PS Marion

Over the years Postcards has kept a close eye on the progress of the Paddlesteamer Marion, since her recommissioning as a passenger vessel in 1994. Up until then she'd spent more than thirty years in dry dock earning her keep as an essential feature of the Mannum Museum. But for local volunteers like Bert Ebdon it seemed a pity that the PS Marion wasn't doing what she'd done for most of her working life, plying the waters of Australia's major rivers. After a concerted effort by the Mannum Community, the PS Marion was back to full working order and over the past four years she's certainly established herself as one of the Murray's premier tourist attractions. While she glides through the water, changing course requires a heavy handed approach. "Most boats nowadays are equipped with hydraulic steering so its like driving a car, you don't really feel it. But with this you can feel the resistance and it's nice to see the boat go where you want it to go, after you've put a lot of effort into it sometimes." The Marion's fitted with the original boiler and steam plant built by Marshall and Sons in Gainsborough, England. Two years ago she celebrated her centenary and what's been a very colourful and varied working life. "Built at Milang, down at Lake Alexandrina actually as a private vessel, the chap who commissioned it died before it was completed, so it became a barge for a while. It was later equipped with paddles and an engine and became a cargo vessel, later on passenger cargo." For a time she even served as a floating boarding house at Berri in the Riverland. But now she's back home on the lower reaches of the Murray and is owned and operated by the Mannum District Council. If you want a taste of life on board a typical river boat, then head to the Mary Ann Reserve at Mannum next weekend. As part of the Houseboat Hirers' Association Open Days, the PS Marion will be conducting three cruises daily. For more information you can email: info@postcards.sa.com.au