The Sackville Ferry 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 ...

across 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. ...

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 ...

, 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. Because of the tortuous course of the river, the ferry actually runs north-west from Sackville to Sackville North. 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, ...

, carries a maximum of 12 cars 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 in length and takes approximately 3 minutes. The ferry operates on demand 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but is closed for maintenance on the first Wednesday of each month between 1245 and 1515. The Sackville Ferry is the farthest upstream of four vehicular cable ferry crossings of the Hawkesbury River proper - between Windsor Bridge and Brooklyn. In order downstream, the others are: the Lower Portland Ferry, Webbs Creek Ferry 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 on the south bank, to a point on the north bank downstream of the Hawkesbury River's ...

. A fifth ferry, the Berowra Waters Ferry, crosses a side-arm of the river.Sue Andersen and Mary Ann Hamilton (October1998)
N.S.W Vehicular Ferries Summary Report.
' Roads and Traffic Authority Oral History Program. A ferry service is known to have operated across the river at Sackville since at least 1883, and possibly the 1870s. Initially privately owned, by c1908 the operation of the ferry was sub-contracted by Baulkham Hills Shire Council to a local resident. In 1918 the ferry was jointly owned and managed by the Colo Shire Council and Baulkham Hills Council. It was taken over by the New South Wales Department of Main Roads, a predecessor of Transport for NSW, shortly after that body's inception in 1932.

References

External links

RMS vehicle ferry operation information

RTA heritage information on Sackville Ferry
Ferries of New South Wales Ferry transport in Sydney Hawkesbury River Cable ferries in Australia {{ferry-stub