SS John Oxley
 John Oxley in July 2018, undergoing restoration at the Sydney Heritage Fleet shipyard in Rozelle Bay
| |
| History | |
|---|---|
  Australia | |
| Name | SS John Oxley |
| Owner |
|
| Operator | Royal Australian Navy (World War II) |
| Builder | Bow, McLachlan & Co, Paisley, Scotland |
| Yard number | 464 |
| Launched | 20 July 1927 |
| In service | 1927 |
| Out of service | 1968 |
| Homeport |
|
| Identification | IMO number: 5174234 |
| Status | Undergoing restoration |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Pilot boat[1] |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 168 ft (51 m) |
| Beam | 32 ft (9.8 m) |
| Draught | 11 ft (3.4 m) |
| Installed power | 1,400 IHP |
| Propulsion | triple expansion steam engine supplied by two Scotch boilers |
| Speed | 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph) |
| Capacity | 14 pilots |
| Crew | 15 crew |
| Armament | One Oerlikon 20 mm cannon (naval service) |
SS John Oxley is a steamship that previously was a pilot boat and lighthouse and buoy tender.[2] The ship was built in Scotland in 1927 for the Queensland Government. The vessel was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy during World War II. 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) 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 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.[3]
Design and construction[edit]
Bow, McLachlan and Company of Paisley in Renfrewshire, Scotland built John Oxley in 1927, under yard number 464.[1] She was launched on 20 July 1927, and completed later that year.[1] The vessel is 168 feet (51 m) long, with a beam of 32 feet (9.8 m), and a draught of 11 feet (3.4 m).[1] Tonnage values are 544 Gross register tonnage, 760 Deadweight tonnage, and 212 Net Register Tonnage[1] Propulsion is provided by two Scotch marine boilers supplying a triple expansion steam engine, which delivers 1,400 IHP to the propeller, for a maximum speed of 14 knots (26 km/h; 16 mph).[1][2] The vessel had a crew of 15, and in her role as a pilot boat, could carry 14 harbour pilots.[1][4]
Service career[edit]
In early October 1927, John Oxley left Greenock, Scotland bound for Brisbane via the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. While en route in the Mediterranean Sea, she responded to a distress signal by the tugboat Jackstay and towed it to Malta. It arrived in Brisbane on 9 December 1927.[5]
She was delivered to the Government of Queensland Harbours and Marine Department, whom she served as a pilot boat in Moreton Bay[1] and buoy tender and lighthouse tender along the Queensland coast.[2]
During World War II, John Oxley was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy and a 20mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft gun was mounted on the stern.[citation needed] She was returned to her former duties in 1946, and converted from coal to oil fuel that same year.[citation needed]
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's journal called her a "rust heap" with "the worst living conditions of any ship on the entire Australian coast".[6]
Preservation[edit]
John Oxley was donated to the Lady Hopetoun and Port Jackson Marine Steam Museum (now the Sydney Heritage Fleet), arriving in Sydney in August 1970 and initially moored at Birkenhead Point.[2][7] 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 Rozelle Bay.[8] 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 requirements for safe operation and make coastal voyages.[8]
Once finished she'll be based out of the Sydney heritage fleet's Queensland museum the Queensland's maritime museum to make up for the loss of Forceful.[citation needed]
Re-float[edit]
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 Sydney Heritage Fleet 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 2046-2047, but it depends on funding and manpower.[citation needed]
Gallery[edit]
-
John Oxley on floating dock in 2005 -
Wheelhouse and bridge superstructure in 2005 -
Hot riveting hull plates in 2006 -
John Oxley and the schooner Boomerang in 2005 -
SS John Oxley on floating dock in 2013 -
After being removed from the ship for restoration the teak wheelhouse was refitted on July 10, 2018 -
Refitted propeller in 2018 -
Returning wheelhouse to ship in 2018 -
Restored wheelhouse in 2018 -
Fitting the last hull plate on the John Oxley, 21 October 2021 -
Isolation Transformer being craned aboard Nov 2021 -
Painting & preparation Feb 2022
References[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h Cameron, Stuart; Robinson, George. "SS John Oxley". Clyde-built Database. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b c d "History of John Oxley". Sydney Heritage Fleet. Archived from the original on 3 December 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
- ^ John Oxley Quarterly Report, December 26, 2021, https://www.shf.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/John-Oxley-Quarterly-Report-2021-Rev3.pdf Archived 8 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ John Oxley Daily Commercial News & Shipping List 30 September 1927 page 5
- ^ "NEW PILOT STEAMER". The Brisbane Courier. No. 21, 801. Queensland, Australia. 10 December 1927. p. 28. Retrieved 4 December 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Seaman's Union newspaper, reprinted in Seccombe, Ralph (August 2008). "Upstairs, Downstairs". Australian Sea Heritage (92). Sydney: Sydney Maritime Museum Ltd: 9–14.
- ^ Ship Ahoy! Trolley Wire issue 131 December 1970 page 16
- ^ a b "John Oxley restoration Update Jan 2011". Sydney Heritage Fleet. Archived from the original on 25 February 2011. Retrieved 22 May 2011.
Bibliography[edit]
Mollema, Hette (2010), SS John Oxley : Restoration Underway, Hette Mollema, ISBN 978-0-646-54234-8
Ferrier, Neil (2022), John Oxley Odyssey: The Life and Times of a 1927 Steamer, independent (published 24 July 2022), ISBN 979-8764963310
External links[edit]
