Paddle Steamer, Mary Ann

The waterways of the Murray-Darling system and interconnect more than one thousand square kilometres of Australian land mass, approximately one-seventh of the total area. The waterway system with steam navigation was the catalyst for river trade. Steam navigation was the main transport along the waterways from 1853 to 1920 when railways and motor transport started to dominate the trade.

The Paddle Steamer Mary Ann was the first steam-powered vessel on the Murray-Darling, built by William Richard Randell and his brothers and launched from near Mannum on 16 February 1853, seven months before Francis Cadell's Lady Augusta entered the Murray at its mouth near Goolwa.

Its first commercial voyage began in August 1853 and the little vessel reached Echuca/Moama on 24 September 1853.

Steam was supplied by a box boiler which proved inadequate for the task because of the thin plates from which it was made. It was replaced and unceremoniously dumped on the riverbank. Because of this benign neglect, the old boiler actually survived. It was recovered around 1893 and put on display in the main street of Mannum (which had been named after Randell). The boiler finally found a home under cover on the Mary Ann Reserve. In 2001 the old boiler was moved to the Mannum Dock Museum of River History and replaced with a replica.

The Mary Ann was instrumental in opening up trade on the inland rivers and contributed to early economic development of the associated colonies and particularly of South Australia.

Replica of the first bolier from the Paddle Steamer Mary Ann in Mannum

Engineering Heritage Interpretation Panel

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Engineering Heritage Recognition Program

Marker Type	Engineering Heritage National Marker (EHNM)
Award Date	November 2014
Heritage Significance	First powered vessel on the Murray-Darling. A catalyst in opening up the river trade so significant to the economies of three colonies from 1853 to the 1920s when railways and motor transport took away much of the trade.
Nomination Document	Available here.
Ceremony Booklet Ceremony Report	Not Available.
Plaque/Interpretation Panel	Available here.