Roma Street via a carriageway, disembarking at the station’s central carriage porch. The porch fronted a 10ft (3m) wide arcade running the length of the main building. From the arcade, passengers would enter either the first-class booking office on the east or the second-class booking office on the west, both served by a semi-circular ticket office on the rear (northern) wall. Female passengers travelling on second-class tickets could wait in a small room located along a western passage, while separate waiting rooms for first-class male and female passengers were east of the first-class booking office. Doorways in the rear wall of the booking offices and waiting rooms led directly onto the 190-foot (58m) long departure platform. Arriving passengers exited the station via a second platform across the rail line. Luggage was loaded onto trains via the luggage passage, on the eastern end of the building. The guards and porters room, staff facilities, a lamp room and stairs to the upper floor were situated in the eastern wing. The western side of the building held public services, including the telegraph office, station master’s office, and parcel and book office, accessible via a public lobby at the end of the arcade. A private staircase to the traffic managers’ office, a staircase to the traffic department, and toilet facilities were located in the western wing. An office or book stall space, in the northwestern side of the building, was accessible from the platform.

Upstairs, the offices of the traffic department, clerks, accountant, draughtsmen, Railways Engineer, Resident Engineer and contractors were accessed from a central passageway which ran almost the length of the building; with a small S-bend in the western end. An arch in the centre of the corridor marked the separation of the traffic department from the Chief Engineer’s office. Both wings hosted staircases.

The building included adaptations for the climate. The arcade sheltered the ground floor rooms from the sun, while skylights in the ceiling and a ventilated lantern provided light and ventilation to the upper floor. All public rooms and most of the offices were fitted with fireplaces. A platform shade, installed on the northern wall of the building over the platform, sheltered passengers from the weather, and was composed of material from an iron station building imported from England for use at Toowoomba. It was supported by brick buttresses at both ends of the building (extant) and on the arrivals platform (no longer extant).

Commensurate with Stanley’s design approach, materials used for the station reflected elegance but economy. Apart from the recycled iron roof trusses and columns, the building was constructed of machine-pressed bricks made from locally-sourced clay, more affordable than stone, and praised as ‘cleaner, sharper [and] finer’ than Brisbane bricks used in earlier buildings. Freestone for the building dressings and columns was sourced from Murphy’s Creek.

Construction work took place over two years, after contractor John Petrie’s tender of £11,845 was accepted in December 1873. Progress was slow, with the stonework foundations underway in June 1874, and the building only ten foot above the ground by September. The line from Ipswich to Brisbane was opened without ceremony on 14 June 1875. The platform at Brisbane Terminus Passenger Station was half-paved, the rooms and corridors incomplete, the roofing over the platform in progress and there was no permanent lighting. Nonetheless, an interested crowd gathered to watch the first outbound services leave the station. The building was sufficiently complete by August 1875 for the Brisbane Courier to describe it as ‘in all respects convenient, handsome, and well-designed’. The station’s arcade was later highlighted as one of Brisbane’s valued architectural features.

The Brisbane to Ipswich route quickly became the busiest section of line in Queensland. Merchandise and imported goods from the ports were despatched along the line, while produce from the Darling Downs and surrounds – including coal, flour, wool, hay, maize, livestock, vegetable and dairy produce – was brought to Brisbane. A central goods handling facility was opened at the Terminal Station, including a large (64m long) goods shed and two sidings, erected in 1875-6 (no longer extant), while railway produce markets opened outside the station, along George and Roma streets. A maintenance yard also operated at Roma Street, including locomotive and carriage sheds. By 1882 the Terminal Station platforms had been extended to cope with the traffic and trade. Traffic reduced slightly after some export goods were diverted to South Brisbane in 1884,[32] but expanded again.[33] Cattle yards, produce sheds, carriage sheds, gas works, goods sheds, coal stages, cold stores, additional locomotive sheds and siding extensions were all added to Roma Street’s goods yard. None of these structures survive in 2020.

Passengers also used the line. Residential occupation of Toowong and Indooroopilly boomed as middle-class city workers took advantage of the four daily train services. In 1882 rail lines were opened from the Terminal Station to Sandgate and the Racecourse, taking day-trippers to the seaside and races, and bringing northern suburbs passengers into Brisbane. In January 1888, the first through-service to Sydney departed from the Terminal Station. However, travellers criticised the lack of direct access from the Terminal Station to the central business district, and in 1889, the Brisbane Central Railway Station was opened. Central Railway Station (QHR 600073) – located closer to the General Post Office and city office buildings – became Brisbane’s main passenger station, and the original Terminal Station was renamed Roma Street Railway Station.

