''Kuramia'' was a " K-class" ferry on

Sydney Harbour Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

. Commissioned in 1914, the timber-

hull Hull may refer to: Structures * Chassis, of an armored fighting vehicle * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a ship * Submarine hull Mathematics * Affine hull, in affi ...

ed steamer was built for

Sydney Ferries Limited Sydney Ferries Limited operated ferry services on Sydney Harbour from 1900 until June 1951. The company grew out of the North Shore Steam Ferry Company and took over smaller ferry operators to become the largest ferry operator in Sydney's his ...

during the early twentieth boom in cross-harbour ferry travel. At 353 tons, she was the largest wooden ferry on Sydney Harbour. She was a typical example of the "K class"; a group of double-deck, double-ended,

steam-powered A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be tra ...

screw A screw and a bolt (see '' Differentiation between bolt and screw'' below) are similar types of fastener typically made of metal and characterized by a helical ridge, called a ''male thread'' (external thread). Screws and bolts are used to fa ...

ferries. ''Kuramia'' was built for the short but busy cross-harbour route between

Circular Quay Circular Quay is a harbour, former working port and now international passenger shipping port, public piazza and tourism precinct, heritage area, and transport node located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the northern edge of the Syd ...

and

Milsons Point Milsons Point is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The suburb is located 3 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of North Sydney Council. Mil ...

. Made redundant by the 1932 opening of the

Sydney Harbour Bridge The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a steel through arch bridge in Sydney, spanning Port Jackson, Sydney Harbour from the Sydney central business district, central business district (CBD) to the North Shore (Sydney), North Shore. The view of the bridg ...

, the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

converted her to a

boom defence vessel A net laying ship, also known as a net layer, net tender, gate ship or boom defence vessel was a type of naval auxiliary ship. A net layer's primary function was to lay and maintain steel anti-torpedo or anti-submarine nets. Nets could be laid ...

. ''Kuramia'' followed Sydney Ferries Limited's tradition of naming their vessels after

Australian Indigenous Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples o ...

words starting with "K". ''Kuramia'' was reported to have been named after a village on the

Transcontinental railway A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...

route.

Background

''Kuramia'' was built for

during the early twentieth century boom in cross-Harbour travel prior to the 1932 opening of the

. She was typical of a broader type of timber double-ended

ferry known as the K class. The company built 25 of these vessels between the 1890s and early 1920s to meet the booming demand. The K class were all propelled by

triple expansion steam engine A compound steam engine unit is a type of steam engine where steam is expanded in two or more stages. A typical arrangement for a compound engine is that the steam is first expanded in a high-pressure ''(HP)'' cylinder, then having given up he ...

s and were predominantly timber-hulled (four later K-class had steel hulls).

Design and Construction

''Kuramia'' was designed by Mr. J. Darter, under the supervision of Mr. T. Drown,

works manager. The vessel had six longitudinal bulkheads to improve her strength and safety. ''Kuramia'' was built by

David Drake David A. Drake (born September 24, 1945) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now a writer in the military science fiction genre. Biography Drake graduated Phi ...

, Balmain for

at a cost of £20,027. She was long with a beam of compared to the previously largest ferry, ''

Kaikai Kaikai is a surname, and may refer to: * Ansumana Jaia Kaikai, Sierra Leonean politician * Linus Kaikai, Kenyan journalist * Moijueh Kaikai, Sierra Leonean politician * Septimus Kaikai, Sierra Leonean politician and broadcaster * Sullay Kaikai ( ...

'' with a length of . She was launched on 15 November 1913 and christened ''Kuramia'' by Miss Ina Cornish. Her triple expansion, direct-acting, surface-condensing steam engines were built by

Mort's Dock Mort's Dock is a former dry dock, slipway, and shipyard in Balmain, New South Wales, Australia. It was the first dry dock in Australia, opening for business in 1855 and closing more than a century later in 1959. The site is now parkland. Histor ...

, Balmain. There were two multi-tubular boilers 7 feet 7 ½ inch in diameter, and 18 feet and 7 ½ inches long and the trial trip indicated 670 hp. The electric lighting was provided by Messrs. Lawrence and Hansen.

Service history

Her official trails were undertaken on 14 July 1914 where she attained a speed of 12 knots. ''Kuramia'' at 335 tons, and ''

Kulgoa ''Kulgoa'' was a " K-class" ferry on Sydney Harbour. Launched in 1905, the timber-hulled steamer was built for Sydney Ferries Limited during the boom in cross-harbour ferry travel prior to the 1932 opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. ''Kulgoa'' ...

