Day 35 - Derelict Ferry

We travelled from St Helens to Launceston today and I didn't take many photographs for a change. In the afternoon we went on a river cruise on the River Tamar where I was taken by this derelict boat.

I have done bit of googling and it appears to be a former Hong Kong ferry called the Man On that carried passengers across Victoria Harbour. It came in to service in 1951 and was converted into a car ferry in 1966. When the cross harbour tunnel was opened traffic collapsed and the car ferries were no longer used.

Meanwhile, in Hobart, there was a major accident in 1975 when a ship ran into the Tasman Bridge causing it to collapse and splitting the city in half. As a result the ferry was bought from Hong Kong and used to carry passengers across the river. The new Tasman Bridge was completed in 1977 so the ferry again became redundant but it was renamed the Harry O'May and used to carry passengers and cars to Bruny Island until replaced by a newer ferry in 1991.

It was again sold in 1995  and briefly used across the River Tamar but this only lasted for a couple of years and it has been tied up derelict in Launceston since then.