By Alex Byrne, Bulletin 7/2024, September

1912 ferry Kanangra at Rozelle Bay shipyard (Photo: Alex Byrne)

Glebe locals walking around Bicentennial Park can see Sydney’s 1912 ferry Kanangra elevated on the floating dock on the other side of Rozelle Bay.

A real local, Kanangra was built in Woolwich and finished at Mort’s Dock in Balmain. Timbers including Australian red cedar, New Zealand kauri and Oregon were sourced via the many timber yards around the Glebe and Balmain foreshores. Finished in 1912, twenty years before the Harbour Bridge, Kanangra served the inner harbour especially on the Mosman–Cremorne to Circular Quay run for more than 70 years until 1985. Kanangra is the last of 70 K-class ferries built in Sydney and a reminder of our working harbour.

Matthew Wright painting window counterweights under Kanangra’s hull (Photo: Alex Byrne)

Given to the Sydney Heritage Fleet in 1987, restoration of the hull has had to wait for the James Craig barque and John Oxley pilot ship to be finished with the floating dock. The first stage of that big task is the removal of concrete and foam that were put in the hull to keep Kanangra afloat. 

Meanwhile the timber superstructure is coming along nicely with the first layer of the foredeck almost completely laid and many other elements restored. In particular, almost all 225 windows have been restored and reglazed. Replacing the old 3 mm-thick glass with modern 6 mm safety glass significantly increased the weight of each window, so the counterweights on the sash windows have had to be extended. The photo shows Thursday team leader Matthew Wright rust-proofing the new weights after they’ve been cut, welded and sandblasted.

Restoring a ferry that carried 1,000 passengers is a huge and very satisfying project for around 30 Kanangra volunteers who are learning and keeping alive the old shipbuilding skills that marked Sydney’s foreshore. Their work is supported by small grants and donations which pay for the necessary materials.

To see a great ferry and restoration in action, Kanangra can be visited on the second Sunday of each month. Volunteers recount the ferry’s history and show the work they’re doing. Book at https://www.shf.org.au/.