Lady Hopetoun, Darling Of The Harbour
Sun Herald
Sunday January 29, 1995
A VOYAGE on the Edwardian steam yacht Lady Hopetoun is once again the most elegant way to see Sydney harbour.
Named after the wife of Australia's first GovernorGeneral and launched in 1902, the yacht has been restored right down to the comfortable bamboo chairs on deck.
The Lady Hopetoun's coal-fired steam engine gives a taste- and smell - of Sydney's past, when the harbour bustled with ferries, tugs and ships.
In 1913, NSW Premier Bill Holman held a Cabinet meeting on the yacht because of concern about eavesdropping in Parliament House. Other passengers have included the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth), the Prince of Wales (later Duke of Windsor) and the King and Queen Of Thailand.
Now that the State Government no longer has a VIP vessel, Sydney Maritime Museum has been asked to provide the Lady Hopetoun for official activities, says historian Richard Morgan.
On Australia Day she was bobbing on the edge of the ferry race. Aboard were some of the 1,000 members and volunteers who help restore vessels of significance for the museum.
The group was formed in 1965 to save the Lady Hopetoun, built at Sydney's Berrys Bay for the Sydney Harbour Trust.
But three years later the museum rescued the steam tug Waratah from the scrap yard and its collection grew with the Edwardian schooner Boomerang, 1874 barque James Craig, 1912 ferry Kanangra and Sir Frank Packer's Gretel II. There are now 44 boats queued for restoration.
The museum raises funds with art unions, donations and charters. The Lady Hopetoun leaves from Darling Harbour today for 50-minute cruises between 12.30pm and 3.30. The cost is $10.
© 1995 Sun Herald