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Aralla

Vessel numberHV000091

(not assigned)153908

Previous owner Tasmanian State Government

Designer W Gates

Designer Alfred Blore

Builder Neaves Brothers

Date1928

DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 14.63 m x 12.19 m x 3.81 m x 1.52 m, 17 tonnes (48 ft x 40 ft x 12.5 ft x 5 ft, 17.27 tons)
Registered Dimensions: 15.25 tons

DescriptionThe carvel planked vessel was launched on the 2nd of March 1928 by the builders Neaves Bros. at their Battery Point yard in Hobart Tasmania on the Derwent River. The designer was Mr W Gates, with improvements made by the well known Tasmanian designer Alfred Blore and Sgt Tom Challenger. It was then named ALLARA, and it retained this name until 1942. The name change to ARALLA ( ALLARA spelt backwards) occurred when it was registered in 1942 and it was found that an Adelaide Steamships trader with the same name was already on the register.

ALLARA was commissioned by the Tasmanian state government for use as a fisheries patrol vessel and owned by the Fisheries Board. It was manned by members of the Police Department who were responsible for enforcing the Fisheries Regulations. It was built with a yawl rig and an auxiliary motor and has the appearance and hull form of a sailing vessel. As a sailing vessel it can be described as a government cutter, the colloquial term used for the craft.

When the Tasmanian Water Police was formed as a unit in 1952, ALLARA was transferred to the Police who kept it in service for another 20 years, carrying out similar duties. It also carried Vice Regal passengers and undertook Ministerial tours of the Bass Strait islands.

ALLARA remained in Government service for over forty years, and was only retired in 1972. Its work included patrolling the many islands in Bass Strait. Many of the Tasmanian fishing and cray vessels would have had direct contact with ALLARA, perhaps ghosting up on them under sail to make a surprise inspection before they had a chance to dispose of any evidence of illegal activities. The vessel's first skipper was Sergeant Tom Challenger; he became a legend and never used firearms in his work, where confrontations between the two sides could become brutal and violent. Sgt Challenger was an early conservationist too, he battled hard to save fur seal colonies from destruction, and tried to ensure that the crayfishing industry remained viable as well.

In 1936 ALLARA was involved in CSIR (now CSIRO) research related to aerial spotting of fish schools and the establishment of tuna fishing off Eden in NSW. It spent 6 weeks at sea in a coordinated programme with an amphibian aircraft, the two were linked by radio. ALLARA provided on-the-water confirmation of the aircraft's observations and images. Sergeant Challenger was very excited about the potential of aerial spotting.

The craft has a raised deck forward and was originally flush-decked, and powered by a Kelvin petrol engine. In 1952 it underwent a major re-fit. A wheelhouse was added, and the Gardner diesel engine installed. The yawl rig had been changed to a cutter rig around 1943.

After being retired from the service and known as ARALLA it was sold to NSW and became a private vessel. It has explored Indonesian waters, and has been an official vessel for the annual Brisbane to Gladstone yacht race.

ARALLA is now a private cruising yacht and is fitted with a yawl rig again and is also one of the last remaining government cutters.
SignificanceARALLA is a timber patrol vessel built in Tasmania in 1928. It is aTasmanian government cutter that was used by the Fisheries Board and later the Police Department for fisheries patrol work, Vice Regal and Ministerial tours, and other police related activities for nearly fifty years.