I have finally had a little success in solving some of the questions surrounding the wreck of the launch Killarney (ex-ferry Success). According to the “Garden Island Ships’ Graveyard Maritime Heritage Trail” booklet by the Department for Environment and Heritage’s Heritage SA, sometime between the ferry Success sinking in the Port River due to an explosion (in 1919 or 1920) and the Killarney sinking at the Musgrave Wharf moorings in the river on 29th June 1925, the ferry was renamed as Killarney.
The steamer Killarney had now been fitted with a
steam engine (25 HP Union engine). The new owner, engineer E. Schiphorst used
the Killarney for river excursions until it sank at the moorings at the
entrance to Hawkers Creek in 1925. It was raised six weeks later by the Harbors
Board’s 60-ton floating crane. It was then placed on the nearby Dockyard Beach
(for the next four months according to the booklet). It was, however, only
totally abandoned two years later in 1928 and broken up in the North Arm Ships’
Graveyard. That being the case, where was it located between being placed on
Dockyard Beach (6 weeks after being raised?) for just 4 months? (It sank on 29th
June 1925, was raised mid-August 1925, and was at Dockyard Beach until December
1925.) It was a good two years before it was moved to the North Arm of the Port
River. It seems that the ferry actually continued to be used for those two
years, as it was only replaced by a new ferry in 1923.
The ferry Success (now the steamer Killarney)
should not be confused with the iron ketch of the same name (Success) that is listed in “South Australian
Shipwrecks – A Data Base (1802-1989)” by Peter Christopher as being wrecked at
Troubridge Hill on 9th February 1917. The 1883-built, 61-ton ketch
was formerly No.1 Barge and measured 70 feet in length, 18 feet in
width and 6 feet depth. It is listed in the “Investigator Strait Maritime
Heritage Trail” booklet by the Department for Environment and Natural
Resource’s State Heritage Branch.
It is also in “Ketches of South Australia” by Ronald Parsons
(under No.1 barge, renamed as Success). (And, as if to confuse
me, No.2 barge next to it is said to have been renamed Enterprise,
the same name as another vessel in the North Arm Ships’ Graveyard.)
The steamer Killarney (ex-Success) was ‘built’ for the Port Adelaide
Corporation at Birkenhead, South Australia around 1910 by M.T. Beauchamp.
According to “Ferries and Shipyards of Early Port Adelaide” by Ronald Parsons,
the ferry Success replaced the smaller ferry Victor as the Central Ferry at Birkenhead. It had been granted a licence to
operate by the engineer surveyor of the time. The Success was a
110-passenger ferry at the time. It made its first trial run on 8th
August (1915 or 1916*) and began operating on 10th August (1915 or
1916).
“Ferries and
Shipyards of Early Port Adelaide” by Ronald Parsons features this photograph
said to show “The launch of a ferry believed to be the SUCCESS in 1915”: -
There had apparently been some confusion over just who owned the ferry at the time. It is described as having been “almost oval in shape, with the cabin completely glassed in. It seems that the vessel was never actually registered, and details about it have been hard to come by.
There must have
been some problems with the ferry, and it has been dubbed a “white elephant”.
Despite this, it was given an extended licence to continue service for another
five years in 1918. Just a year or two later, however, it was wrecked and sunk
by an onboard explosion.
William “Mitty” Johnson,
one of the two contract holders at the time, went aboard on 15th May
(1919 or 1920*) to obtain a battery. He opened the engine room skylight, and an
explosion slightly injured him and sank the ferry.
* (According to “Garden Island Ships’ Graveyard” booklet by
the Department for Environment and Heritage’s Heritage SA, the incident
occurred on “15 May 1920”, whereas Parsons’ “Ferries and Shipyards of Early Port Adelaide” says that it was “May
15, 1919”. This is just one of several contradictions. As mentioned above
earlier, the year of the ferry doing a trial run and beginning service has been
said to be both 1915 and 1916. Parsons says 1915, whilst the “Garden Island
Ships’ Graveyard” booklet says 1916. There have also been contradictions
regarding just how many passengers the ferry could carry, anything from 100 to
250 passengers. There are also contradictions regarding the vessel’s length.
Parsons gives it as 38 ft whilst the “Garden Island Ships’ Graveyard” booklet
says that it was 55 feet in length.)
The ferry Success was replaced by the ferry Lena M
in 1923. The Killarney sank in
1925.
According to the “Garden Island Ships’ Graveyard” booklet, the
explosion that sank the Success on the morning of 15 May 1920 (or 1919) caused
major damage, “including a hull fracture below the waterline, leaving it partly
submerged near the bank”.
The Killarney was moved to the North Arm of the Port River in 1928. The site is dominated by the ship’s boiler.
The site has been studied by several maritime archaeology students from Flinders University. Past students such as Nathan Richards, Shirley Matthews and Erica-Jane Miller wrote their theses around the North Arm Ships’ Graveyard.
Shirley Elizabeth Matthews’ (B.A. (Hons) thesis is titled “The
North Arm Ships' Graveyard, Port Adelaide, South Australia some historical
perspectives of the ships and associated maritime activity and an examination
of the artefact assemblage”.
Nathan Richards says that Shirley Matthews’s thesis fixes an
ID that he did wrong — “same name, different wreck. It was one of the small
launches — if not Enterprise then Killarney I think”.
i.e.
SUHR references are used in Shirley Elizabeth Matthews’ (B.A.
(Hons) thesis “The North Arm Ships' Graveyard, Port Adelaide, South Australia
some historical perspectives of the ships and associated maritime activity and
an examination of the artefact assemblage”.
I found this image of the Killarney wreck site,
including the boiler: -
Shirley Matthews’ thesis includes this photograph of the
site taken by her: -
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