ÒNurungiÓRemembered OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE CONCORD HERITAGE SOCIETY email:
[email protected] www.concordheritage.asn.au EDITOR No.110 May 2005 LOIS MICHEL 9744-8528 The Mortlake Ferry - Historical Notes PRESIDENT Happy 77th Birthday - 16th May TRISH HARRINGTON 9764-3296 The Mortlake Ferry is a vehicular cable ferry Putney ferry service on 16 May 1928. Ball PUBLIC RELATIONS that plies the Parramatta River at a cross- was the Secretary for Public Works in TRISH SKEHAN ing between Hilly Street in Mortlake and George Fuller’s coalition government 9743-4172 Pellisier Road in Putney. It is the last remain- (1922-25), and was also a minister in the ing vehicular ferry (or punt) operating on the Bavin Government at the time the ferry SECRETARY/TREASURER Parramatta River, and in Sydney more gen- service was instituted by the Department LOIS MICHEL erally. Other existing vehicular ferry services of Main Roads (DMR). 3 Flavelle Street close to the Sydney region include five on The ferry service was commenced to en- (P.O. Box 152) the Hawkesbury River at Wisemans Ferry, Concord 2137 able employees at the nearby Australian Sackville, Lower Portland, Webbs Creek and Gas Light Company (AGL) who lived in Phone: 9744-8528 Berowra Waters. Fax: 9744-7591 suburbs on the northern side of the river Ferries, both passenger and vehicular, were to reach their workplace. Pressure came * an essential link in the transport infrastruc- from the ‘Putney side’ for the institution of MEETINGS ture of Sydney throughout the nineteenth the service, and was primarily led by the and early twentieth centuries, as the city is Putney Progress Association.