page_title: Lady Ferguson
section_title: Service history
hierarchical_section_title: Lady Ferguson / Service history
caption_attribution_description: English: File 078/078714 DESCRIPTION The ferry has probably been 'bunkered' from the pile of coal seen alongside. DATE c 1915 FORMAT Digital image only. Many of the images in this collection are available as hi-res jpegs. Please contact the City of Sydney Archives (archives@ cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au) on a case by case basis. RECORDSERIES Sydney Reference Collection CITATION Graeme Andrews 'Working Harbour' Collection: 78714 PROVENANCE City of Sydney Archives NOTES S105211
context_page_description: Lady Ferguson was a Sydney Harbour ferry built in 1914 for the Balmain New Ferry Company. She and four similar ferries, Lady Chelmsford, Lady Denman, Lady Edeline, and Lady Scott, were a new series of "Lady-class", designed by renowned naval architect, Walter Reeks.
  Lady Ferguson and her four sisters survived the 1932 opening of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and were converted to diesel power that decade. They also survived the 1951 NSW State Government takeover of the ailing ferry fleet. Lady Ferguson was sold out of Sydney ferry service in 1975 to be used as a relief vessel in Hobart following the collapse of the Tasman Bridge. On arrival, she was found to be in such poor condition that she was not used. She was broken up in 1977.
  Continuing a Balmain Ferry Co convention of naming their ferries after the wives of Governors-General of Australia and Governors of NSW, Lady Ferguson was named after Helen Hermione, wife of Ronald Munro Ferguson, 1st Viscount Novar the sixth Governor-General of Australia. This naming nomenclature was again used by the State Government harbour ferry operator with the introduction of 6 new "Lady-class ferries" in the 1960s and 1970s.
context_section_description: From 1900, the Balmain New Ferry Company began a period of expansion to keep up and compete with the tram network expanding into what is now referred to as Sydney's Inner West. Older ferries were sold off including several series of "Lady-class" class ferries were introduced.
  Lady Ferguson was the last of five in the Balmain company's final series of "Lady-class" ferries, the others being Ladies Chelmsford (1910), Denman (1912), Edeline (1913), and Scott (1914). This series was introduced to replace the single-ended ferries on the Lane Cove River service. They also worked on the run from Balmain to Erskine Street wharf (at site of current Barangaroo).
  Lady Ferguson, and the rest of the Balmain fleet, were bought by Sydney Ferries Limited as part of its take over of the Balmain company on 1 March 1918. The five operated the Lane Cove River services to Fig Tree until 12 November 1931 when weekday services were suspended. They ran weekend services to Fig Tree on weekends until 2 September 1945. Lane Cove River services were discontinued altogether on 10 November 1950, after which the five saw them work the Parramatta River and across other routes. Sydney Ferries ran a service to Balmain until it was taken over in 1939 by Nicholson Brothers Harbour Transport Company with their own ferries. The five "Lady class" ferries were run on other routes across the Harbour.
  In 1932, the Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened, and Sydney Ferries Ltd's annual patronage dropped from 40 million to about 15 million. As part of economy measures, almost older and/or larger steamers were put up for sale, and the five "Lady-class" ferries were converted to diesel power in the 1930s with Lady Chelmsford first. Their tall black smoke stacks were replaced with short funnels. Facing uncertain post-Bridge times, Sydney Ferries Ltd sought a refreshed look for their ferries, covering the original livery of varnished timber and white trim with yellow and green paint and red trim. In 1937, Lady Ferguson re-entered service with a six-cylinder 65 hp Henty & Gardner diesel that pushed her to 9 knots. The five "Lady" ferries continued to run the Hunters Hill and Balmain services. 
  The post-Bridge drop in demand for the ferry fleet was somewhat mitigated as many could not afford their own transport in the Great Depression of the 1930s and rationing of fuel during World War 2 made the coal required for the steam ferries relatively cheap. 
  However, the post World War II years saw the drop in demand pick up pace. In 1951, with annual patronage down to 9 million, the NSW State Government took over Sydney Ferries Limited and its remaining fleet and assets. The Port Jackson and Manly Steamship Company, which ran the Manly service, was paid to run the services. The services and fleet were quickly rationalised with most of the larger remaining timber K-class steamers being decommissioned, however, the five relatively small and economical "Lady-class" ferries were retained. Throughout the remainder of the 1950s and into the 1960s, they became the back-bone of Sydney Harbour's non-Manly ferry fleet, along with Karginal and Karrabee the smallest of the K-class ferries. Their routes were expanded to all inner-harbour (ie, non-Manly) services including Taronga Park Zoo, Milsons Point, Cremorne and Hunters Hill.
  The five sister ferries (except Lady Scott) were re-engined again in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Lady Ferguson received a 4-cylinder 300 bhp Crossley Brothers diesel that pushed her to 10 knots. In the 1960s the Board updated all their ferries' 1930s green and gold livery to a more muted cream and khaki scheme.
caption: At Fig Tree wharf c 1915
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