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GLADSTONE  features a well proportioned hull and superstructure.
Gladstone
GLADSTONE  features a well proportioned hull and superstructure.
GLADSTONE features a well proportioned hull and superstructure.
Private Collection

Gladstone

Vessel numberHV000174
Official Number317076
Previous owner
Date1964
DimensionsVessel Dimensions: 15.1 m x 14.3 m x 4.57 m x 2.2 m, 32.35 tonnes (49.54 ft x 46.92 ft x 14.99 ft x 7.22 ft, 32.87 tons)
Registered Dimensions: 14.57 m x 4.57 m x 2.68 m, 32.35 tons x 13.94 tons (47.8 ft x 14.99 ft x 8.79 ft)
DescriptionGLADSTONE was operated by Stannard Brothers at Port Kembla and Sydney Harbour. They built the tug to a design done in partnership with the Sydney naval architect John Bolton. It was launched from their Berrys Bay NSW yard in 1964.

GLADSTONE was the first steel tug for Stannards, replacing the earlier wooden tow boats whose designs often dated back to World War II. It features typical steel construction for the period and has a fibreglass wheelhouse and cabin. The 15 m long vessel is currently powered by a 350 kW General Motors diesel and is steered in a conventional manner by a rudder behind the single propeller, not the more recent adjustable dual propeller methods.

This vessel was a typical port workhorse fulfilling a number of general duties besides towing and manoeuvering vessels. It continues in this work under private ownership on Brisbane Waters NSW and remains in good condition.
SignificanceGLADSTONE is an early example of a1960s steel tug, locally designed and built for operation on Sydney Harbour by the Sydney based firm Stannard Bros. It is a agood example of a typical, practical small tug design from the 1960s.
 WENTWORTH in 2013
W Holmes Boat Builder
1948
BERRIMA  in 2009 at Wharf 7 Darling Harbour NSW.
CAM Fisher and Sons
1955
JOHN OXLEY in Cowan Creek, Hawkesbury River, 1972.
Bow, McLachlan and Co.
1927
PROCLAIM in 2009
Morrison & Sinclair
1939
BAREKI heading off from the  ANMM under new ownership in 2012
Maritime Services Board of New South Wales
1962
IMOGEN c 2000
Donnyland Shipbuilding Co.
1902
This image is credited as being PLUME in the 1970s and understood to have been owned by Strides…
Morrison & Sinclair
1907
FLORRIE pushing a sand barge on the Richmond River.
Rock Davis
1880
The skiff on display in 2013
George Towns and Sons
FORCEFUL in 2007 taking passengers for an excursion on the Brisbane River, near the city centre…
Alexander Stephens & Sons
1925