Despite its diminished status, Roma Street remained a major centre for passengers and travellers. Through the 19th and early 20th centuries, guards of honour lined Roma Street to greet and farewell significant visitors and figures, including premiers Morehead and Griffith, governors Norman and Lamington; Governor-General Munro-Ferguson; the late politician JM Macrossan, who had died in Sydney; singer Nellie Melba; Lord Kitchener; and Salvation Army General Booth. Roma Street continued to operate as the Sydney Mail terminus until 1931, when the service shifted to South Brisbane. Crowds thronged to Roma Street Station as soldiers departed for the South African War and World War I. Travelling circuses performed in the Roma Street yards, and an historic parade in 1936 included a ‘Puffing Billy’ locomotive, which was displayed at the yards until 1959. Roma Street also continued as the city’s primary goods terminus.

The station building played an important role as office accommodation for Queensland railway staff. Internal rearrangements were made to the building to accommodate growing staff numbers, and improve their working conditions. It was one of the first buildings in Queensland to feature electric light, installed in 1884.[50] The Chief Engineer vacated the building in 1901 and was replaced by the general traffic manager’s department, with a telephonic system of communication installed the same year. Bunker, lumber and message rooms were added to the wings by 1907; a traffic collector’s office and new strongroom were installed in 1911; and parcels, printing offices and machine rooms replaced the first-class waiting rooms, guards’ room and lamp room by 1920. In 1915, an additional storey was constructed atop the central carriage porch, providing more accommodation for the Traffic Branch on the first floor. A traffic control system, coordinating trains between Brisbane and Gympie, was installed and operated from the additional storey in 1927.

Queensland’s railway network extended dramatically in the 20th century. The North Coast line connected Brisbane to Gladstone in 1898, Rockhampton in 1904, and Cairns in 1924, providing a direct rail link between Brisbane and Mackay, Townsville, Winton, Forsayth, Cloncurry and Blackall. Southern and western trains reached Dirranbandi, Surat, Cunnamulla and Quilpie. Central Station initially hosted ‘country’ services, but it lacked room for expansion, and Roma Street’s larger site was earmarked for a new country station. Roma Street’s locomotive, carriage and marshalling yard facilities were transferred to the Mayne Rail Yards between 1911 and 1927, and work began on the new station. A 350ft (106m) reinforced concrete, tiled passenger subway was constructed from Roma Street to the platforms in 1936-7, replacing an overhead walkway. A new steel awning was installed above the southern platform (Platform 3 in 2020), in approximately 1939. It was used in conjunction with two platforms at the new country station (no longer extant) for country and other passenger services.

On 30 November 1940 the Country Station was opened at Roma Street Station. This low-lying face brick building and its additional platform sat directly between the 1873-5 building and Roma Street. The new passenger station relieved congestion at Brisbane Central Station and made Roma Street the chief station for long distance travel north. The original station was refurbished, its roof re-clad with corrugated fibrous sheeting; and its brick walls painted red and lined in cream to match the new station building. The southwest pediment was removed and replaced by a new storey on the western end of the building. A covered area was added east of the building where the subway stairs emerged. The original station building was turned over to the General Manager, with offices for clerks, traffic-, livestock-, coach- and wagon staff, maintenance and locomotive staff, telephone and telegraph exchanges, and the train control section.

Further plans to upgrade and alter the building were postponed by World War II, during which time troop trains departed from Roma Street, and the pedestrian subway served as an air-raid shelter.[66] In 1945, plans were drawn to alter doors, windows and stairs in the wings, and partitions on the first floor. A second storey was added over the west wing in 1953 (later removed), and the General Manager’s staircase was repositioned in 1961. Externally, the iron carriage shed platform shade over the northern platform was removed in 1959.

Extensive change was undertaken at Roma Street around the original station building in the late 20th century. The southern and northern Brisbane railway systems were directly connected in the 1970s, with the opening of the Merivale Bridge in 1978. In 1985, the country railway station (1940 building) was demolished and replaced by a multi-storey centre incorporating new railway and bus facilities, a hotel, offices and function centre. The original station building was left intact, and two new interstate platforms with standard gauge rails were built on its southern side. The pedestrian subway was refurbished in 1986, with a broom finish concrete and expansion joints, and grated drains were laid on the floor, and a ceramic tile finish on the wall faces to match the subway tiles at Central Station. Roma Street’s rail freight facility was moved to Acacia Ridge in 1991. During the mid-1990s the platforms north and south of the early station building were re-arranged and extended. A bricked waiting area and new roof were added east of the station. Underground, a new concourse was constructed to replace the pedestrian subway, and a 19m section of the original subway converted to a storage room.

