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Mavis

Vessel numberHV000838

Date1900

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 5.49 m × 5.18 m × 0.61 m (18 ft × 17 ft × 2 ft)

DescriptionMavis is a 18ft motor launch built in 1900 by John Hill. It was built in Hill’s boatshed in Gunnamatta Bay Cronulla. Mavis was completely hand built, its hull made of New Zealand Kauri pine, its ribs, rubbing strakes and engine bed of hardwood and its engine box of Australian cedar. It consists of exactly 27 hardwood ribs fastened at 8 inch intervals. All planks and coamings were steamed and fastened into place. Mavis’ hull is lap strake clinker above the water line and batten capped carvel below.

Mavis is a very early example of a launch powered by a combustion engine and a surviving vessel from the Edwardian period. Whilst it has a petrol engine, it was also built light enough to be rowed, and designed to fit into its own boatshed. Mavis’ original 5HP engine was replaced in the late 1940s with a Simplex engine, and again in 2022 with a 10HP 2-cylinder diesel.

Boat building in Cronulla began in the 1890s. John Hill’s boatshed on Gunnamatta Bay was a thriving business in a district where many people travelled by water and needed boats. Cronulla did not receive an electricity supply until 1917. Hill was also a member of the first Sutherland Shire Council and the inaugural president of the Cronulla Public School Parents and Citizens Association. In 1942, the Australian Government confiscated motor launches and other small craft from the waterways. In turn, Mavis was removed from the waterways with its engine disabled as part of the war effort.

As of 2023 Mavis is still used as a pleasure craft on Port Hacking. Its hull, deck, and superstructure are all original and in excellent condition.

SignificanceMavis was constructed by John Hill in 1900 in Gunnamatta Bay Cronulla. It was completely hand built, its 18ft hull constructed of New Zealand Kauri and its 27 ribs of hardwood. Mavis is a very early example of a private launch powered by a combustion engine and a surviving vessel from the Edwardian period. Its unique design made it light enough to be rowed and motored. It is further significant in its association with John Hill, his boatshed in Gunnamatta Bay a thriving business during the early 20th Century in a district where many people travelled by water and needed boats.