As our eldest daughter Carolyn & husband Luke were leaving Sydney & moving to Townsville she had arranged to have a farewell breakfast cruise on the Port Hacking River for all her friends and their children. Two ferries run regular trips from behind the Cronulla Railway Station up and around the bays of the River past a mixture of National Parks, old weatherboard homes, old boat sheds and magnificent new homes. On a fine sunny day the trip is well worth the train ride from Sydney Central.
Much of the Rivers western foreshore is National Park and uninhabited, but a closer inspection of the banks reveal an assortment of odd steps and short stairways hand cut into the soft sandstone rocks. These steps lead from the waters edge to nowhere!
The rock cuttings are a melancholy reminder and all that remains of the homes of many of Sydney’s contingent of Great Depression unemployed.
With no means of earning a living in the city, entire families and single men took to squatting on the accessible river banks in the national parks along the river. They lived as best they could from hunting rabbits, fishing and what they could glean from the land itself.
Although this was a meagre existence their magnificent surroundings put them several steps ahead of their Melbourne counterparts who existed on the rubbish tips and swamplands adjacent to Melbourne’s urban, Coode Canal & Coal Canal.
During the course of our Champagne Breakfast on board (how fortunes change) Scott & Sally, two of Carolyn’s friends told us about & invited us to take part in what has become known as Carols by Cruiser.
This is a fund raising event which takes place each year on the second Sunday in December. The two large local ferry boats loaded with carol singers & loud speakers lead a procession along the river in & out of all the bays. Small inflatables zip in and out of the somewhat wild procession collecting donations for a local charity. All the boats are decorated & as the event ends after dark all the participating boats are illuminate in some way. The carols are also broadcast so each boat acts as a traveling loud speaker relaying the atmosphere all along the river.
After a drive up from Canberra we arrived at Scott & Sally’s boathouse just after midday. It was one of the old traditional timber plank shed types with a pitched roof and a pair of wide ledged and braced timber doors which swung out to allow the original owners small boat to be winched up a short steep railway into the shed. Note: – The OLD system, shed lease Registration Number over the left door. The 1937 represents the year it was first registered and it was the 770th registration that year. (Little waterside land is freehold).
The view from the house above is fabulous but the view from the shed is just plain fun and gives access to the small bay where the kids play endlessly.
Note:- The NEW Rego No. It should have replaced the old one but most owners are fiercely proud of their sheds heritage and refuse to display the new one.
Our modern barge rests at the end of the pier complete with Reindeer antlers and lights.
This type of boat shed is gradually disappearing, as the now very expensive waterside house blocks are redeveloped and new slipways, docks and flash boathouses with saunas & the works are built.
As the Carols flotilla started from Gymea Bay up the Port Hacking River at about five o’clock we needed to move out of the bay & travel up river from Cronulla on the rising tide to be in position for the procession.
Arriving a little early we decided to travel a little further upstream.
The dense waterside housing gradually thins out as road access gets more difficult, then it disappears completely as the River enters the Royal National Park.
Returning to the start point, its not long before the large lead trip boats arrive with
the music.
The green & yellow boat has been on the river for over 60 years & runs the ferry service across the river from Cronulla to the small settlement of Bundeena.
It’s then on for young & old as the boats all head back down to Cronulla
As can be seen nobody takes it to seriously
At each bay the large lead ferries sail very close in to the shore where all the householders have gathered with friends to greet the flotilla.
Old style boat shed on left new style on right. As the large boats slow to turn at the head of each bay some very interesting boatmanship takes place between the following boats.
This poor fisherman had no idea what was happening. In the end he just stood with his mouth wide open as boat after boat sped past inches from him on both sides.
The end of the cruise a truly fantastic event with so much going on and everybody having fun. This must rank as one of the best fundraisers I have ever come across.
With many many thanks to Captain Scott & Sally.