The station building remained the General Manager’s Office until 1974. The station master, staff workers and archive storage occupied the building in the 1990s. By 1993, Roma Street was acknowledged as the oldest surviving railway station building in an Australian capital city, and one of the oldest surviving railway buildings in Queensland. A new office fitout was installed on the ground floor for Queensland Rail and the Queensland Police Rail Squad in 1999. Stabilisation, waterproofing and reconstruction works commenced in 2012, including restoration of the brick, plaster, lead flashings, window joinery and stone works. Replacement bricks were custom made in England; Welsh slate was imported from the UK; replacement stone came from Helidon; and rolled lead from England was installed. In 2015, a new steel beams and suspension system was installed between the two storeys, to lift a 65mm bow in the timber floor beams fit amongst the existing timber structures. The second storey of the west wing was removed and the roofline reconstructed to its original configuration. The restoration received an Australian Institute of Architects Queensland award in 2015.

In 2020 the building is vacant, pending further repairs.

apps.des.qld.gov.au/heritage-register/detail/?id=601208

Spring Fitout for the "Supers" by Lou Gerard

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4 of the 5 1942 USS "Supers" are fitting out at Jones Island in Milwaukee in March 1976. Taken by my Dad from the deck of the Craneship William H. Donner. The Leon Fraser at far left is now the Alpena.

DAF CF 'fit out' reg YK64 KHT by Mike S

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A47

'Henry Miles' as a trawler by glmrsnsw

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The Henry Miles was built at Forster by Henry Miles with assistance in design by Malcolm Miles; she was launched on 28th December 1939. Originally operated as a tug she was later converted into a fishing vessel and sank in the Gulf of Carpentaria on 27th November 1982.

Details

Name: Henry Miles

Official Number: 172903

Length: 80.9 ft

Breadth: 20.8 ft

Depth: 6.4 ft

Register Tonnage: Gross 120.41 Net 36.41 (1 shipping ton = 100 cu. ft.)

Engines: Steam 20nhp C.2Cy.11" &22"-16" Bow, McLachlan, made '27 (coal powered)

Construction: Framework is of ti-tree, ironbark and box, the planking of blackbutt, the oregon decking being the only imported timber.

Owners

1940 – 1946 Henry Miles and Sons

1946 – 1967 Henry Miles jnr. and Malcolm Miles

1967 – 1974 S.G. White Pty Ltd (Ballina)

1974 – 1978 W. F. James &Co

1978 – 1982 Colless Trawlers Pty Ltd (Norm Colless)

Launch – 28th December 1939

“It is estimated that there were about 7000 people at Forster, including local residents, over the holidays. Messrs. Henry Miles and Sons had just completed the building of the hull of a new tugboat, intended for the service of the Manning River bar, said to be one of the worst on the North Coast, at which nothing but a sturdy vessel is required. The new boat is to take the place of the tug John Gollan, built by the late Captain Hector Gollan over 50 years ago, and which last year was broken up by the firm of Henry Miles and Sons. Thursday, December 28, was believed to be the date of the highest tide of the year, 5ft. 10in. at Fort Denison, and this was selected by the building firm for the launching.”

Dungog Chronicle : Durham and Gloucester Advertiser ) Tuesday 9 January 1940

“The 'Henry Miles'' was designed by Mr. Henry Miles, sen., assisted by Mr. M. W. Miles. The latter having had experience in Scotland and Denmark, embodied the latest in the displacement of the machinery. The keel was laid two years ago, but, through several delays when the workmen were required on other jobs, the completion took longer than was anticipated. The whole structure is of timbers obtained from the Manning and Cape Hawke districts — the framework is of ti-tree, ironbark and box, the planking of blackbutt, the oregon decking being the only imported timber. The forward deck, being raised, differs from its predecessor and is designed to increase the seaworthiness, of the ship. The dimensions of the boat are:— Length: 81ft., beam 20ft., depth 7½ft. By a strange coincidence, the last boat built by Mr. Miles was the 'Forster', which was launched in December, 1914 — just four months after the outbreak of the Great War. The Henry Miles will be docked in a fortnight's time, when the timber will have 'taken up' in the water, and will be coppered before being towed by the tug Kiola to Sydney for the installation of the engines.”

The Northern Champion (Taree, NSW) - Saturday 6 January 1940

Fitout with Boiler and Machinery

“In January 1940 the ‘Henry Miles’ was towed to James Smith’s Engineering Yard, Darling Street Wharf, Sydney, for fitting out with boiler and machinery. She was fitted with the boiler and machinery recovered from the ‘Repton, (wrecked at Urunga in 1933) and stored in the yard of H & P Stacey, Sydney”. (Wright (1988).

Henry Miles replaces Alexandra at Yamba

She arrived back in Forster on 28th May 1940/05/28 arrived at Forster, and was used locally to sound bar, etc.

