SS ''John Oxley'' is a

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

that previously served as a

pilot boat A pilot boat is a type of boat used to transport maritime pilots between land and the inbound or outbound ships that they are piloting. Pilot boats were once sailing boats that had to be fast because the first pilot to reach the incoming ship ...

and

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

and

buoy tender A buoy tender is a type of vessel used to maintain and replace navigational buoys. This term can also apply to an actual person who does this work. The United States Coast Guard uses buoy tenders to accomplish one of its primary missions of main ...

. The ship was built in Scotland in 1927 for the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary constitutional monarchy was formed in 1859 as prescribed in its Constitution, as amended fr ...

. The vessel was requisitioned by

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 ...

during the

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 ...

. Returned to her duties after the war, ''John Oxley'' remained active until 1968, when her deteriorating condition made her unusable. In 1970, the ship was donated by the Queensland Government to the Lady Hopetoun and Port Jackson Marine Steam Museum (now the

Sydney Heritage Fleet Sydney Heritage Fleet, is the trading name of Sydney Maritime Museum Ltd., a public (non-profit) company in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Fleet restores and operates a number of historic vessels including the barque ''James Craig' ...

) for preservation, but due to other projects, work was sidelined until 2004. The ship has undergone restoration for the past 20 years at

Rozelle Bay Rozelle Bay is a bay located to the south of Glebe Island and the west of Blackwattle Bay, on Sydney Harbour. The naming of the bay is derived from either the Rosella bird or the Rosella plant, with the latter being more likely, due to the o ...

on a floating dock. In April 2022, she was towed to dry dock at Garden Island, re-floated successfully and returned to Rozelle Bay for further restoration work afloat.

Design and construction

Bow, McLachlan and Company Bow, McLachlan and Company was a Scottish marine engineering and shipbuilding company that traded between 1872 and 1932. History 1872–1914 In 1872 William Bow and John McLachlan founded the company at Abbotsinch, Renfrewshire, where it made s ...

of Paisley in

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

, Scotland built ''John Oxley'' in 1927, under yard number 464. She was launched on 20 July 1927, and completed later that year. The vessel is long, with a beam of , and a draught of . Tonnage values are 544 Gross register tonnage, 760

Deadweight tonnage Deadweight tonnage (also known as deadweight; abbreviated to DWT, D.W.T., d.w.t., or dwt) or tons deadweight (DWT) is a measure of how much weight a ship can carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, provi ...

, and 212

Net Register Tonnage Net register tonnage (NRT, nrt, n.r.t.) is a ship's cargo volume capacity expressed in "register tons", one of which equals to a volume of . It is calculated by subtracting non-revenue-earning spaces i.e. spaces not available for carrying cargo, ...

Propulsion is provided by two

Scotch marine boiler A "Scotch" marine boiler (or simply Scotch boiler) is a design of steam boiler best known for its use on ships. The general layout is that of a squat horizontal cylinder. One or more large cylindrical furnaces are in the lower part of the boiler ...

s supplying a

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 ...

, which delivers 1,400 IHP to the propeller, for a maximum speed of . The vessel had a crew of 15, and in her role as a pilot boat, could carry 14 harbour pilots.

Service career

SS John Oxley looking aft to wheelhouse, 2013

In early October 1927, ''John Oxley'' left

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

, Scotland bound for

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

via the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

and

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

. While en route in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

, she responded to a distress signal by the tugboat ''Jackstay'' and towed it to

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. It arrived in Brisbane on 9 December 1927. She was delivered to the

Government of Queensland The Queensland Government is the democratic administrative authority of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland. The Government of Queensland, a parliamentary system, parliamentary constitutional monarchy was form ...

Harbours and Marine Department, whom she served as a pilot boat in

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

and

lighthouse tender A lighthouse tender is a ship specifically designed to maintain, support, or tend to lighthouses or lightvessels, providing supplies, fuel, mail, and transportation. In the United States, these ships originally served as part of the Lighthous ...

along the Queensland coast. During

, ''John Oxley'' was requisitioned by the

and a 20mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft gun was mounted on the stern. She was returned to her former duties in 1946, and converted from coal to oil fuel that same year. ''John Oxley'' continued to serve as a pilot tender, lighthouse and buoy tender until 1968 when she was decommissioned. In her later years she had become increasingly decrepit, such that in 1964 the

Seamen's Union of Australia The Seamen's Union of Australia (SUA) was the principal trade union for merchant seamen in Australia from 1876 to 1991. The SUA developed a reputation as one of the most militant trade unions in Australia and was closely associated with the ...

