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SYDPORT dressed for a heritage parade in the late 1990s
Sydport
SYDPORT dressed for a heritage parade in the late 1990s
SYDPORT dressed for a heritage parade in the late 1990s
Private Collection

Sydport

Vessel numberHV000244
Official Number316107
Previous owner
Date1960
DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 13.72 m x 4.57 m x 2.13 m, 29.53 tonnes (45 ft x 15 ft x 7 ft, 30 tons)
DescriptionBuilt in 1960 at Ballina Slipway and Engineering under its proprietor SG White, SYDPORT was launched late that year. In 1961 it was taken south to begin work on Sydney Harbour. The owner was Sydney Harbour Lighterage, one of the big lighterage firms working the harbour in that period. Based at Glebe, west of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the company provided tugs and barges for all types of general duties; towing barges, berthing ships and supporting maintenance crews on what was then a busy working harbour.

SYDPORT was one of their small fleet of tugs. The 13.72 m (45 ft) carvel planked vessel had a single 188 kW (250 hp) General Motors diesel. Its design and construction are typical of the small tugs operating on Sydney Harbour at the time.

It remained in service with Harbour Lighterage until it was retired in 1986. It was eventually sold in the early 1990s. SYDPORT then became a recreational vessel and appeared as a prop in the 1997 film 'Dogwatch'. in 1999 the owner arranged a loan from the Heritage Council (repaid at current interest rates) to assist in some work on the vessel.

In 2008 SYDPORT remained in good original condition and configuration.


SignificanceSYDPORT a wooden tug built in 1960 in Ballina, northern NSW, for work on Sydney Harbour, is an example of a design by naval architect Arthur Swinfield. It is one of the few remaining timber tugs from a period when they were the workhorses for the marine industry and a regular part of the daily life of Sydney Harbour. It retains its original operational configuration. It worked continuously on Sydney Harbour for more than 25 years.
BJ on Sydney Harbour
Alf Jahnsen
1949
FRANCESCA in 2009 on the Derwent River, Tasmania
A G Williams
1927
WARATAH in 1968 at Newcastle, shortly before it was taken out of service.
Government Dockyard
1902
BEARDMORE in the 1960s on the Clarence River
J G Pashley & Sons
1914
NABILLA on display at the Axel Stenross Maritime Museum in Port Lincoln, South Australia.
Slazengers Ltd
1945
JOHN OXLEY in Cowan Creek, Hawkesbury River, 1972.
Bow, McLachlan and Co.
1927
IMOGEN c 2000
Donnyland Shipbuilding Co.
1902
VICTORY in 2018
Melbourne Harbour Trust
1936
KRAIT restored for the 75th Anniversary event on 26th September 2018 at the ANMM wharves.
c 1934
 WENTWORTH in 2013
W Holmes Boat Builder
1948
VALIANT STAR in Lavender Bay, 2005, in use as a private motor vessel.
Lars Halvorsen Sons Pty Ltd
1942