“In view of its age and condition, the Maritime Services Board tug, ‘Alexandra’, stationed at the Clarence River entrance, will be placed out of commission at the end of September, 1940. Tenders have been invited by the board for the purchase of the ‘Alexandra’. Satisfactory arrangements have been made for a tug recently constructed, and owned by Henry Miles and Sons to be stationed at Yamba as from October 1, 1940. This vessel will be subsidised by the Maritime Services Board under arrangements similar to those which have been in operation for a number of years at other North Coast ports, viz., the Tweed River, Manning River and Cape Hawke Harbour.”

Northern Star (Lismore) Wednesday 11 September 1940

She departed Forster for the Clarence River on 23rd September 1940.

War Years

In September 1942 the Shipping Control Board enquired whether vessel might be available to be requisitioned for US Army. On 29th January 1943/01/29 she departed Yamba towing the hulk of tug Alexandra from Yamba to Sydney for US Army. In September 1943 she was modified to accommodate 8 men and fitted with an Aldis lamp.

In August 1944, Henry Miles senior (builder of the Henry Miles) died.

In October 1944 she was made available to the Council for Scientific & Industrial Research to carry out surveys along the coast. Ownership was transferred to Malcolm Miles and Henry Miles junior in 1946.

Sold and Converted to Fishing Vessel

In 1967 the Henry Miles was sold to S G. White Pty Ltd in Ballina. In 1969 she was converted to a motor fishing vessel by Ballina Slipway & Engineering Co. (S.G. White). An 8 Cylinder. GM diesel engine, made 1944, was installed. She was sent to the Gulf of Carpentaria for 3 seasons; subsequently fishing off the NSW and Victorian coast until sold.

In 1975 she was sold to W F James and Co. but remained laid up at Ballina.

1978 Sold to Colless Trawlers Pty Ltd (Norm Colless)

This was to be a turning point for the derelict Henry Miles sitting on S G White’s slip. By buying the vessel Norm Colless was able to employ his four sons on refitting the Henry Miles. The engine was replaced with a new Caterpillar D343 engine

Refrigeration and hydraulic winches were installed. Finally she was slipped and painted and she looked fantastic, back to her immaculate self.

Operation in the Gulf

The Henry Miles was sailed to Groote Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The skipper was Norm’s oldest son, Vivian Colless. His other three sons and another hand were the crew. On arrival at Karumba, Vivian Colless negotiated to supply prawns to the local processing factory owned by George Raftis. After a few years Norm and his wife I took on the Henry Miles with two of his sons and one of his wife's sons and they worked together until she was lost.

November 1982 - Last Days of the Henry Miles

The Henry Miles left Vanderlin Island in November 1982 bound for Karumba. On the 27th November 1982, off Little Bountiful, Norm was awoken by his wife, Lillian, who said she could smell smoke. Norm rushed to the engine room to find there was a bad fire on the top part of the engine room. The main engine and auxiliary engines were shut down and the doors sealed the doors and vents to the engine room. The CO2 system was engaged. The timber on the vessel was old and the timbers were smoldering – all efforts to quell the fire proved fruitless. All five on board were able to climb into the dinghy and were picked up.

Image Source Sourced from web - original source unknown

Acknowledgements. The assistance of Mori Flapan (Mori Flapan boatregister) by providing access to his extensive database is greatly appreciated.

Notes made by Norm Colless were of great value as details have not been published.

All Images in this photostream are Copyright - Great Lakes Manning River Shipping and/or their individual owners as may be stated above and may not be downloaded, reproduced, or used in any way without prior written approval.

GREAT LAKES MANNING RIVER SHIPPING, NSW - Flickr Group --> Alphabetical Boat Index --> Boat builders Index --> Tags List

hallway by guy wilkinson photography

allergy medical, double bay, sydney. interior design by hassell studio and constructed by FDC Construction & Fitout

Welcome to Freshview by Campaign Monitor

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The entrance and reception area

A6-EEQ 2 Airbus A380-861 Emirates Airline(World Cup 2014) MAN 04JUL14 by Ken Fielding

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'FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014' logojet - right side close-up.

First flown in Oct-13 with the Airbus test registration F-WWAG, the aircraft was ferried to the Airbus factory airfield at Hamburg-Finkenwerder, Germany for interior fitout and painting. It was delivered to Emirates Airline as A6-EEQ in May-14.

It also carried the 'United for Wildlife' special livery in 2016. Due to the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic the aircraft was withdrawn from service and stored at Dubai-World Central in Mar-20. It returned to Dubai International in Sep-22 for post-storage maintenance and returned to service on 21-Nov-22. Current, updated 15-Jul-25.

ITM3579742 Station Workshops, Roma Street Railway station and yards, South Brisbane, Dept No.QSA0284 X2186 no 861 by Queensland State Archives