The Mortlake Ferry, also known as the Putney Punt, is a

cable ferry A cable ferry (including the terms chain ferry, swing ferry, floating bridge, or punt) is a ferry that is guided (and in many cases propelled) across a river or large body of water by cables connected to both shores. Early cable ferries often ...

that runs across the

Parramatta River The Parramatta River is an intermediate tide-dominated, drowned valley estuary located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. With an average depth of , the Parramatta River is the main tributary of Sydney Harbour, a branch of Port Jackson. Seco ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, connecting Hilly Street in

Mortlake Mortlake is a suburban district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes. For many centu ...

and Pellisier Road in

Putney Putney () is a district of southwest London, England, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. History Putney is an ancient paris ...

History and heritage

The vehicular ferry between

and

commenced operating on 16 May 1928. The service was established to serve the factory areas of Mortlake. The ferry opening pre-dated the nearby

Ryde Bridge The Ryde Bridge(s), also called the Uhrs Point Bridge, are two road bridges that carry Concord Road, part of the A3, across Parramatta River from in the northern suburbs of Sydney to in Sydney's inner west, in New South Wales, Australia. T ...

which opened in 1935, and it was one of several vehicular ferries operating across the

at the time. The Mortlake Ferry is one of ten remaining vehicular cable ferries in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, and the only one still in use 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 ...

or its tributaries. While carrying much less traffic than it has in the past, the ferry still operates daily and is protected by a heritage order by the

National Trust of Australia The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...

Operation

The ferry is operated by a

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

operator under contract to

Transport for NSW Transport for NSW, sometimes abbreviated to TfNSW, and pronounced as Transport for New South Wales, is an agency of the New South Wales Government established on 1 November 2011, and is the leading transport and roads agency in New South Wales, ...

, carrying a maximum of 15 cars plus passengers at a time, and is free of

toll Toll may refer to: Transportation * Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway ** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use ** Road toll (historic), the historic practice of charging for road use ** Shadow toll, ...

s. The crossing is some in length and takes approximately five minutes. The ferry operates on demand on weekdays from 06:45 to 09:25 and 14:45 to 18:15. On weekends and public holidays it operates on demand 10:30 to 17:30 from Mortlake.Vehicle ferries
Roads & Maritime Services The ferry has magenta flashing lights on the ferry and at both end points when it is in operation.

Sydney Ferries Sydney Ferries is the public transport ferry network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales. Services operate on Sydney Harbour and the connecting Parramatta River. The network is controlled by the New South Wales Government's transport a ...

services must grant right of way to the Mortlake Ferry unless they have established radio contact and agreed on priority.Code of Conduct: Mortlake Ferries and Harbour City Ferries
Roads & Maritime Services Regulation 2016 Clause 56(1)

Mortlake Slipway

A slipway located to the south of the Mortlake approach ramp is used for the maintenance of all the RMS owned ferries operating in the Sydney region. Besides the Mortlake Ferry, this includes the

Berowra Waters Ferry The Berowra Waters Ferry is a cable ferry across the Berowra Creek, a tributary of the Hawkesbury River, located in the Berowra Valley National Park, Sydney, Australia. The ferry operates from the community of Berowra Waters on the west bank of ...

Sackville Ferry The Sackville Ferry is a cable ferry across the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales, Australia. The vehicular ferry connects the communities of Sackville, on the north/west bank of the river, and Sackville North, on the south/east bank. Beca ...

Lower Portland Ferry The Lower Portland Ferry is a cable ferry across the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales, Australia. The ferry is situated in the community of Lower Portland, New South Wales, Lower Portland. The ferry is operated by a private sector operator un ...

Webbs Creek Ferry Webbs Creek Ferry is a cable ferry across the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales, Australia. The ferry operates from the community of Wisemans Ferry, to a point up-stream of the Hawkesbury River's confluence with the Macdonald River, thus con ...

and

Wisemans Ferry Wisemans Ferry is a cable ferry across the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales, Australia. The ferry operates from the eponymous community of Wisemans Ferry, New South Wales, Wisemans Ferry on the south bank, to a point on the north bank downs ...

, all of which operate on the

Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River, is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney. ...

and its tributaries.

References

External links

RMS vehicle ferry operation information

Sydney Sketchbook – A trip on the Putney Punt in 1954
{{coord, -33.83646, 151.107314, region:AU_type:landmark, display=title Ferries of New South Wales Ferry transport in Sydney 1928 establishments in Australia Cable ferries in Australia