'' (338 tons), were the largest wooden ferries on Sydney Harbour, and to that point, the largest built for

. With a passenger capacity of 1,357, she was the highest capacity inner-harbour (non-Manly) ferry until the twins, ''Koompartoo'' and ''Kuttabul'' of 1922 (''Kulgoa'' could carry 1,255). She was operated on the

run, joining the regular ferries on that route, ''

'' (1905) and ''

'' (1907). With three ferries, the service increased from a ferry every 10 minutes, to one every 6 minutes. ''Kuramia'', ''Kulgoa'' and being three of the largest of the Sydney Ferries Fleet were used to capacity as spectator vessels to witness the 1925 arrival of the American Fleet in Sydney Harbour. Made redundant by the opening of the

in 1932. Her engines were sold in 1940. HMAS KURAMIA

Part of her machinery was fitted into '' HMAS Uralba''. Her hull was requisitioned by the

in 1942 and she was converted to a

for naval use in 1942 as a boom gate vessel on the harbour boom off Watsons Bay until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, being removed from the boom in October 1945. For a few months after the end of World War II she remained in use as a dormitory and amenities ship before finally being paid off in December 1945. Her hulk was used as target by aircraft from HMAS ''Sydney'' and sunk 17 miles off Sydney's

Macquarie Lighthouse The Macquarie Lighthouse, also known as South Head Upper Light, is the first, and is the longest serving, lighthouse site in Australia. It is located on Dunbar Head, on Old South Head Road, Vaucluse in the Municipality of Woollahra local govern ...

on 10 October 1953.

Incidents

* 7 June 1915 - ''Kuramia's'' upper deck collided with stays of the

Gladesville Bridge Gladesville Bridge is a heritage-listed concrete arch road bridge that carries Victoria Road over the Parramatta River, linking the Sydney suburbs of Huntleys Point and Drummoyne, in the local government areas of Canada Bay and Hunter's Hill, ...

when returning from a regatta. The wheelhouse and a portion of the roof were severely damaged, however, no injuries were report. * 5 May 1923 - Upon returning from the Head of the River rowing regatta, ''Kuramia'' crashed into the Gladesville Bridge after being taken off course by the current. Striking a buttress, the collision caused a large beam to crash into the smoking saloon. Two girls and a man were injured, with one girl later having her leg amputated. Sydney ferry KURAMIA collision damage

* On 22 February 1924, ''Kuramia'' crashed into the pontoon of Milsons Point wharf during a busy evening peak run from Circular Quay. One passenger was taken to hospital with a broken right leg, and others were treated at the scene. The bulwarks and anchor box were smashed. A strong wind was blowing and the ferry was estimated to be carrying between 1,500 and 2,000 people, thus, it was speculated making it difficult to manoeuvre the vessel. * In June 1925, she collided with ''Kulgoa'' of Dawes Point. An August 1925 Marine Court of Inquiry did not find anyone culpably negligent. The court found that the Lane Cove ferry ''The Lady Mary'', hid the larger ferries ''Kuramia'' and ''Kulgoa'' from each other until ''Kulgoa'' was abreast of ''The Lady Mary'' until a collision between the larger two was inevitable. No injuries occurred due to the crew being able to clear passengers from the forward of ''Kuramia''. Both vessels suffered significant damage to their bows, with ''Kuramia's'' smoking cabin also smashed in. Damage ''Kulgoa'' was estimated at £175 and £560 to ''Kuramia''. * On 1 February 1926, ''Kuramia'' collided with the steamer ''Wear'' and was badly damaged on the port side. Damage was estimated to be worth £130, but there were no injuries. Deck planks, belting, rail, stanchion and bulwarks were destroyed, and a hole was also pierced in her within 18 inches of the water-line. The ''Wear'' was only mildly damaged and was able to continue on her voyage to

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

. * On 21 September 1929, ''Kuramia'' collided with ''Koree''. The former was reported to have suffered no damage, while damage to the latter was around £40. * 5 June 1930 - ''Kuramia'' collided with the launch ''Engadine'' off Milsons Point, the latter of which partially sank in shallow water. Four men on the launch were able to safely board ''Kuramia'' while the ''Engadine'' was beached. ''Kuramia's'' rudder was damaged.

References

External links