's journal called her a ''"rust heap"'' with ''"the worst living conditions of any ship on the entire Australian coast"''.

Preservation

''John Oxley'' was donated to the Lady Hopetoun and Port Jackson Marine Steam Museum (now the

), arriving in Sydney in August 1970 and initially moored at

Birkenhead Point Birkenhead Point is a Peninsula, point in Port Jackson, in the suburb of Drummoyne, New South Wales, Australia. The area was once largely industrial but it is now the home to Birkenhead Point Outlet Centre, marina and apartment complex. Birken ...

.Ship Ahoy! ''

Trolley Wire The Sydney Tramway Museum (operated by the South Pacific Electric Railway) is Australia's oldest tramway museum and the largest in the southern hemisphere. It is located at Loftus in the southern suburbs of Sydney. History Construction of th ...

'' issue 131 December 1970 page 16 She saw very little repair work until 1997, when restoration on another ship, the barque '' James Craig'', was at a stage where she could be taken off the floating dock. Until then, her hull had gradually deteriorated and she was badly in need of repairs when put on the floating dock in place of the ''James Craig''. Since 2002 the ''John Oxley'' has been under continuous restoration at the shipyard of the Sydney Heritage Fleet in

. During eighty years on the water, the ship had incurred substantial corrosion to the hull, decks and superstructure. The majority of the plates of the ship's riveted hull have required complete replication using the same hot riveted method as when the ship was built. The restoration work also entails the repair and reconditioning of all machinery, masts and rigging, timber work, internal fitout and generally making the ship seaworthy. The ship will satisfy the

survey Survey may refer to: Statistics and human research * Statistical survey, a method for collecting quantitative information about items in a population * Survey (human research), including opinion polls Spatial measurement * Surveying, the techniq ...

requirements for safe operation and make coastal voyages.

Re-float

After 20 years of restoration work on the Sea Heritage Dock, ''John Oxley'' was re-floated in the Captain Cook Graving Dock at Garden Island on 2 April 2022, and officially re-launched in a ceremony at Glebe Island the following day. She returned to the

base at Rozelle Bay on 14 April 2022 to be moored alongside Kanangra, which has taken her place on the Sea Heritage Dock. ''John Oxley'' will now undergo further work towards being fully commissioned, in a time-frame dependent on availability of funding and volunteer labour. It is hoped she'll be steaming the Australian coast once more by around 2036-2037

Gallery

File:SS_John_Oxley_on_floating_dock_in_2005.jpg, John Oxley on floating dock in 2005 File:SS John Oxley bridge at SHF in 2005.jpg, Wheelhouse and bridge superstructure in 2005 File:SS John Oxley hot riveting in 2006.jpg, Hot riveting hull plates in 2006 File:Sydney Heritage Fleet Heritage dock Rozelle.jpg, John Oxley and the schooner Boomerang in 2005 File:SS John Oxley on floating dock in 2013.jpg, SS John Oxley on floating dock in 2013 File:Restored wheelhouse of SS John Oxley.jpg, After being removed from the ship for restoration the teak wheelhouse was refitted on July 10, 2018 File:SS John Oxley refitted propeller 2018.jpg, Refitted propeller in 2018 File:SS John Oxley Returning wheelhouse to ship.jpg, Returning wheelhouse to ship in 2018 File:SS John Oxley Restored wheelhouse in 2018.jpg, Restored wheelhouse in 2018 File:Last Hull Plate October 2021.jpg, Fitting the last hull plate on the John Oxley, 21 October 2021 File:Isolation Transformer Nov 2021.jpg, Isolation Transformer being craned aboard Nov 2021 File:Painting and preparation February 2022.jpg, Painting & preparation Feb 2022

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Sydney Heritage Fleet

John Oxley
{{DEFAULTSORT:John Oxley, SS Auxiliary ships of the Royal Australian Navy Iron and steel steamships of Australia Museum ships in Australia Ships built on the River Clyde 1927 ships