Wisemans 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 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 confluence with the Macdonald River, connecting with the old Great North Road. The crossing has remained in use on its current site since 1829, making it the oldest ferry crossing still in operation in New South Wales, and possibly in Australia.

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 List of New South Wales government agencies, agency of the Government of New South Wales, New South Wales Government established on 1 Novem ...

and is free of tolls. The crossing is in length and takes approximately 4 minutes. The ferry operates on demand 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with no regular maintenance closure. Two ferry boats are available at this crossing, operating on separate sets of cables, and when traffic demands it both may be in use. The larger of the two boats carries up to 24 cars, whilst the smaller one carries 18 cars. The ferry is one of two cable ferry crossings in the community of Wisemans Ferry, the other being Webbs Creek Ferry, which crosses the Hawkesbury River to a point upstream of the confluence with the Macdonald River. Two other such ferries cross the Hawkesbury River proper, these being the

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. B ...

and the

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. The ferry is operated by a private sector operator under contract to Hawkesbury City C ...

, whilst a fifth ferry, 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 ...

, crosses a side-arm of the river.

History

The ferry is named after its founder, Solomon Wiseman, a former

convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convict ...

(1778–1838), who received a land grant in the area from

Governor Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie se ...

in 1817. Wiseman established the ferry service in 1827 for the transport of produce and provisions to the convicts building the Great North Road to link Sydney with the fertile

Hunter Valley The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and ...

. Initially located downstream of its present location, the crossing was moved to its present location in 1829 when the Great North Road was repositioned and reconstructed. In 1832, the Wisemans ferry service was purchased by the government.Reed, A.W. (1969) ''Place-Names of New South Wales: Their Origins and Meanings'', p. 151. Sydney: A.H & A.W. Reed Until the opening of the Peats Ferry Bridge across the Hawkesbury at

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, Wisemans Ferry was on one of the main road routes north out of Sydney. However, when that bridge opened in 1945, vehicular traffic along the Great North Road through Wisemans Ferry was reduced, and the crossing at Wisemans Ferry could no longer be considered to be on the main route north 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 ...

References

External links

RMS vehicle ferry operation information

RTA heritage information on Wisemans Ferry
{{Coord, -33.379181, 150.988895, format=dms, region:AU-NSW_type:landmark, display=title Ferry transport in Sydney Hawkesbury River Ferries of New South Wales Cable ferries in Australia

Operation

History

See also

References

External links